Pipefitter

What boat is that for? On power boats,nearly everything now is drive on. I wont be driving my boat on the trailer. Just dont like doing it nor do I care for the washout at the bottom of the ramps we get our trailer wheels hung on now when launching/retrieving. Thats a nice trailer for sure and looks similar to the way mine is set up. I just dont have the uprights nor in my case do I think I will need them. I have built 2 jack perches on mine to lift the boat off the wet carpeted bunks which enables them to be rinsed off and to dry out between uses.

I have to admit it seeming odd to see it on it's trailer. Seems in a way to mask it's beginning,bringing it to the place of other boats sitting on theirs. I guess in a way, I procrastinated bringing it to that point. Like a baby from it's mother so to speak and now expected to act as a grownup once pushed from it's nest. These all things I never expected to give 2nd thought about when I started this whole quest.Seemed so much more simple and detached of any emotional consideration. Then one has to stop and think of all the other non boat related thoughts that occurred throughout the build. Passing of loved ones,acquisition of yet others. If all that was taken into consideration,it helps to bring the values of such things to priceless.Moreso now I realize, I have built a boat of me more than for me. I suppose that will be one of the very inclinations it takes to keep it looking as it does now. The back yard sure looks different now. Like there is room for another.

Today I put my boat on it's trailer. Sun is hitting it where it hasn't touched before and this marks the end of a long drawn out dream and on to the creation of many more. After taking the cradle apart and leveling the ground and giving it a wetting like it hasn't seen in 3 years I have come across all the tiny bits and pieces of parts and sub parts of it's construction. I found pine,spruce,doug-fir, PT pine,DF marine ply,Honduras mahogany and the 1088 meranti ply scraps. The pine,DF both solid and ply and the spruce were all devoured into nearly paper by the termites and the meranti,mahogany and the PT pine were untouched. I wish I had a camera to show what the extreme differences are. Also,the pieces left off of the ground but out from the shelter of the tent were in best condition in the order of, #1 would be the PT pine,a tie for 2nd with the mahogany solid and the meranti ply with the meranti discolored less but the grains checked about the same. The DF ply is pretty much unrecognizeable as are the pine solids and the DF solids only being slightly less so.The spruce crumbles in hand. The 1088 meranti had not delaminated even at it's edges and is still as flat as new and the same thickness as pieces stored indoors. The epoxied bits are as sound as the day they were coated. I know this is trivial at best but just thought it interesting to see the extreme differences with such an uncontrolled,unintentional test. Left for nature to decide on it's own.

Nice photos and gotta love that boat. I still like the looks of the dodger on there.They did a nice job on that to make it fit that boat's looks. Still doubt I would trade scenery though. I had enough mountains when living in CO. Also glad to see you get to use the boat often. Interior is very neat as well.

Looks great. You've been rather busy there.Glad to see it coming along.

I gashed the back of my thumb with a utility knife while cutting drywall. Electrical tape and paper towels weren't working so we went and bought curved mattress needles and dental floss and sewed it up on spot with a soak in peroxide/water.It didnt hurt to stitch it but the string being pulled through it was rather crude feeling. Went to the doc two days later and he said I had done a fine job and gave me a tetanus shot. He left the stitches in.

I emailed the museum in Cortez. Seems that they are feeling the developmental destruction of the waterfront there in that sleepy town as well. I did find or will find out more about the Florida boats with a visit to the museum soon. "Hi Paul, Is there any chance you could get down here for a visit? We have some information about traditional Florida watercraft including Spritsail Skiffs, flat iron skiffs, Sharpies in a variety of lengths, Key West Smackies, and Bahamas style round bottom boats of the sort that were used on the Gulf Coast up until the 20's. I think you'd find the shop to be an interesting place, too. I couldn't agree with you more about the destruction of the waterfront. We're in a pitched battle to try to stop that from happening here and it is a real fight. There's so much that's already gone. If you can come down on Saturdays Bob Pitt is here and can talk to with you about local boats. If you can make it on a Monday through Friday I'm here to do the same. Roger " They seem like nice folks and the reply was prompt.I will head down there when my skiff is done and do some fishing while I am at it.

Nothing wrong with doing things like that. I can't even begin to tell all the field joints I dressed with the milwaukee 9" on large steel pipe to be welded. My forearms should be the size of my legs although not being the case, that 9" made them feel like it at times. I'm sure somehow, that your scarfs turn out fine as I doubt you would bother with the method if they didn't. Some people have that favorite "do all" tool and mine happens to be, in my trade, the milwaukee sawzall. The cubs are pretty amazed I can weild that rascal with one hand while steadying the pipe with the other or cut a perfect cope or scarf on pipe with one. Would I try your seemingly crude method for scarfing plywood? Heck yeah. The stripes left from the contrasting plies are a good indicator of squarness. Surely it has to be better than fussing around with all those hat trick jigs and the tools needed to work them. Especially if you are trying to make a living at it. Thanks for showing that.

How great is that? Something addicting about the changes a boat being built takes on. Bet you are glad to be at this point. Good luck with the rest of the build and please post more pictures

I saw the glades skiff and it looks to be a balancing act with the push pole always keeping one's self right by keeping the pole on or near the bottom. Like narrow pirogue maybe. I thought the blue boat in the above picture looked rather nice in it's own way. I know of the mullet skiffs here,the powered tunnel hull ones with the outboard up towards the front but I cant even find pictures of those online. Just hard to believe with this much water and maritime history as this place should have ,that the information be so limited. Is like with the influx of the transplanted fellow countrymen and the ways things have changed here so quickly, that not only are the old Florida crackers rare but it seems like the history went with them. I would like to build Florida boats for Florida. Louisiana has it's pirogue and Lafitte skiffs ( dredge shrimpers are in common with here),Carolinas have several speacialty boats as does the rest of the eastern seaboard but surely,Florida must have their share. Sofar,I have found only airboats and information to pre cracker history with the Spanish ships.

I was at the Cortez(gulf coast) boat show briefly...met oyster but didnt get a chance to see the museum.There was pole skiffs where I grew up and some we found abandoned that we would "fix" up and use them for fishing in Lemon Bay. Me and a buddy poled one 11 miles one night with the tide and 11 miles back with the opposite. Grass flats lined either side of the intracoastal and you could continuously catch trout all the way down and back. I just don't recall any real specialized boats over the net skiffs and never paid much mind to the sail boats. Maybe I'll give the guy at the museum an email and see if he can help me out.

I have been searching thru many pages of google looking for traditional florida skiffs,boats,boat building,net skiffs,you name it. Florida maritime history amongst many other terms I could affix. I came across this picture from the keys. Is this a Florida boat? A type of sharpie? I found an everglades poling skiff which looks to be a cross between a canoe and a pirogue but surely there has to be others. Does anyone here know of any links or other information?

The Ninigret at the atkin's site is kind of panga like and I wonder how it would work as a center console. Would look sweet in glued lap. http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Oar/Ninigret.html

It took me over 3 yrs to build the Simmons. One year off to replace stolen tools,2 busy hurricane seasons and waiting to save enough $ to get as much material as I could get shipped at one time. The small boats look great as well. Great pictures . Kids are so cool at that age,aren't they? Cool hat!

Beautiful boat. How long did it take to build? I am new to this forum so I don't know the history of many forumite's boats and documented builds.

Now thats cool as can be. I never thought my menial rant would bring out such great pictures. That looks like alot of work. That is basically the same principal of the laminate bow I saw Billy do years ago.I wish he could see these pictures. I could probably get 2-3 hrs discussion and a bunch of sketches out of him over this thread. Thanks alot Oyster. That opens a whole new book here. Food for thought for awhile to be sure. Does this method of planking allow for less or a different kind of framing? Such as longitudal framing over traditional side to side sawn frames? Almost looks like one could make a boat's version of a unibody or would that be unihull?

Robb White's articles http://www.robbwhite.com/ is what got me ranting about FL. His version of Atkin's "Rescue Minor" is interesting and some good FL related events and stories. I know people like that!

The only toes that got wet was when the excessive ballast had to get out and move us off the sand bar whilst raising the waterline 2". Don't tell him I said that. The 20 ft'r is a stave planked hull as well? I am confused here. How many boats do you have built that way? Aren't you doing another one with a round stern?

The top pictures of the staved boat is more like what I was referring to in relation to the direction of the strips, but the front section was built off of the boat and then plugged in. Still looks quite similar and thanks Oyster, for posting those pictures on here. The more I look at that boat,the more I like it. Is that going to be a dry sailed boat?

LOL....I always tell folks from up that ways that if we were meant to live there,we woulda been born with more fur than what we have. Or,yeah,my body temp is 98.6...ofcourse I get cold when it gets down to 60. Humidity: Hmmmmm...our bodies are made up of how much water? I went to Colorado for a couple years and my fingers cracked and split to where corn huskers lotion wouldn't phase it. Sure made for an interesting dance when plunging my hands into a pouch full of drywall screws. I know it's inevitable. The world is growing and they gotta go somewhere. But dang,leave north where north is and live like south when one moves that way.I PROMISE I will do the same. Would you believe that someone in the Spielberg mansion over by Ft Desoto, that took over our once desolate fishing hole and shoreline tried to have us run off? We had waded there from afar and they even called the cops and told we were tresspassing. I had to remind the officer that anywhere the tide touched was public right of way and he in turn had to inform them we were correct. I'm sorry your dock is in my water sir but I am not moving from this spot. They just ASSumed that the world belonged to them. I am not saying it is any certain group of people for I have roots allover this country. I like the yanks alright and could even scratch some good of their ways on their turf. It's just the one's who don't take time to consider how permanent these changes are and not for the better and that how I live isn't so wrong. There's places here..."DEED RESTRICTED" communities that actually meaure one's grass and sends a note if it exceeds 3"? Any dummy knows that you don't cut Bahia grass less then 3"! LOL...and I"M the uneducated one!

Dang. I'm just tickled that I am not the only one ranting.It's good to sprinkle a little pepper on such boat related topics. Your staved boat pictures, where it shows you fairing the hull with that big grinder is what reminded me of seeing that before and where. I am just ranting to make sure I don't forget where I came from anytime soon, like I had started to,wondering why I prefer to stay home more than not. I'm not crazy,I have seen good boats built like that. I also remember seeing them around and being worked for a very long time through a couple of owners atleast. I wish it was happening as much as it was then. Maybe I took it forgranted just a little but I do feel the "progress squeeze" here. My back yard is a little unruly but I have an owl that stops by and hangs out some nights, a raccoon that sat on my boat while I was working on it late,all for some fresh water and a little cat food. I call it "xeriscaped" gardening because it is the native plants that survive the droughts while others tend to water 2x/week(more if there wasn't water restrictions). Did you know that some folks pay big $ to have their yards xeriscaped? Somehow,I am thinking I have quite the inside joke going on with them because my humble house came with it. The front yard is conformist but the back?,that's my little piece of Florida and I wouldn't change it for the world. This thread may be a little twisted from directly related to boats but there wasn't much happening anyways and I am glad I got to hear from you "old timers", so atleast you know that this lad hasn't forgotten what was better. This is exactly why I am enthusiastic to see some of these "alternate" ways of doing things and why I don't find them crazy(heck,I have quite a few of my own) or odd. When I do get to see it? I remember and you wont see me thinking twice about using these ways when needed. And Oyster? You keep right on doing it(like anyone could tell you not to) that way. I saw how fair that hull was with just the disc grinder on the staved boat.I can imagine you have worn a couple of those out in your time. Really good stuff. And just to warn y'all up there in NC,I hear all the ones that are doing it here, talking about buying property up there, to "get away" from it all here. Guess I am too late?

They had indeed accomplished this without power tools way back when but this was in the 70's and he did still have his adzes and chisels,scorps and what not. He adapted to the chainsaw and was quite handy with it and not the kind they carve with. Using the rounded tip if the saw to start his hollow. He got this to within a strong 1/8th" above the rest of the hull. He was able to sculpt this piece without having to work under the boat or to have to flip the hull being the piece was small enough to move where he needed it. His flare was alot less crude than the photos you depict but the idea was the same. This section of the boat did not stay wet when docked and only really saw water when it was choppy or rough plus it was covered in glass sheathing. This from a home schooled (was raised in and about his fathers machine shop) machinist that was barefoot more than not,was born in his house and never made it past grade 6. No blueprints,half models or anything else. He would draw graph paper with 1" squares and plot his design on that. In a minute,he could tell you proportions of what made either a good displacement or planing hull. He also made some of the prettiest nylon string cast nets that were dipped in green gard shrimp boat paint and could toss a 12ft net, waist deep in water that would *snaaap* into the prettiest 24ft circle you ever saw. I have yet to see anyone throw a net like this since. This was the man that pointed out to me many years ago that only a fool could starve in Florida and how to make it with next to no income and eat much better than one can from any grocery store and we did just that. Now what isn't off limits is polluted and not from these "crackers" exploits. They pretty much just took what they needed to survive. When it got to the point that Florida was ruined beyond all return,he packed up his family and moved to the hills of north Georgia and last talking to him, he was missing the life here on the water with me telling him of the skiff I was building until reminded what it is like here now. The most frustrating thing is to hear all these newcomers spout history of the place like they invented it or something. The transplanted tourist have changed all of these charming, little, out of the way places into a likeness of the freak show(I dont go there anymore either) in the keys. Now it is I, that has to sneak off fishing in the middle of the work week to avoid the madness and inconsideration on the water these days. I guess maybe a couple more stout hurricane seasons will be the only thing that may thin this place out a bit of homes and highrises built on the waterfront and the willingness of transplants wanting to chance a life here without considerations of their environment. Thanks for the reply and the pictures,Oyster. Sorry about the redundant rant of things I can't change. Just remembering where I came from.

I was reading Rob White's web page in reference to the bow skiff and it's construction. How the flare was constructed of thicker planking and then shaped into a flare foreward bow section. I hadn't really thought of this but there was a man in Englewood,FL. that had adapted this or a similar method to his mullet net skiffs. I remember him saying how boats were built sometimes with slab cypress and the bow was made seperately and attached to the hull. Not sure if this is the same method as what Robb White suggests. He built this one mother of all net skiffs which is the boat that actually peaked my interest to wood boats and or composite construction or that I could build one. The major portions of this hull was built with sawn frames of long leaf pine and DF marine plywood and fastened with bronze nails. The front flare of the hull bottom from the chine down started out as a huge laminate of wood strips placed vertically. He then shaped the rough flare with a chainsaw! Then it was mated to the rest of the hull and then faired with a disc grinder to the existing ply structure. The whole exterior of the hull was then glassed as one but with polyester resin. Under the glass,it looked as if each of those strips had been bent into that shape. Has anyone ever seen this kind of construction? I last saw this skiff with a for sale sign out in front of someone's house and by then it was over 20 yrs old. Still looked good.It felt rather odd to see a boat that many years later that I had touched when it was built. I know Oyster was doing something similar to this shaping on his stave planked boat and that was one of the closest I have seen to this method and then just happened on the Robb White article and it made me remember that transition from plywood to the laminate. I sure miss old Florida. Edited to add: Now I remember how it was fastened to the hull. There was a rabbet made into the laminate the depth of the plywood planking of the rest of the hull bottom creating a flange. It was then glued and bronze ring tailed about every 2-3" and it brought the ply planking in shape with this flare. This is what made the transition so noteable before it was covered with paint.

Nice pictures,looks like fun. How would dove have been like on the same kind of day?

Point taken about the core issues as well. I didn't have bending issues with the ply I purchased but I remember at one point before buying it and researching feedback to the different brands/types, I had read where some said meranti bent funny. Maybe this isn't even an issue on a fair curved lapstrake boat with next to no twist or compound twisting of a panel and being the wood was used 7" wide rips instead of trying to torture a wide piece on a slab sided hull.