# MicroSkiff "Lite"



## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

This is the little (13'-6 x 36" x2") skiff I put together for creek and No-Motor zones here in Tampa Bay








It started as a pirogue, but the double ended design of the pirogue was a bit tippy for my desire to stand up and pole and fish.








I decided to use a transom to widen out the stern area and get a little more flotation and stability.  The pirogue was made of two sheets of plywood. Since I put the transom on this one I bought an extra sheet of 1/4" ply and I had a small piece of 3/4" I used for the stern. I could have  pieced together smaller chunks of ply, but since I have the "Osborn Flats Skiff" project going on I just bought another piece. The sides are made of 1/4" luan, and the bottom is 1/4" exterior ply. Inside and out are saturated with epoxy, and then 6 oz glass cloth on the inside seams and the entire outside of the hull.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Is she structurally complete yet?


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

I made a folding chair and a "custom" 14'-0 Bamboo push pole to go with my 5'-0 paddle
























I am looking at those little 30 lb thrust Motor Guide wally world specials, plenty of thrust for this rig and only about 15-16 lbs.


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## JaredFacemyer (Jul 29, 2009)

Awesome little boat, do you know about how much it weighs?


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

I want to put an inwale like you see in this canoe, both for stiffness of the sides and to have a place to tie my stuff to, should I capsize (let's hope not!).  I am also going to coat the bottom with a couple coats of epoxy/ graphite mix to make the bottom both harder and slippery'er.  I have some two part polyurethane paint I am going to paint the rest of the boat with, since epoxy needs something to protect it from the sun.
I got to put it in the water to "test float" it, pretty stable, poles straight, spins around good, paddles fairly easy, (right at the limit of beam to paddle well). With just me and the chair for the test float, it floats in about 2".  I poled up to a very gradual sloping shoreline. When the bow ran aground, I stepped out, and the water barely covered my deck shoes, definitely below my ankle bone.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

I have a spring scale and I tied a strap around it, picked it up, and trying to read it myself and hold it up at the same time, it looks like around 42 lbs. Give or take a coupla due to difficulty of doing it myself and spring bounce. When the paint, and inwales are done I will try again with a little better methodology. I still expect she'll come in just under 50 lbs.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

very nice sir ,nice to see some wood going around..i assume your a Tampa resident??
                                    -anytide


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

I'm across the bay in St. Pete, the home of the "newly wed and nearly dead".


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

That's Schweet Right There !



Below is a test of my new and improved sig line LOL !


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## Canoeman (Jul 23, 2008)

That's my kind of boat. Looks great.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

wood is good   she's lookin' good !!


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Some shots of the Skiff in action, along with the pirogue. .  I think we are going to invest in a couple double ended paddles, for up wind work.  Of course that electric motor would be pretty nifty.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

They still nest together, almost.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Those are beautiful Capt!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I concur Captain, those hulls would move nicely with kayak paddles.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Look at my Paddle thread and let me know what you will go with ...

Dave


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## Capt Dan Medina (Apr 28, 2008)

those skiffs are sweet..... wish i had the time, talent, and space for a project like that!


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Just a little update on the "Lite", I got everything done except some paint on her, weighed it one more time with some help and a better system so I could get a true measurement.  "Lite" might not be the right name, 65lbs and it still needs that quart of paint.  Still, I see 12 ft. Kayaks that weigh more, and I can still pick it up fairly easily. I got the kayak paddles, 240 cm, aluminum shaft, 2.2 lbs, $44.00, Wally world online. The boat scoots along pretty good with the double paddle.  It ain't gonna win a race with a touring kayak, but it seems OK to me, and I am getting more comfy standing and poling in it. Just need to paint it and try to get slime on it. Maybe by next week.  
To give credit where it is due, this boat was the inspiration for mine.
















They show one being built at: www.unclejohns.com
There is a pretty good build thread on one at www.southernpaddler.com under the Pirogue section
It is a few inches longer than mine and the sides flair a bit more and it is about 4 inches wider.


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## buzzellc (Feb 1, 2010)

Capt

Did you make the chair and if so where did you find the plans?

By the way that is one or two sweet looking rides.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words, and yes the chairs were part of the project. They are removable, and the back folds down for another inch of height if you want to sit that way, or easy storage, also makes a good beach chair for those shore lunches or whatever. Plans were $5.00 at that Uncle John's .com site.  We made ours out of the left over cypress we bought for the rub rails and a small 4'-0 piece of 1x8 cypress I picked up while I was there. The 1x8 is for the seat bottom frame.








I made my son's chair according to the plan, but I made mine a bit wider, 'cause so am I.


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## buzzellc (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks Capt


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Painted up the bottom and sides, used some graphite on the bottom, and some two part stuff I had left over from another project. I'm going to varnish the insides for the UV protection.


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## hoser3 (Mar 24, 2008)

Man that's one cool skiff. It would look really cool with a 2hp 4stroke honda and a Yetty.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Yeah Man, and my birthday is just around the corner, I'll forward your post to my wife.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Setting up the skiff for the first fishing trip, still need to finish the inside but the weather isn't co-operating.  Also a pix of the simple wall rack I put together, both boats nest together on it and then the blue tarp to keep them out of the sun and weather


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## gnuraider (Nov 4, 2008)

beautiful work...if I had your patience and skill...maybe a little time, I just might be dangerous...but for now, I'm just a little jealous. nice work!

Now post some hero shots with some fish slime and maybe some spilled beer on the deck!
Dave


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Check out tie downs under the hood, I cut some nylon strap and put it under a fender bolt on each side. When not in use, just tuck back down under the hood
















The fishing trip was mostly that, fishing,  one itty bitty trout, although I did get slimed releasing him. The anchor system worked well.  The skiff has a small bowsprit and anchor roller, and with the swivel seat, by raising my legs, I can spin the seat 180 and cast across and down wind. The seat did not seem to raise the center of balance noticeably, and the few extra inches of height sure made it easier to get up and down.  On the pirogue, we put an anchor roller on the stern so he can cast in the same way, across and down wind. The kayak paddles had mixed reviews.  Much better for upwind propulsion, but the water dripping in our laps and water in the bilge leaves a lot to be desired. Down wind, we were able to use shallow angle strokes, but up wind digging in for more power, we got drenched.  For any one interested in the relative performance between the skiff and pirogue, the pirogue is considerably faster.  The son could put 100yds between us in 5 minutes.  I am 60 lbs heavier, I had a big cooler with 6 drinks, 4 bottles of water and 10 lbs of ice, and the boat itself weighs 25 lbs more, plus added wetted surface with the transom. No big surprise I guess. The electric motor option is looking better. Motor up wind, drift and fish down wind.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Looks good Cap'. Kayak paddles are always "drippy."
On a kayak you never notice because you're always wet anyhow.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

That is a cool little boat!  I love the simplicity of a pirogue with a transom.  Nothing will float shallower.  Your sheer looks great.  I see a lot of flats skiffs with flat sheers from transom to bow.  I understand why, but yours looks better, windage be danged.  Can you cast a fly rod while standing in it?  That is the gold standard test of stability.

That hull should plane.  I bet it could handle a little 4 to 5 HP motor with a tiller extension.  What do your plans say?  If they don't give specifics, the formula to figure out the max rating is in the "Safety Guidelines for Backyard Builders".  It won't be a cruise missile with a 5 HP motor, but it would extend your range a lot.  The formula may say more HP is possible than a 5 HP, but I bet the increase in weight would make anything above 5 HP too heavy for your transom unless you sat way forward...

...or maybe you don't want to mess with an outboard at all. 

Regardless of what you do, I am curious how you end up setting it up and using it.  I have a very similar plan in mind.

Nate


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Hello Nate, Thanks for the kind words. There are no plans for the skiff, I built the pirogue first and wanted something with a bit more stability so I kinda copied what I saw in the Bayou Skiff @ Uncle John's, but I used TLAR (that looks about right) The sides are straight, 11" wide. The stem angle is 45 degrees and when the two sides are pinched together, it causes the rocker on the bottom, equally, the shear on the top. Because the transom is wider, the rocker on the bottom aft, although still there, is considerably less, so I agree with you about the possibility of the skiff getting up on plane. 
I am not the most experienced fly rod fisherman, I have a lightweight wally world package rig I use dock light fishing, and have only caught trout and lady fish with it. I've stood up and poled the boat on the Ft. DeSoto flats and back in a small creek called Mud Bayou. Never any more than light chop. (I've only had it out 3 times so far) I would have to say, I was a lot more comfortable standing in it the third time, than the first. So, yea, I could flycast from it.
















I have a 55lb thrust Minn Kota 12 volt. I am going to shorten the shaft (ouch.., sounds painful) to fit the skiff's transom, and see how that goes. I wouldn't be surprised if it got 5 or 6 kts, it is an easily driven hull, I can get it going pretty good with just the kayak paddle.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Down wind mode
















and then the upwind mode








I also beefed up the transom with some divinycell and 1708 to tie the transom in the sides (1/4 luan) to spread the stress of a potential trolling motor








What do ya think Brett?  It ain't no Glass Slipper, but.....


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Looking good Captain! That transom ought to be fine for
either an electric trolling motor or a 2 hp air cooled Honda.

Ideal car topper, and inshore grass hopper... 


Leather or neoprene oar sleeves? :-?


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Kind words, good sir. I weighed the motor and battery, just add 100 lbs.or so. I built this boat for no motor/ no combustion zones. and I keep trying to make it do more and more, but it is only a skinny little canoe. I have the 55lb thrust Minn Kota ready to be cut down and put on the boat, and battery mounting systems ready to be installed. Wait a minute,..... maybe I should build a different boat for all the other things I have in mind. Every boat is a compromise, after all.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Honda 2 hp...27 lbs, no heavy battery

55lb thrust Minn kota...24 lbs and a heavy battery


hmmmmm, kinda makes you wonder, eh?


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

yeah, I haven't "sunk the boat" counting the buckets, but those poundages are getting close to safe load limits. But there are those no combustion zones, hence, no outboards. Both have their benefits.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

Thank you sir, nice comments. I thought at least 10 hrs. to every hour I worked, still I didn't come up with the "perfect" boat, but I like it so far. But, you have neglected the SAIL option. That is coming, that is for sure. Drift, paddle, row, motor, sail, what else is there? Let's do it! Osmosis, solar, perpetual power. Bring it....! Oh yea, I forgot peddle power.


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

BTW, rubber oar sleeves, I have some leather, but didn't want to poke holes in the oars with copper tacks, although if it comes to that, I won't hesitate to make it "traditional", Leather with leather buttons.


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