BKDA - Salt Bay Skiff

These are some questions and answers taken from e-mail correspondence with builders. Please read if you have a question yourself, and if it isn't here, please ask! It'll be posted here for the use of all builders.

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Q: I am interested in purchasing a set of plans for the Salt Bay Skiff. How might I acquire these?

A: Plans (6 sheets including full-size patterns), building and sailing instructions, and email support as needed are $50 by check to:

Bruce King Design Associates, LLC
171 Mills Road
Newcastle, ME 04553

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Q: Is lofting required to build the boat?

A: No lofting is necessary. There are 6 sheets of drawings, which include full-size patterns or half-patterns for most of the parts, and complete dimensions for the rest. The hull shape comes from making the parts reasonably accurately, and careful assembly. It won't hurt if things are a hair off here & there -- even professionally-built boats almost always are.

Actually, lofting is nothing that should intimidate a builder with a couple of boats under his or her belt; in fact it's fun and it lets you figure out the boat before cutting up that expensive wood. But for the first-time builder it's probably best avoided.

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Q: I noticed an estimate of the skiff's capacity as about 300 lbs. As I weigh 225 and my wife 145, it might be wise to build something a bit larger.

A: Actually, that 300 lbs snuck into the article by mistake. It's not her capacity at all, but just the design loading I used: a sort of target weight for making the various design compromises like sail area and wetted surface. I've had about 400 lbs in her (two adults and a child) without a problem, and I'd regard anywhere from 100 to 500 as normal. Having said that, it's less about the weight she can carry than about space for all the arms and legs. She's a small boat. That makes her easy to manage and maintain, but there are advantages to a bigger boat, too.

Every boat design is a compromise. I'm 6' tall and 200 lbs, and at 61 I'm not as flexible as I once was. I wanted a boat I could sprawl comfortably in with my ten-year-old daughter, but that I could still put on top of the car by myself and save the hassle of a trailer. Although it's fun to sail fast, I've outgrown the urge to really go hell-for-leather if it means work, so I wanted a lively but well-mannered boat for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. And I wanted a pretty boat. The Salt Bay Skiff does those things very well, but she's not for everybody any more than any other boat is. Only you can decide what's right for you. Before the expense and effort of building, I would check out all the boats I could (hint: people love to show off their boats).

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Q: Do you think a 1/4" ply bottom is sufficient or should I go with the 3/8"?

A: Depends on how the boat will be used. If light weight (easier cartopping and rowing) is worth taking a little extra care with the boat, or if you're going to fiberglass the bottom, 1/4" marine ply will be fine. If she's going to be handled roughly, beached, etc., fiberglass or go with the 3/8". I can get a boat with a 3/8" bottom on my Subaru OK, and I really recommend 3/8" generally. The cost difference is negligible. If you're going to use 1/4" for the bottom, though, it must be 5-ply marine ply. I tried 1/4" lumberyard stuff and it didn't work.

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Q: Should I fiberglass the outside?

A: Fiberglassing is optional; I don't do it and it's not in the plans or instructions. It makes for a tougher bottom if the boat will see hard use (gravel beaches, etc) but otherwise isn't necessary. I do recommend rolling a couple of coats of WEST epoxy on under the paint, to seal her and make a tough base for the paint. These days I'm also recommending using marine plywood or fiberglassing -- I used cheap ply for the first boat and used more epoxy $$$ sealing it up than I saved on the ply.

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Q: I notice there is no butt strip for the bottom front pieces length wise. I assume that is the way it is supposed to be?

A: That's correct. The keel on the outside of the hull does double duty as a butt strap for that joint.

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Q: I'm worried that the bottom panel I cut out won't be big enough. It was a very tight cut between the bottom and the two forward pieces.

A: In the latest plans I suggest cutting the bottom 1/4" large where you can, so there'll be a little room to maneuver it around and find a fit. But there's already about 1/8" overhang allowed for, all around the bottom, so you're probably fine. Even if there's a little bite out of the corner, it's no big deal as long as the bottom ovelaps the chine pieces at least 1/2" or even 3/8". Fill the missing corner with epoxy/wood dust and coat over it and it'll be fine.

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Q: My first thought was to go with the 9 mm Okoume for the bottom but after thinking about the rocky shores she is likely to encounter, I bought 6 mm with the intent of fiberglassing. Do you have a suggestion on cloth weight?

A: I would use 6-ounce cloth and epoxy. I definitely wouldn't go any lighter than that. I might use 10-oz cloth if I wanted a really tough boat. I would find a way to line up the forward bottom panels, and fiberglass before putting the keel on. Put a good radius -- say 1/2" radius -- on the bottom edges (top with the boat upside-down, that is) of the chine but leave the top edges square. Mask off the topsides thoroughly, and tape the masking paper up inside around the gunwale such that you can tape the dry edges of the glass down to it and have it resist a little upward pull. Put a single thin coat of resin on with a roller per the WEST instructions, let it kick off, and sand off any snags with 40-grit. Then you can take your time getting the cloth draped just right and taped down and apply the resin right on top; it'll soak through that open cloth just fine. Leave a good width of extra cloth all around so you can tape it where no resin will be, and just wet it as far as that square top chine corner. You may get it to drape OK without the tape, but it's nice to be able to pull a wrinkle out here & there. You'll probably have to adjust the dry drape a little as it wets, but it'll start you off knowing where you are. Then after the resin kicks off you can trim off the excess and round over the chine and fiberglass together. Fiberglass dulls router bits quickly, even carbide ones -- you can do it that way, but the best is to catch the resin when it's solid but not hard, and plane it round. If all else fails, a belt sander will do it, and I'd leave the masking on to warn me I'm getting the side of the sander too close to the hull side. Better yet, temporarily tape on some aluminum flashing from the hardware store (but still be careful) -- yet another advantage of chine lines that start as a straight line!

If you want glass protection for the keel, I would do that as a separate tape (several layers) just on the bottom surface of the keel -- polyester wouldn't hold it, but epoxy will. I wouldn't try to wrap the cloth around the keel. Just ignore me if you're an old hand with this stuff and have your own tried & true methods -- this is just how I'd do it. But anyway, I'd think about a metal strip on the keel first.

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Q: We get extreme and unpredictable gusts, so I can assume that I'll flip at least a couple times each season. Could some sort of flotation be added without uglying up the design?

A: She's more stable than you might expect, so keep the sheet loose in your hand ready to run and you shouldn't have to do any more flipping than you want. Of course, being wood, she won't sink. But you mean something to float her high enough to help you get in & bail. There's a lot of volume in the ends that could be decked over. I think I would be inclined to add a bulkhead and a deck at each end rather than foam, with those plastic inspection ports that seal with an o-ring, for ventilation. Less weight and less likelihood of rot -- the inspection ports should be left open unless you're sailing. And you could keep dry clothes in there! If you crown the decks a bit it should look OK. The best looking would be to set the decks down inside the boat an inch and a half or so, parallel to the sheer line. But it would sure be temptingly easy to just fasten them down on top of the sheer.

However, doing this means extra weight and intrusion into the boat, and I wouldn't do it, myself.

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Q: I live in the Texas panhandle-- where can I purchase the hardware for the mast and sails? Also, from whom would I be able to order the sails?

A: I've been sailing with just the mainsail, which I already had, and I haven't wanted any more sail area yet. The mainsail is the sail from a Sabot or El Toro, which are pretty common and may be available surplus, online. Make sure you get the kind of luff (leading edge) you want -- I initially drew a sail with a boltrope in a slot (mine has a stretchy boltrope, but any kind should work), but cutting the keyhole slot in the yard is troublesome, so the sailplan now shows a lacing. For that you need a sail with grommets in the luff , usually put in for slides or slugs, which you can cut off if the sail has them. I don't think you'd want a sleeved luff, unless you meant to make a full-height mast instead of the short mast and yard. Then you'd put the mast in the sleeve and raise it all together, slightly ticklish in a breeze but otherwise a very simple rig -- I'm a little disgruntled with the complexity of the gunter but still prefer it. With the sleeve, you could remove sail quickly by brailing the sail against the mast, at the expense of having more windage to row upwind.

If you don't want to go the surplus sail route, Duckworks Boatbuilders Supply (online) claims to be able to supply sails for $4 a square foot (2007). Duckworks also has grommet kits if you get a sail without the luff holes. For that matter, any sailmaker should be able to quote you to the penny on an El Toro sail with no battens (silly to fuss with battens when there are easier ways to get the extra area). I've seen prices around $300. Another option is a Sabot/El Toro sail kit from Sailrite. This is little stuff and light cloth; you should be able to sew it with any home sewing machine, but I would talk to Sailrite before ordering.

Hardware -- Duckworks BBS, Hamilton Marine, Defender Industries, and West Marine are all reliable online sources, and there are many others.

Ingenuity is the watchword when rigging little boats like this, and there's usually a way to make anything work.

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Q: Did you buy the sail? I don't see plans or an outline for one. What about Tyvek?

A: There is a Sail Plan, of course, but it doesn't detail reinforcing patches, battens, etc. -- it assumes a knowledgeable Sailmaker. I haven't tried Tyvek or white tarps for sails. For myself, a well-built sail for a boat like this is good for a lifetime with reasonable care; I think it's worth the money for a "real" sail. The one I use in the magazine articles, I bought used in about 1975 for around $30; it's been on three different boats now.

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Q: Should I invest in a band saw or is my fairly new Bosch jigsaw going to handle the situation?

A: You definitely don't need a band saw (sorry!) -- a jigsaw will do the job. The Bosch is a wonderful tool -- I've had one for 20 years of hard use and it's almost broken in now. A table saw would be a better investment than a band saw, if you don't have one already. The contractor's type on legs is more than adequate for this boat and the others you'll want to build when you finish this one (it's an addictive hobby). I would avoid the direct-drive tabletop types that are so common now, though.

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Q: When I shared the plans with a friend who's been making sailboats and kayaks for some time, he made a suggestion that I prefinish the flat parts with two coats of epoxy after they've been butt jointed and strapped, but before assembling them onto the frames. His reasoning was that gravity is a wonderful thing except when it works on vertical surfaces that have recently been coated with paint or epoxy. He put money on my ability to have sags and runs if I had to coat these surfaces after the boat was completely assembled. So much for his opinion of my skills. What would you counsel in the way of pre-finishing?

A: Your friend is a wise man. Just be sure you wash any places that will be glued, to get off any amine blush, which is often left behind on epoxy-coated parts, and scuff those areas well with 80-grit sandpaper. I use plain water and a scrub brush to get the amine off. But for me, the key to avoiding sags in epoxy is to use the thin rollers that are part of the WEST system. The material goes on nice & thin & even and you more than make up the cost of the rollers, in saved epoxy.

For gluing, I like the two-step process that the Gougeons recommend for WEST epoxy on bare wood: roll on a light coat of thin epoxy on both surfaces, and while that's still wet, thicken some epoxy with silica and add it to one surface, then assemble. The thin layer soaks into the wood, and the thick stuff blends with it but refuses to soak out of the joint. On precoated parts, you'd just use the thickened stuff, after washing and scuffing. I don't precoat because I'm not convinced it will glue as well to the precoated surface as that two-step process does to the bare surface. But I don't really have any evidence one way or the other, and a lot of people do precoat, so it's probably fine. You could do some small tests on scraps while you wait for the weather, and see what you think.

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Q:This morning we attached the midships frame, the transom, and the stem to the port side of the boat. I'm curious about the next steps-- what is the advantage to joining the stem and transom to the starboard side before joining the midships frame? Or is that all supposed to occur at the same time? And what's the advantages to dry fitting the forward frame before starting to join stem/transom/midships?

A: You could do all that at the same time, I think. The key is that the sides need to be free to form a fair curve around all the frames to the stem and transom. Gluing in the midships frame first doesn't interfere with that, but if you were to glue in the forward frame also, let it set, and then come back and try to pull the sides in to the stem, you'd get an ugly wave at the forward frame.

Joining the stem and transom to one side first just gives you less separate pieces to juggle at once. Putting in the forward frame lightly fastened while you glue the stem ensures that the frame will hold the sides out to the proper curve, but not interfere with the way that curve flows, while the stem glue dries. Plus it takes some fussing to get all the pieces in, and fussing with gluey pieces can be messy! When you come back later to pop out and glue in the forward frame, you only have to deal with the frame and the assembled sides. But there is certainly no one right or best way to build this boat. The building instructions are only one way that has worked for me, and I hope builders will find them useful but not follow them when they don't feel right.

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Q: While awaiting the plans arrival, I want to order the epoxy. Can you recommend MAS epoxy products? Do you use silica in all of the wood to wood bonding? Where do you get your copper nails and stainless screws? Pintels and gudgens, etc.

A: I haven't worked with MAS so I can't say -- I like WEST so well and I'm so used to it that I haven't felt the need to experiment. MAS has a good reputation, I believe. When I'm doing the job right, I roll on a thin coat on each piece and then while that's still wet, a coat on one side thickened with silica to about mayonnaise consistency or thinner. The first coat sinks in and gets a good grab, and the thickened layer fills gaps and keeps the joint from starving because it doesn't soak away. All this is spelled out in the WEST book and instructions, which are good advice whatever epoxy you're using. And I think you'll need a third quart if you're going to epoxy coat under the paint, which is a good thing to do.

My local hardware store has the stainless steel screws -- the little ones in boxes of a hundred, and the larger stainless steel deck screws, like exterior drywall screws -- and the copper tacks. The brass nails are "escutcheon pins" also from the hardware store. All that stuff is "or reasonable equivalent" -- as long as the length is right and it won't rust. Avoid the coated steel exterior deck screws, though -- they will rust.

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Q: I would like to know if pressure treated yellow pine would be ok for frames or gunnel & chine logs. I have some 1x4 in this material.

A: Southern Yellow Pine is good stuff generally, but I wouldn't use pressure treated wood for two reasons, at least not without researching thoroughly.

1. The gunnel and chine are laminated, which involves ripping them into strips on a tablesaw, bending and gluing. Lots of sawdust, and pressure treated sawdust is pretty toxic stuff to have around, I believe. I try to avoid ever sawing it at all.

2. There's a question about glue holding on pressure treated wood.

I've read that the lumber processors are making improvements on both these issues, but personally, I'd still avoid it for this, I think. Especially if you can't check when & by whom your wood was treated.

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Q: I notice you only use one chine log mounted outside the hull and the same for the gunnels, is it ok to add one inside besides adding a little weight is there any reason not to do this.

A: You could add a gunnel inside the hull (that would be an "inwale") but I'm not sure why you'd want to, unless you expect the boat to be crushed often between two bigger boats, for example. As you say, it would add undesirable weight, which is very important to the liveliness of a little boat like this, and it would be more difficult. To avoid having to build a building jig, which would be WAY more complicated, the thing to do would be to laminate them into the partly assembled hull, but that means fitting the ends as well as the sides, and carefully notching the frames beforehand to receive them. And then the boat gets harder to clean out, which is one beauty of this system. If you're worried about the strength of the gunnel, add another layer outside. Adding an inside chine also seems pointless; no real strength would be added to the already strong plywood shape. Again, you could put the chine inside instead of out, but it would be a lot more complicated to do.

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Q: I am looking for a small sail/row boat I can build with my almost 9 year-old daughter. The Salt Bay Skiff looks just right except I would rather have a centerboard or dagger-board. What would be the correct placement and shape?

A: I would put a daggerboard just forward of the midship thwart, assuming you use the rig as it's drawn. I'd glue in the thwart instead of having it removable as it is now, and use it to support the top of the trunk. But I like the openness and simplicity of the boat as she is; I would suggest trying her as designed, and adding the centerboard trunk later if you really must. A centerboard trunk also generates a surprising amount of drag; you might make up the difference with better sailing performance, but she won't be as good a rowing boat.

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Q: Would it be possible or acceptable to mount a small outboard on it, electric or gas, as this would be my first sail boat and I would like to make sure that I can get back and don't know how well the rowing will go.

A: You could put an electric trolling motor or similar-sized outboard on her I guess, although she's not very well adapted for it, really. My very strong recommendation would be to row first, until you're comfortable with that. It's a skill like riding a bike, a little confusing at first, but there's nothing inherently difficult about it -- you swing the oars forward, dip them in, pull, raise 'em out and swing 'em forward again. That's it, the rest is just practicing those four motions over and over until they're smooth & automatic, like learning to walk. Anybody can do it. This boat does row very well. Pick a calm day on a lake, and just crash around until you start to get it. If there's any slight breeze, it should be blowing toward shore, so you don't get blown away. Once you learn, it's very enjoyable, it's a great thing to be able to do, and a pair of oars is more reliable than an outboard, and much more powerful than any outboard you could put on this boat. Meanwhile, you'll be getting used to the boat a bit, so sailing will be less of a leap.

But do spend the money or the time to get a good pair of 7' oars. If you try to use some second-best substitute, you'll inevitably wind up thinking you can't do it, when it's really only your oars that don't know how. Beginners are the folks who need the best tools!

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Q: How do you get the length required for the sides of the boat? How deep is the boat? Excuse my ignorance-what exactly are spars. I assume that they are the mast and the piece that is horizontal to the mast? Can you tell I have never sailed?

A: The 12' length is had by butting 2 pieces of plywood end-to-end, with an overlapping piece called a butt strap, glued on. By deep I assume you mean depth of water. About 4" in rowing mode, about 18" sailing. Although it's possible to sail with about an 8" depth, just not as well.

The spars are indeed the various sticks that control the sail. The mast, boom (horizontal), and yard (goes alongside the mast to extend its height) are all solid and easily made. Yes, I guessed you haven't sailed much. Nothing wrong with inexperience -- we're all liberally supplied with it! You'll want to start with a few calm days' practice, and some coaching. Once you start to get used to it, there's nothing so magically soul-satisfying as harnessing and balancing the forces of wind & water to make a small boat come alive and carry you where you want to go.

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Q: I've got the sides, frames, stem and transom assembled, and I'm ready to put on the bottom. But it looks as if the bottom butt strap lands right where the forward frame is, and interferes with it. Won't the bottom bulge up away from the sides where the butt strap hits the frame?

A: This detail doesn't show up well in magazine-size photos, but it's shown in the plans and noted in the building instructions that come with them. The forward frame is unlike the midships frame in that it sits up on the bottom butt strap, and therefore doesn't line up to the corner of the side panel, but slightly above it (below with the boat upside-down, of course). This makes a more solid and self-draining landing for the mast. You should use a scrap of ply the same thickness as the bottom butt strap as a spacer when lining up the frame to the corner of the side.

If by chance you've already assembled this wrong, it isn't a big deal to trim off the bottom of the frame with a router. With the boat (no bottom on yet) upside-down, lay two 3/4" boards across the bottom from chine to chine, with say a 2" gap between them, parallel to and centered over the frame. The router rests on these two boards with its bit hanging down through the gap between them, just deep enough to rout off the extra 1/4" or 3/8" from the frame bottom. You can just leave the frame that little bit narrower -- it'll be fine. This cut should be done by an experienced routerer, or ask for further guidance.