The Bayou Skiff is 14' long, 32 1/2" bottom, 43" beam.

[oldsparkey]

1st ... Let me say this...... Both Uncle John and Matt are on the main page of this forum (Southernpaddler.com) and are fine folks for any wood boat builder to know.

Matt ( http://www.jemwatercraft.com/ ) lists all his new builds and plans on here , as I asked him to do way back when in the dark ages.
John relies on me to do that for him especially since my 1st web site ( Back in the really Dark Ages) was the Oldsparkey Canoe and Pirogue forum.
As anyone who has been here for a while knows this web site recommends the both of them if a person wants to build a wood boat , between these two gentlemen there is a wide choice to chose from and choice is a good thing. ( Just don't ask my wife , she thinks I have made to many from both of the designers but what does she know ) :lol:

This Bayou Skiff from Uncle John is a hybrid that can be paddled , rowed with some oars or even powered with a small outboard. Since there is interest in such a boat , this is why I am posting this information , the more information you can have the better your choice in what to build for your enjoyment.

So much for the History Lesson ... Recess time , enjoy the information posted below.
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Uncle John Pirogues has a new boat the The Bayou Skiff is 14' long, 32 1/2" bottom, 43" beam for us stitch and Glue builders.

It can be paddled , rowed or run with a 3 hp kicker on it. My suggestion would be oars and row it or use a motor to get to where you want and then paddle it for stealth. No matter there are three modes of locomotion of how you can get to where you want to go. :wink: ( for the younger folks , oars and rowing was the trolling motor of the 50's when fishing or the main form of locomotion for your fishing boat if you did not have a motor. )

It is 14 feet , 12 inch side boards and 32 1/2 inches wide on the bottom with a 43 inch beam which should make it a very stable boat. All stitch and glue.

An idea of what it will be like , it is still being made and is not completed.

Click on the link and if you are interested in the plans then click on the ( HERE ) on his web site. ( It will do nothing but to register that someone is interested in the plans , that is all , might call it a survey. ) The rest of the pictures in the below link can be clicked on to enlarge them if you desire to do that.

http://www.unclejohns.com/bysk14

Chuck.

 

[preacher]

That is one sweet looking boat. I've seen a lot of posts asking about a flats boat, this thing should do everything. Wouldn't be hard to put a smal casting platform on it either.

 

[mike]

I think I like it. Wonder what it will weigh.......

Mike

 

[JEM]

Nice looking boat! 8)

 

[seedtick]

looks a lot like Beekeeper's skiff.......

 

[Light Keeper's Kid]

I really like this one 8) Its a Keeper :wink:

Mike

 

[crkdltr]

Just sent my interest to Uncle John about it. Looking forward to it's completion. This looks like a great boat to put my "graceful" wife in while I paddle.

 

[skbilly]

Hi all newb here, working on a Uncle John's pirogue and thinking that this would be a great addition to the new family.

 

[crkdltr]

Hi all newb here, working on a Uncle John's pirogue and thinking that this would be a great addition to the new family.

Most definitely and welcome to the site. Don't forget to start your own UJ Pirogue progress thread and post lots of pictures. :mrgreen:


this boat looks like a scaled down version of Keith's rowing skiff.

 

[oldsparkey]

Hi all newb here, working on a Uncle John's pirogue and thinking that this would be a great addition to the new family.

"skbilly"........

The Uncle John Pirogue is a good boat to make and learn the principals of building a wood boat. Then the best part is you have a boat to use while building another wood boat. Some folks have gone as far as to make a 25 sailboat that sleeps 6 after making a pirogue. ( Most of us just pick on Matt for a multi paneled paddling craft)

Before you say anything............
Cheer up if you make a mistake , 99% of the time only you will know about it and I have made 10 wood boats to date and still make a mistake here and there. I just learned not to say anything about them and no one notice's them. I guess the builder is the worse critic of there work. :lol:

Like you , I do like the lines of Uncle Johns newest one , it reminds me of the boat I had as a kid and used for recreation and fishing. I was 10 or 11 when Dad brought it home and told me I could use it , guess he figured I would stop bugging him about using his boat. He was right , it worked and that was one fine boat. I have a lot of fine memories of times spent in it over half a century ago. I spent every summer vacation in it out on the lake , the folks knew where I was .... Out there fishing for a fresh fish supper.

It would be fun to have one like I had as a kid that can be paddled , rowed or with a small motor to get up river really easily. Then drift back down fishing.

Chuck.

 

[oldsparkey]

Been talking with Uncle John..... There are several things he needs to work out , all of them as far as the plans and different measurements for folks in different areas of this world .... Inches , centimeters and the rest.

When all of that is done there is a rumor that a kit will be available for the Bayou Skiff for folks to use in making it. Just a rumor , nothing poured in concrete at this time as far as the kit. Can't say what the cost will be for it or just for the plans. Not even sure about the weight of it when done since there are several different ways to make it ...Depending on how the builder wants to do it.... Stay tuned for that info or go to his web site.

Chuck.

 

[skbilly]

As soon as the kit is available (I don't have a table saw) I am going to build one of these. Not that i know anything, but are the bottom runners necessary? I am thinking a flat bottom would be nice on this. I am also thinking of a offset notch for a scull oar, any thoughts on this?

 

[oldsparkey]

I asked Uncle John about the runners , they are there for additional bottom support. The model is made from 1/4 inch wood. If you want a flat bottom then use 3/8ths inch wood for the bottom. This is if the boat is made ( Like one of his pirogues) with fiberglass tape along the seams and not totally glassed , myself I would want it glassed inside and out. Some extra protection for the wood and additional support.

I can tell you this. From the few sheets of the plans I have seen the construction is about the same as one of his Pirogues , an easy boat to make.

I don't normally like anything on the bottom of a flat bottom boat but two runners on each side would help it sit on a trailer , especially if the runners where so they fit on the insides ( or outsides) of the bunks on the trailer. It would keep the boat straight when on the trailer.
( Yep...I am thinking of a 3 hp 4 stroke motor on it and a trailer , a easy way to get up a river )

I asked about a kit ....With any luck a kit should be available near the end of this month. Like you I don't have all the equipment to do the compound cuts , all my stuff is 90% hand tools. I do use a electric sander and drill plus sometimes a band saw.

Uncle John has added more pictures of the progress on his web site.
http://www.unclejohns.com/bysk14

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Same runners could be inside the bottom and provide exactly the same support, if you don't want them outside.

 

[Light Keeper's Kid]

Does the Model have a total build weight yet? And does his plans drawn out like Matts plans on ply with 1' lines and measurements for the curves? I'm thinking this would make a Great Strip Build 8)

Mike

 

[oldsparkey]

Does the Model have a total build weight yet? And does his plans drawn out like Matts plans on ply with 1' lines and measurements for the curves? I'm thinking this would make a Great Strip Build 8)

Mike

Matt's boats have more curves in them and a traditional round shape to the hulls which requires cutting the panels with a curve in them to have that sleak shape his have. We are talking two different styles and designs of boats.

No total weight as of yet , still in the construction phase. The boat is simple to make , like all of his pirogues. All straight lines for the most part. The outside angle of the ribs are what gives it the rocker.

The side boards are cut from a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood , the models has 12 inch sides , 4 of them to make to two side boards and the bottom is from two sheets of wood.
When I make a pirogue I have to guy at Home Depot slice off the 12 inch side boards for me. Then I do the 45 degree cut on the ends here at the house . the bottom is marked out using the sides when they are together and then cut to fit the boat.
I have been joking with him about it being a square sterned pirogue on steroids. This will explain a lot ... It's a PDF File. http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/plans/ki ... 5%2009.pdf

Doing a strip build would be a simple process , put the strips together , cut the bow angle , glass one side of them and install them , drop in the transom and then add the floor.

The same way I made this pirogue back in March , 2006.

http://www.unclejohns.com/

 

[crkdltr]

I asked Uncle John about the runners , they are there for additional bottom support. The model is made from 1/4 inch wood. If you want a flat bottom then use 3/8ths inch wood for the bottom. This is if the boat is made ( Like one of his pirogues) with fiberglass tape along the seams and not totally glassed , myself I would want it glassed inside and out. Some extra protection for the wood and additional support.

I can tell you this. From the few sheets of the plans I have seen the construction is about the same as one of his Pirogues , an easy boat to make.

I don't normally like anything on the bottom of a flat bottom boat but two runners on each side would help it sit on a trailer , especially if the runners where so they fit on the insides ( or outsides) of the bunks on the trailer. It would keep the boat straight when on the trailer.
( Yep...I am thinking of a 3 hp 4 stroke motor on it and a trailer , a easy way to get up a river )

I asked about a kit ....With any luck a kit should be available near the end of this month. Like you I don't have all the equipment to do the compound cuts , all my stuff is 90% hand tools. I do use a electric sander and drill plus sometimes a band saw.

Uncle John has added more pictures of the progress on his web site.
http://www.unclejohns.com/bysk14

Chuck.

You know Chuck, using the formula available from the USCG you could "technically" use up to a 20hp motor on this skiff. :shock:

 

[oldsparkey]

Yep...... But I am thinking of a 4 or 5 hp in place of the three. A pirogue moves threw the water really easy , a small motor would save on the weight , give better gas mileage and the initial purchase would be a lot less. Probably split the difference and get a 4. Will have to decide later when I get it made and take it to my buddy who has the Mercury dealership , see what he thinks.

One thought running threw my mind is to put a couple of knees on the transom to beef it up and offer more support to the transom when it is on the trailer and going down the road with the motor resting there. The 4 is about 55 pounds , dry weight. A 3.5 is 38 pounds...... Even better as far as weight for a 4 stroke motor.
( A 4 stroke 20 is 115 pounds)

Just some streams to cross when building it and about what or how to do it. Only thing I am sure of is it will be a lot easier to go up river loaded with camping and fishing gear. Park the Jeep , hop in the boat and go places I have not been in a long time. Then either paddle or row returning and if bad weather moves in , or getting in a hurry use the single ( gas Operated) paddle on the transom.

Chuck.

 

[crkdltr]

Yep...... But I am thinking of a 4 or 5 hp in place of the three. A pirogue moves threw the water really easy , a small motor would save on the weight , give better gas mileage and the initial purchase would be a lot less. Probably split the difference and get a 4. Will have to decide later when I get it made and take it to my buddy who has the Mercury dealership , see what he thinks.

One thought running threw my mind is to put a couple of knees on the transom to beef it up and offer more support to the transom when it is on the trailer and going down the road with the motor resting there. The 4 is about 55 pounds , dry weight. A 3.5 is 38 pounds...... Even better as far as weight for a 4 stroke motor.
( A 4 stroke 20 is 115 pounds)

Just some streams to cross when building it and about what or how to do it. Only thing I am sure of is it will be a lot easier to go up river loaded with camping and fishing gear. Park the Jeep , hop in the boat and go places I have not been in a long time. Then either paddle or row returning and if bad weather moves in , or getting in a hurry use the single ( gas Operated) paddle on the transom.

Chuck.

In as much as you are looking to use a smaller motor and lighter weight, then it should be nothing to just remove the motor during transport and attach before launch. Otherwise i would agree to bracing the transom like UJ's bateau plans.

 

[oldsparkey]

There is not a lot of room in the back of a 2003 Jeep Wrangler for the gear and a motor , not as much as in the back of the wife's Nissan Titan. Heck I might be able to park the Jeep in the back of that truck. :lol: Before you ask .... It is HER TRUCK. ( Married folks will understand that )
If I would unlock the motor and place it in the boat , stop for a bite to eat on the way home there is a good shot it would be gone when I went back out to the buggy. Around they disappear all the time from boats if they are not locked. Most of them end up .... up north. Anyway when I was with the Sheriffs Office that is where we found a lot of them that vanished from the boat they were on and helped to go north.

One Marina lost almost two dozen that were on there rentals , all 9.9 and less in HP in one night.

Back in the Dark Ages.........
I had a boat which was made for racing and to have a larger motor on it there were three knees attached to the transom and the bottom. That let the boat more then triple the motor on it. Plus back then , I worked for a boat company ( aluminum and/or glass boats) and we would take a 12 foot aluminum that was designed for a 20 hp and beef it up so a 55 or 75 could be on it for the Fish and Game Commission to use.

"O"Well , so much for ancient history , back to modern times and a boat that can be used for a persons pleasure.

Chuck.