A Reader-Built Lumberyard Skiff

Edward Brsuh of Madison, Wisconsin, is the first reader to report  on his construciton of a Lumberyard Skiff. Congratulations to Edward, whose wins two boatbuilding books for this feat. He completed the skiff back in September. Here's a description, in his own words, and some photographs:

Hello-
Attached find digital images of a lumberyard skiff I constructed here
in Madison, Wisconsin for my girlfriend's brother Greg and his
children. It will live at their family's cottage in Twin Lakes,
Wisconsin.

It was made following the plans fairly close to the letter. I could
not find any decent 1x10's, so I glued up a 1x8 and a 1x12 to make the
sides (standard grade pine, a little knotty but solid). The bottom
boards are pine as well, since I could not locate any cedar I was
truly happy with. The gunwales are riveted on with copper nails and
roves, thanks to the article in Wooden Boat magazine about the
technique.
The rowing gear consists of oak thole pins wedged into walnut blocks,
secured to the boat with brass screws.
I deviated from the plans on three main points. First, I used a series
of sawn oak seat risers instead of the 1x8 pine seat risers. I did
this for economy, since I was out of pine but had a pile of short oak
1x4 offcuts that I'd never found a use for. I did not install the rear
trim with the sculling notch, since I want to run the rudder tiller as
low and close to the decks as possible. I also did not install the
trim to the sheer line, because I am lazy.

I also simplified the stem work at the bow, with the painter running
through a hole in the stem itself.

Over the coming weeks I am putting together a simple sailing rig for
it, with a standing lug of maybe 70 or 75 sq. ft., a rudder and a
pivoting leeboard.

The boat performs very nicely in the water so far, tracking straight
and rowing with little effort. Initially, it took on a bit of water,
but the pine did swell enough to seal the worst of it. It was in the
water for about four hours and had perhaps 3/4" of water standing on
the bottom. I've had aluminum boats with loose rivets that were much
worse.
Thank you very much for the plans and opportunity to build a
sharp-looking craft. Realizing that the plans were for personal use
and not intended for commercial purposes, I am willing to share the
compensation I recieved for the labor costs on the boat. This may be
difficult, though. I mean, the beer should be able to go parcel post,
but will a top sirloin fit into an envelope?

Edward Brush
Madison, Wisconsin

Comments

[Natalie Kornmeyer]

Hello Ed,

Your boat looks pretty sharp. I only wish that we could have been there for the first launch. By the way, I am glad to see that you still have a lazy streak. Doug says hi.
Nat

[Larry Weatherall]

One comment and one question:

Comment: I rough cut the inner stem with a hand saw in about an hour after drawing the lines. The finishing took about another hour with a small plane and spoke shave. Time WELL SPENT while watching it emerge from within the piece of wood in which it had been hidden....

QUESTION: Do the bottoms of the sides need to be planed "flat" to allow maximum contact for the bottom planks when they are attached or does the adhesive expand to fill the gaps? From what I can see, it looks like there is about a 19 degree angle at the transom and center that gradually goes to 0 at the bow.

Thanks in advance and I can't wait to see more detail on the sailing version!

[james berkland]

Hi, Ed. I'm in the middle of building the Lumberyard Skiff, Myself. The hull is upside down,complete. Hope to have Her finished in march. This is my first skiff, but I can tell, "It wouldn't be the last."I hope I can meet You and your boat this summer sometime. Your boat has been an inspiration to Me as I keep looking on the net,just about very day. I say,"Good job,Ed." Sincerely,Jim.

[Larry Weatherall]

Note to Ed Brush and/or Maynard: Do either of you have any info that you can share with the beginners (ME!) on the sailing rig and pivoting centerboard setup? I'm ready to start gluing up the sides this coming weekend (01/13 & 1/14) and would like to keep cutting wood while the epoxy is drying.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Larry Weatherall - VIrginia Beach, VA

[jimmie lee]

I have my skiff complete. She is ready for launch day. I hope to post a picture of the launch so all can see. This is my first boat project. I would like to build one with two berths and maybe 18 to20 feet in length and 6 1/2 to 7ft. beam. I'm looking foe some ideas, anyone?

[Victor Kelemen]

I have just started on my skiff and am just wondering if anyone else is starting one?

[ABfish]

I hope all of you guys that have finished your skiff will post pictures- they're a great motivator.

I'm about 1/3 finished with my skiff, working when time allows. I'm building mine out of cypress, as I had some rough lumber that I had sawn with a portable bandsaw mill. The cypress was cut for barn siding in 13 ft. lengths, so I had to scarf to get the 16 ft. required. I may add chine logs if I'm not comfortable with the screw-holding ability of the cypress.

I'm using PL Premium polyurethane glue for most of the project, based on comments in the Wooden Boat forum. So far, I'm really impressed with the stuff. A lot neater and faster than epoxy.

DB Broadwell

[John]

Ed, Nice looking boat. How much does the finished skiff weigh? Thx John

[David Adkins]

Well I started this project about 3 weeks ago and now it is being painted I used cypress for the whole boat since here in the south yellow pine is all I can find, but my local building supply had plenty of 1x6 16' that I glued up using gorilla glue and plenty of clamps I did not put munch of an upsweep on the stern since I am using a small outboard on it so I can fish the creeks up and down the river here(miles long and wide) will post pictures if I can figure out to do that.

[David McAdam]

I've just completed the lumberyard skiff here in Ireland with a group of teenagers in a training centre. Great project to undertake. The launch is tomorrow! I just have to figure out how to mount a small outboard on the back....thats the only downside of the design.

[Al]

Please keep us posted on how to add the motor. I want to do the same.

[victor kelemen]

Hi all,
I just took my LRS out for a sail and I'm very happy with the results. I have a dagger board, kickup rudder, fiberglass unstayed mast with a sock luff main with a snotter.
Now thats a mouth full, I'll have pics to show soon.

[abby]

david..contact me..i would love to hear about what your doing. :-)abx

[jimmie lee]

You are able to see my Lumberyard Skiff on, www.picturetrail.com/jimmylee1 enjoy!