skiff | Page 2 | SouthernPaddler.com

skiff

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
sides and bottom are typically 3/4"

on short pirogues where you don't have enough leverage to make the bend, or if the wood is stiffer, then we plane down just a bit. On 6 footers we get down to 5/8".

Our finishes are about three coats of epoxy followed by 5 or 6 coats of Epifanes for an outside boat. For an inside boat like this one it's 8 coats of gloss polyeurethane.

here's a not very good closeup of the breasthook of the skiff
bpskiff006.jpg
 

a Bald Cypress

Well-Known Member
May 7, 2007
577
0
81
Northwest Louisiana
st

As usual, a beautifull boat. If you ever have one that will get put in the store in S port, let me know.

And there must be a question .

Aprox. how long does it take y'all to make a boat like that ?
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
takes us about 4 weeks total, of course that not 5 days a week/8 hrs a day

takes about 5 to 7 days to actually build the boat, that includes time waiting for glue to dry, boards to bend and other interruptions. Friend Keith and I are easily interrupted. Boat building isn't a job for us, it's fun. When it gets to be a job, we'll probably quit. We started keeping track of the actual hours in a build, but we got interrupted.

Anyway, after the build, it's a matter of putting on a coat of varnish, let dry, sand, put on a another coat of varnish, etc. etc. Eight coats of varnish on each side is about 16 more days, with most of the time spent waiting for varnish to dry.
 

keith

Well-Known Member
it takes us about 5 days to put in the 20 to 25 hours to make the build.
you can also see how much more room you will have in a pirogue / skiff if you put the transom in before you bend the stern and put the stem in and cut it off. later keith
 

pereaux

Active Member
Apr 13, 2009
35
0
MR. kIETH,Why does it make a boat have more room if you put the transom in first and then the stem? Is this standard for you'all? Could you elaborate a little about this procedure, please? Thanks
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
friend Keith may be taking a beauty nap - he needs more than one - so i'll jump in here

sometime last year there was a discussion about putting a transom in instead of putting a stem in at both ends and having two pointy ends, i.e. building a skiff. Someone opined that they would build the pirogue with two pointy ends, insert a transom where they wanted it and cut off the part of the boat in back of the transom. I think friend Keith was refering to this by saying that if you bend the sides to a transom instead of stem, you'll have a larger footprint for the boat and hence, more capacity.

if this doesn't make sense, let me know and i'll try a more detailed explanation.
 

pereaux

Active Member
Apr 13, 2009
35
0
Picture%20005_67.jpg

Well if he's napping let him sleep, but thanks for stepping in for him mr. seedtick, that is a true buddy. I built this skiff several months back for a friend. I was disapointed with the bow area as I thought the flare should have been wider. It was made from the pointed end first. I saw the boat at the store that ya'll made and the front was much wider than this one. If I build another I will start at the transom first to see. I missed that earlier post about cutting a pointed end off. I never even considered that it could make a difference. I understand it making a difference if the sides are pulled in first and then the transom installed. was I reading the wrong thing from the post ? When you built the skiff in this post did you start at the transom. Mabye that is what I should be asking.
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
we start at the front, install both sides to the front stem piece.

we then bend the sides around a couple of jigs. The jigs hold the side angles and side spacing as we pull the sides in until they match the transom width that we want.
we install the transom. With the jigs still in place, install the ribs. Forgot to mention to be sure that the jigs do not interfer with the rib placement. Each rib is custom fit as planks don't always bend the same. Each boat is just a little different, even though you've got it secured to the jigs.

If you have a wide flare, you may want to install the breasthook before knocking out the jigs as it (the breasthook) will help hold the sides in position.

i think if you look at the early pictures of the rowing skiff build (something different in the pirogue section), you'll see something similar to what i'm talking about.
 

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
Thanks for taking the time to post this. Your boats and the way you build them are radically different from anything most of us will ever try. We can dream about it though.

George
 

pereaux

Active Member
Apr 13, 2009
35
0
Yes, thanks for clearing that up for me. I understand. I think I need to start taking naps also. I seem to be getting those almost Geezer moments.
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
no problem, keep asking as much as you need

BTW if you, or anyone else for that matter, are ever out this way give us a call and drop by

we're more than happy to answer your questions or show you how we do things

sometimes eyeball to eyeball is clearer than internet communications
 

Oyster

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2008
254
0
OBX North Carolina
You know folks I surely enjoy these types threads when I get the time to scan over them after they have seasoned for a while. Seeing folks that truely enjoy their work when the work is really not a job which I consider such to be with these guys, makes it even better. I mean all of us are going around that big bright object called the Sun yet few have talents and the chance to experience this sport called boat building. With these guys I feel its not really just about a boat, it doing what they enjoy and some money follows. If I am making no sense, then thats really what any of this is all about to most folks. People for the most part do not understand the rewards and the reasons. Scratching along each day making measurable progress in some extreme corner of a skiff, I say how rediculous by any measure when you ask the fellow on the street too. :lol:

Prime time tv as a rule will never cover these guys in such coverage as most do covering the multiple drug charges of movie stars that provide nothing to society and need to bury their own misery using chemicals to self induce themselves into some fog to make it through their days. If any of you remember Charles Karalt though, he did do some stories on a program called " On the Road" that would just migt fit his guildlines though. Sorry for the highjack and rambling but had to add a big kudos to the guys that continue this deminishing art on this planet.
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
I miss Ole Charles. Used ta fill a hole on Sunday mornin'. Loved the pichurs 'n the natural sounds that they had at the end of the program. He have would have enjoyed a visit with Keith 'n seedtick. [I did.] I'd love ta watch re-runs of On the Road, but they dont seem ta have a spot fer shows like that on tv. [sigh]

regards
bearridge

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.  Charles Kuralt