We have designed a small forward deck to provide stowage for gear and a short after deck as well. Though intended for rowing, there is a good possibility that this skiff will be converted to sail someday and the decks will add required strength to support the mast and sail, as well as rigidity to the hull structure. Once the thwarts are installed, the spreaders you can see in the forward half of the boat will be removed, with the thwarts maintaining the hull’s shape.
The original skiff design called for sides made of a single cypress board each, which would have required boards 16 inches wide per side. Boards of that dimension would be very hard to come by today. A builder who wanted a boat of solid lumber could piece together smaller boards, but for the sake of simplicity and economy (this boat is to be donated to a rowing club for kids) we used plywood. The substitution of material has not degraded the simple elegant lines of this classic craft. Stay tuned for further developments!
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