Boat Plans Stitch And Glue | Whipray hull 2 but really 1 production skiff

Boat Plans Stitch And Glue

This is the first production Whipray hull # 2 built with the side console and the Yamaha that I asked for. Hull # 1 being the one that I built with the rough deck with the first hull out of the mold. This engine had no where near the power for hole shots and speed that the Mercury 25 had. Of all the Mercury engines the 25, 40 and 60 were the best. But! Sheesh could they be a pain in the butt to start at times. I always cringed when doing a test ride with them as it could sometimes take a bit to get one going. I have in my dighys always used Yamaha 15 two strokes which always start on the first pull. By the time I have around 3,000 plus hours on them I give to a friend and get a new one.
In this picture I am poling Rachel around in the new skiff with Flips push pole that has a natural wood crook in it for the foot.
I gave to Chris Petterson owner of HBBWs all the original photos of building the molds and skiff # 1
That was done in St. Augustine Florida under a simple plastic visqueen shed. It would be nice if he posts them some day on his site. More to come.....

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Boat Plans Skiff | Whats with all the fart signs

Boat Plans Skiff

Rachel and I last month went to Sweden to visit my mom. I dont know why but we just cant pass.... Up a good fart sign.

Not a fart sign, just wanted to show you we not all about fart jokes.

I think it means exit in Swedish, Danish 

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Boat Plans And Patterns | Shallow minded sailing

Boat Plans And Patterns

The past few days Lillian my daughter and I went out for a few days exploring with our sea dog Bequia on the Hogfish Maximus . The island that we live on is one of 18 in a small bay on the north coast of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. From our house we can see about half of these with the farthest one away being 7 miles. All have good anchorages in their lees depending on the wind direction. The best all weather anchorage being the landlocked harbor on Royal Island. The entrance to Royal Island has a small rock island almost in the third middle of the channel. The entrance for deep draft is to the west side of this rock. But when entering the east third looks so logical that lots of competent and lesser seaman think this is the way to go forgoing the pilot books and guides. Unfortunately just under the water in this part is a nice big shoal that has enough keel grooves in that the guest book it must have is in volumes. I love sailing in and out of here when the harbor is full of newbies at anchor on Hogfish Maximus she looks to have a deep draft which most times is drawing a bit over 7 with her board down. We know the bottom by heart so always go in and out the wrong way with all the crowd giving good advice as to the danger ahead via VHF radio . Reading old sailing yarns like Peter Pyes Moonrakers cruises , it is neat to know that he made the mistake and ran Moonraker up on this ledge too. I like diving along its length feeling the limestone ledge, with its multiple colored scrapes along it and think of old Moonraker here in the 40s stuck with no one to see her embarrassment.

I being a very cautious navigator have never run aground, but there has been multiple times when there has not been enough water to go where I am headed. This is only a temporary setback which we are used to being in the mode of calling out water depths in inches . An inch under our bottom is plenty but it can be slow going as the mass of displacement sucks the water away and we kind of inch worm along stopping and filling back in and going and sucking and stopping with a messing dusty underwater wake. This is not running aground its just not having enough water. When we do run out of water its really no big deal as the HFM just sits upright as solid as a concreat parking lot. With a 9 wide bottom you dont  lean her over you just climb down aft into the water hopefully with a Sandy bottom with only your shorts gettin wet. If in mud then its a bit deeper . My usual thing is to wade to the bow squatting  down with my back to the boat grabbing the chine with both hands behind me and lifting a bit. By lifting up just a couple of inches the boat rocks aft and with the added displacement of the stern sections an inch of draft is gotten and so with the 32,000 lb boat now floating I spin her around and push her back into deeper water, something like 28". This is why I say we never run aground. The times we are being inconvenienced by not having enough water to go when and where we want I just blame on the moon as not keeping in sync with us.

Dont ever follow us as we take a lot of short cuts . We have found that in a simple breeze pif the seas are not breaking a bit or the swell is not giving a slight hump then there is enough water for us to go. So on we press but only in daylight and not over coral reefs or steel ship wrecks.

When we are sailing with the daggerboard down fully the HFMs draws 710"s. We have hit many unmarked sunken boats in far off harbors when tacking into them. This usually stops us dead in our tack- tracks... But only for a moment as we quickly let go the floating daggerboard down line and up pops the board and away we go with one of us quickly cranking the board back down. Most times nobody notices us in our impromptu bottom surveying of this new harbor. 

When racing and cutting corners on shoals , cruising and thinking we can make it over some shoal the same drill happens with only a little less glass on the tip of the board, a shagrinned skipper and off we go. That is another reason why we never run aground.

Anchored off of Egg Island in 7 

Looks shallow but at least 7 here

Nothing like clear water

This is actually 4 of water.

Our friends the Underwoods summer camp house on Egg Island

When the tide goes out we would be on the bottom. No big deal if the wind stays this way. If not when the water comes back we would have about a half an hour of bumping before lift off. This we have done with both Hogfishes at least a thousand times. These boats were designed and built for this.

One of many small islands in our bay. Water is 3 deep here now . As they say in the Bahamas  

  " We have lots of water here, its just spread out very thin."

Beach coaming treasure ! A free cleat from a wreck.

It sure is nice having a shoal draft vessel but if your draws a bit more then you will be anchored out a bit farther than us. The fun difference between keel and non keel boats is that when you run aground you are aground, no lifting your skirts and moving on. Sorry

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Boat Plans Nz | Thomass Hayes new Flats skiff build

Boat Plans Nz

Thomas Hayes is a fourth generation boat builder from Florida. He has been working in the Fiberglass production boat building business for 18 years working in all phases of the fiberglass production of boats as a hands on builder to supervisor. He knows his trade very well. 

I have had the pleasure of corresponding with him over this past year answering questions and giving my opinions and some advice on his personal project. 

He started out just wanting to design and build his own skiff for himself and then two more for family. This project has grown from just a hull mold to now a finished complete skiff with all molds ready for production of many more.

Following are some pictures Thomas has been sending me of his skiff in progress.

He has not launched his skiff as I write this blog but it will soon be in the water.

Lots of new ideas being used here in his skiff. Look closely... As I feel lots of these ideas will be finding their way to Others new designs.

Heres his unnamed new skiff just pulled from the mold. For the underbody pictures go back and look at my old blogs about new skiffs. This looks to be the driest running skiff out there. Cant wait to see her running.

Huge bow spray rail and lots of underwater spray defectors.

Look at that bow over hang. This skiff will weigh around 600-700 lbs when finished. Its a nice big skiff.

Heres the deck with all the hatches installed. No hinges on deck!!! All his hinges are hidden with his unique hinge system. Its very simple when seen.

 Bow hatch finished.

Bow hatch details revealed. How cool is this?

His moldings are as good as they get.

His deck mold has no hatches molded into it. This means that he can move his separate hatch molds where ever he or the clients want them. Look next to see how this works.

Because of his perfect moldings he just puts the finished part on the deck mold. He then gelcoats the deck around this part and when it cures this part is then glassed in as part of the deck. When its all pulled out of the mold all he has to do is just trim and slightly buff in the transition edge of these two parts. To me this is brilliant. Saves having to make so many deck molds. Now you can have more shop space.

All hatch tooling parts in place here ready for the deck gelcoat and then glass work.

Now the deck is attached. The clear glass in the bulkhead is the side of the fish live well or bait well depending on what youre up to. This detail he saw in an old Cabo Boat and has carried it into his skiff.

Wont that be fun to look at when its full of bait night fishing? The black ring is the drain.

The not so fun side if youre the bait or the fish caught looking out into the cockpit. Look at the details and finish throughout. Top of the line. 

Skiff going together.

Console being finished. Now look.

Console details. Look at what goes here.

Removable cooler box. 

Thomas says he has been influenced by early Hells Bay and Gordon Skiffs having owned an 18 Waterman and a Glades skiff. 

He has put lots of effort and money into this project that has taken him a year of part time work. At present he says he has almost the same amount of $ in his first finished skiff here and all molds as a new store bought skiff bare hull. 

But he now has the molds to build the next two that his family members want and then he will have to see if he wants to get in the market to build more for others.

Wait and see how this skiff performs. It might be the next " ONE" for you.

Thomas will always be able to say " Yes its my own design and build" with pride.

Theres nothing like being in a boat you built yourself.

Well done Thomas and good building to you a master craftsman.

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Boat Plans Uk | Rachel Platt Morejohn my other half

Boat Plans Uk

I have been around for awhile. I talk a lot here on this blog about what I have been up to in designs, boat work and our sailing life. I want to share some pictures of my wife Rachel from this past year of adventuring. I would never have accomplished what I have to date if not for her being by my side literally or backing me up back home when Iam off single handing. We have been together for over 26 years now. I wake up every day looking forward to what she has to say. 

Rachel trying the paddle board out in front of our place in the Bahamas

Rachel posing in front of our yacht in Antigua. The Hogfish is anchored behind all these other yachts.

Rachel with her first cup of tea in the morning

Now Iam ready to hear about what she dreamed about last night or whats on her mind. Its breakfast time on Hogfish.

The two of us after running a 5 mile Hash in Antigua.

Me stalking Rachel in Martinique 

Having lunch in Tyrell bay in Carriacou 

St. Barts 

Looking for beach treasures a few days ago

Racing Wild Bird off of Nevis

Passing by a Smurff boat in Grenada yesterday.

Trying on a huge piece of sea glass a few days ago.

The two of us on Hogfish celebrating Rachels 50 again birthday back in March.

The truth is I dont know what I would do without her. 

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