# Input on Hull Design Needed



## SKIFFGUY (Jan 14, 2008)

Use the stitch and glue method for your construction- loose the frames. Do a google on stitch and glue, or go to Amazon and look for books with the keyword.  Boat looks fine... Use 1/2? on bottom though if you stitch and glue it...  You may want to use a stiffener under front deck. Look for a book by Sam Devlin... great stitch and glue book....
Good luck !


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

Also, try the bateau website and forum. lots of good info there on building


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Nice design. I think you could do without the floor stringers also. Keep the side uprights to support the gunwales and cut in rod racks.

What are you doing in Afg.?


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

Hi Nate,

Thanks for what you are doing over there. Looking at your plan made me think of the "Swift Canoe" on the Bateau site.

http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=SC16

It is a narrow version of the D15 if you want to compare it to a wider skiff.

Regardless of what you decide the scantling calculations for what you want aren't vital. If you use good plywood and the methods found in the "how to" section on the same site you should do well. Gougeon Brothers has a site that will explain more about laminating and joining with epoxy reinforced glass cloth.

Take care and stay safe,
Best regards Frank_S (6 years USN)


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

have you seen the bateau site?? they have a flats stalker 18...all the thinking is already done....proven design.....


me personally i like your approach better....you dont need that many ribs though...esp, if you youre using good quality plywood...id do the first 2(bow), last 2(stern(rear)), and 2 in between, the stringer, and foam the floor with a thin sole over it...


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

BTW, my previous display name was WhiteDog70810. I am over in Afghanistan with the Army.  I am a veterinarian assigned to the 3rd SFG out of FT Bragg. 

I've spent a lot of time on the Bateau website and have read the how-to posts. There isn't much there regarding the principles of boat design. I thought long and hard about the FS18 because the work had been done, but it wasn't quite have what I wanted, so now I am doing my own thing. This is more fun anyway. Also, their forum is established to support their own plans, so I feel funny posting questions pertaining to this project on their site since I haven't sent any money their way. I'll be getting my ply and fiberglass from them eventually. 

Even with stitch and glue, I figured I'd need some frames, but I don't know the structural requirements that dictate the spacing. I am glad you all think I can take a bunch out, `cuz it was gonna get heavy.

While I have given up a lot of comfort or speed in rough water, this hull is made to be in the back of the marsh where there isn't enough water to make any waves of concern. I generally avoid rough water anyway, so the lack of a Vee won't crimp my style.

Nate


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

70810 your zip code??  thats over in my neck of the woods...baton rouge, right?? thats where im from...i live near hammond...


yes you need frames...is your bottom completely flat from bow to stern??


nah..you wont get much forum help at bateau if not building their design...BUT...there is a wealth of knowledge in the forum, if you know how to get around it..theres a few guys around here with experience in building from an original design...check out bretts grass slipper project...i think he kinda learned from bateau and ran with it...1 or 2 others have to...

theres another really awesome home-done design also....i dont know if he ever made it over here or not...ill have to look for it...i think the guys name is ken, and calls the project----skiff america or super skiff or something along that line( i might be way off...)...its my favorite...i keep hoping he gets it completely done and throws some plans out..

i have a very similar project going, but mine is under lock and key, not for show, yet... got other plans for it:-X :-X :-X


anyway...guess what im saying...i like the enthusiasm you have...cant wait to see you get back in one piece and start your build...


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

For design information try Jim Michalak's site (pronounced to ryme with metalic). He is a real rocket scientist that worked at the Cape.

Ken Hankinson is likely the fellow you are thinking of, but he may no longer be active in designing.

Frank_S


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

Oops sorry http://www.jimsboats.com/ and http://www.boatdesigns.com/departments.asp?dept=718 Hope this is interesting for you.

Frank_S


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

nah..wrong ken....its a guy that got strated with bateau stuff, built a phantom and then when the gladesmens came out, he drew his own design and built right around the time bateau publish the fs 18 plans...im looking, ill find it...i have pics of his boat....just not sure if i should post them....


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Marshman, 

Baton Rouge is home, although my parents now live in Walker. I used to fish out of Montegut and then Larose and we hunted out of Intercoastal City for a while, hence the reason my creation looks like a big pirogue. Once I get a rig together, I have to figure out what North Carolina has to offer. I may have to move on to striped bass instead of redfish. I guess they have redfish here also, but it won't be like home, so I won't let my expectations get too high.

Nate


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Marshman,

I found a build album with some pictures of a home built rig that looked like a FS18 crossed with a Mitzi Skiff. Is that the one? I can't provide more accurate information than my recollections because I have the site saved on my desk top back home and I cannot remember how I stumbled across it now. If that's the one, it will be a pretty hull. Has the original of your hull been finished and used yet?

Nate


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Marshman,

Sorry man, I'm ADD or something. Anyway, yes, it is a complete flat bottom. I want it to float on a heavy dew. I have got stuck in the back of the marsh enough times by the tide dropping while the fish were biting or the ducks were flying the that the ability to easily slide across mudflats is a very high priority to me.

I am as safe as anyone can be in a war zone. When you are medical, they keep you where you can't do too much damage if badness happens. The guys that I support take good care of me.

Nate


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

im still looking, ill find it...im looking now....

mine??, no...its just something im working on in the shop when i get free time, and $$$.....wish i had the $$$ to work on it full time..it will be finished this summer... .my tunnel boat will be for sale before too long...it will sell in like an hour when i decide to sell...lol


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

i found it, started a new thread...


your last reply just sparked my memory...i believe i remember you on here before....i think we discussed about the suction of the marsh mud, that the guys on sandflats dont get....


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Yup.


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## CarlosNoe (Sep 5, 2008)

I like the design would be nice to make it into some kind of half Kayak/Microskiff devise. HP has a some small engines 9.5 and above you could tie into a kind of Jet driven engine design. I had some information some where on these engines was working on getting this set up for myself.


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## CarlosNoe (Sep 5, 2008)

O.K.
Here is the site of a boat/Kayak that uses this engine. If you look Engine: Removable 4 stroke HONDA, 6HP. They have above 4 stoke....

http://www.mokai.com/


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Interesting idea, but it doesn't really work with my KISS mindset and budget.

Nate


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

How do you move a thread?  I guess one of you moderator types has to do it for me.  I think this belongs in the Boatyard section if I am going to keep adding to it.

Anyway, I have refined my design a bit and improved my SketchUp skills and have come out with the next rendition.  Brett wants me to get modeling, but that is too much stuff to carry in a backpack, so I play on the computer `til I get it right.  Models will come one day, I promise.




























It is still flat bottomed, a hair over 18' long and 53" at the widest. The decks are at 16" from the bottom and the side height is 17" from the bottom.  I just added a slight upward curve forward of the middle, added another stringer and removed a lot of frames and added a sole.  

So, now for the questions:

How much of a pain is that 3' rear deck going to be on a tiller boat?  I expect to use an extension and I really like the bigger deck, but I haven't driven a tiller boat that didn't have a standard bench seat layout and since it is a big change that will affect frame placement, I want to avoid headaches.

Do I have to have a splash well?  I'd like to start with the motor on the transom and upgrade to a jack plate one day.  The transom is for a 20" shaft motor right now.  If I do it right, I hope this thing will be self-baling.

Does the transom really need a 15 degree angle for a transom mounted motor or will a 12.5 degree angle work?  I just eye-balled it initially until I measured it recently.  That is an easy fix, but I may just get a bracket mount created regardless.  I plan on the fuel and battery to be under the front deck, so setting the motor back a little won't be too terrible as I want the front deck to stay where it is if possible.

Ply selection:  I am thinking 3/8" for all frames and upper decks, 1/4" for the bottom, sides and sole and 1/2" for the transom and stringers (doubled up).  Should the bottom be 3/8" also?  I will put flotation foam between the bottom and sole. All upper decks will have bracing underneath.

That is what I have for now.

Nate


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

> Models will come one day, I promise.


Alright, I'll quit nagging... 










The shear looks good.
I'd camber the deck to facilitate water runoff
and to be able to use thinner wood to save on weight
and still maintain rigidity.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Hadn't tunka dat.... pretty good idea.

Nate


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Thank goodness it has a flat bottom.  My photos make it look very FS18ish.  All these microskiffs start to look the same.

Nate


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

> How much of a pain is that 3' rear deck going to be on a tiller boat?


Slipper has a 48 inch rear deck, no problem.



> Do I have to have a splash well?


Not at all, I have one but it really is my fuel tank compartment.



> Does the transom really need a 15 degree angle for a transom mounted motor or will a 12.5 degree angle work?


12.5 degrees will work, adjustment holes on the outboard clamp bracket give you plenty of swing to fit that angle.



> Ply selection:  I am thinking 3/8" for all frames and upper decks, 1/4" for the bottom, sides and sole and 1/2" for the transom and stringers (doubled up).  Should the bottom be 3/8" also?


I agree with your wood dimensions, except for the bottom. Go with half inch, saves on extra fiberglassing and epoxy.


If the bottom ain't flat, then you need more water to float...


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

I had someone else tell me to use 1/2" for the bottom a while back, but I'd forgotten. Oh well, once I decided I wanted an 18 footer, I knew I'd get a trailer also, so I won't have to lift it.

Nate


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