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Nesting prototype in California

adminMarch 1, 2011April 25, 2011Leave a comment

We are back in PT after an interesting, albeit wet, trip to California with the nesting dinghy prototype. We arrived just in time to catch the downpour that lasted nearly a week while the cold and rain we left in Washington turned to sunshine.
We made the best of it by visiting a few brilliant and dear people who shared their enthusiasm and their wisdom about boats, business and the nesting dinghy.

On the first clear day we put the boat in the water in Monterey and rowed out of the marina, There were some swells piling up on the other side of the pier so Russell dropped me off and joined a paddle boarder and a young surfer to catch a few. I managed to get a couple of short videos. On another day we got the boat in the water in San Francisco with a friend of ours and set up a borrowed sailing rig. Unfortunately it was dead calm and we had to get back on the road and over the mountains before the next snow set in. It’s all in this clip: Surfing the nesting dinghy prototype

Now back in PT, Russell continues the design work in earnest to make it all work as close to his ideals as can be AND as a kit. The sailing and small outboard options directly affect the basic kit components and have to be essentially clear before we can cut the ‘final’ version of the 11’ model.
The Shipwright’s Regatta in Port Townsend is happening this Saturday, weather permitting, and we plan to be on the water sailing the nesting dinghy. See you there or here when we post again. A few photos follow...AEB

PT Watercraft — Our Nesting dinghy packed into the back of our little Toyota truck.

Nesting dinghy trials1

adminFebruary 11, 2011May 13, 2011Leave a comment

The latest prototype of the nesting dinghy is currently being trialed.
LOA: 11ft
BEAM:4' 2"
NESTED LENGTH: 6'
NESTED HEIGHT: 19.5" at one end, 16.5" at the other end.

We have a SHORT VIDEO of the boat rowing and of assembly in the water.
Next, we are making a road trip to California with the boat in the back of our little Toyota truck. We are making a tour of some of the smartest people we know to get their input before finalizing the details of the design.
The next and final prototype will reflect minor changes from this one, that are intended to increase performance, ease of construction and lower production cost in an effort to keep the kit price attractive.

For now, in spite of a list of creative names, we are tentatively calling this boat the PT 11. We are inviting everyone interested in this boat to send in their suggestion for a design name, keeping in mind that it will eventually have sister designs of different sizes.
If we decide to use your suggestion as the market name of the boat, we will give you a nice discount on a kit.

Your feedback is always welcome. Russell & Ashlyn

Nesting Dinghy Progress

adminFebruary 2, 2011April 25, 2011Leave a comment

I know some of you must be wondering what is with the long silence and lack of images on Nesting Dinghy progress. What we have so far is a rough working prototype that will be the basis for the final prototype soon to begin. The good news is that this hull rows really well and has great initial stability in contrast to previous versions. The connecting hardware prototypes look great and work great making assembly a matter of a few seconds. The nested package is more compact than before and it fits neatly in the back of our little Toyota truck. We are working through the sailing rig and oar/oarlock & foot brace arrangements. Final design work will happen late Feb into March and then Russell has to crank out the new boat and manual. If I can manage to get some half way decent photos (weather and time permitting) I will post them soon. This blog is finally waking up! Cheers, Ashlyn

Self Bailing modification

adminDecember 17, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

We now have the option with some nice drawings for making the PT Skiff self bailing. Follow this link to see it! http://ptwatercraft.com/ptwatercraft/PT_Skiff_self_bailing.html

Transom drains 01 — One of several images to see on the website

Carbon Eyestraps now available

adminNovember 17, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

Russell has begun producing carbon eye straps that are now for sale on our website. There are more photos. Check them out on our hardware page!

Nesting Dinghy is happening

adminNovember 15, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

Things are moving forward on the Nesting Dinghy. With the idea of incorporating what Russell feels are important properties, and taking into consideration the wishes expressed by some of you following this boat, Russell has revised the design. A test hull is presently being built.
This hull is different from the prototype pictured on our website in 2 main ways.
1. reduced size of the nested package
2, changes that increase stability & usability

Once tested, he will begin working on the actual prototype and the builder’s manual.

PT Skiff clips from summer 2010

adminNovember 5, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

This last summer we drove the skiff across country and had some opportunities to splash in the Atlantic and Chesapeake. Alas, my video skills are not too hot. I compiled some of the better clips from the summer in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpJoJfkA0j0

I would like to mention that Russell has been working on the nesting dinghy design and we hope to start a blog for it soon. Cheers.

Port Townsend to Desolation Sound

adminSeptember 28, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

On September 15th, as the City Hall tolled 9:00am, Russell and I were pulling out of Port Townsend Harbor in the PT Skiff. We were loaded up with nearly 600 lbs between the 2 of us and gear. It was foggy and cold on Puget Sound but that is nothing new.
We were headed for Desolation Sound BC to visit friends with a new baby. We had not devised a dodger and the weather was questionable but we were happy to be off on an adventure even if it was just for the short time we had available.

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We spent 8 days total on our trip, camped ashore every night, travelled some 360 miles at an average of 15knots, and burned about 30 gallons of gasoline. We did prepare an option for sleeping onboard but never needed it since campsites were plentiful along the way. We got caught in the rain once between Ganges and Wallace Island but we had our foul weather gear and watertight bags.

The only semi rough water we encountered was East of Nanaimo and even that was mild. We didn’t even have to slow down, though trying to hand hold the camera steady enough to show the gps was a real trick. I will be putting together a short video of that day, surfing the Navy’s wake and Dodd Narrows.

The biggest threat of the trip was the raccoons!

On Wallace we had to tie our food bins up between 2 trees and chase the critters off, but our last night out on Jones Island in the San Juans, we were slack and the coons got into everything, devouring all the food we had left and making a disastrous mess in the boat and on the dock. We could have kicked ourselves. We mourned our stupidity over breakfast at Rocky Bay Cafe in Friday Harbor.

The other difficulty was not having a tide chart with us. We had wanted to tie up at the very end of Sturt Bay on Texada but decided the risk of getting stranded in the morning low tide was too big. We tied the boat just south of where we had floated over a good 5 feet of water. The tune of rapids woke us before daylight and in the morning the whole area was high and dry. Our precaution paid off and the skiff still floated in a foot of water outside of the channel and we were free to continue our trip.

All the way home we had current against us but being able to hug the shore and make use of back eddies gave us a knot + on our speed.

It was a beautiful trip that climaxed at our friends homestead near Quadra. Add to that, fresh fish and a campfire dinner, hunting Chantrelle mushrooms and enjoying the amazing wildlife of BC at close range, such are the things that made the trip extremely memorable. The skiff made it easy to get away on short notice and return home in a short weather window.

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Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2010

adminSeptember 13, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

Wow, what a weekend! First and foremost, thank you all for coming and spending time talking to us about the PT Skiff. I hope all your questions got answered and you have had a chance to check out the website if you had not seen it before. The enthusiasm expressed by so many of you made the show a real pleasure for us. While I personally did not get many photos taken, J. Brandt and his wife, who built their PT Skiff earlier this year, not only brought their boat up from Seattle, and gave rides, they also took some great pictures. I am posting them below.

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We have the opportunity to run the PT Skiff from Port Townsend up into BC this week to trial it as a camp cruiser. We will be keeping notes and taking pictures which I will post when we get back by September 24th. After that we have reserved the CNC machine to start cutting kits for confirmed orders. Email us if you want your kit cut sooner than later. We will ship according to order received. Thank you all again and for those of you who did not make it up to Port Townsend for this great festival, there is bound to soon be images and video up on the woodenboat.org website. Perhaps we will see you next year or sooner! Cheers for now, PTW

PT Skiff Rendezvous 2010

adminAugust 10, 2010April 25, 2011Leave a comment

August 8, 2010 is now marked on the calender as the first PT Skiff rendezvous. PT Watercraft and "Pika" met in Puget Sound and compared boats and notes and each took turns at the wheel of the other. Paul Bieker and family happened to be Seattle bound on their boat which provided a great photo platform and we were able to get some video. The PT Skiff Rendezvous 2010
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Pictured here you will see the "Pika" powered with Evinrude's E-Tec 25hp. We are working on a fuel consumption study and comparison for the two boats to be published soon.

"Pika" has her driver's seat and grates held snug with velcro to great effect. Furthermore, the builder opted for a larger forward hatch. He also kept the side decks clear finished and the wood grain looks really nice next to her "20 feet of Bahama water"-blue hull paint.

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Of his return trip, the owner of PIKA wrote:

"Not sure if you guys noticed the large Hapag Loyd container coming down the sound as we split. He was running at 20 kn and I took his stern by about 100 yards and got on his east side a bit north of Point-no-Point. He had an awesome wake and I ended up surfing and carving sweet bottom turns for 5.5 miles until I had to bail out for Edmonds. Now, THAT is more fun than you are allowed to have in a powerboat! Truly the surfing was just brilliant. Everything came together perfectly, flat water, lot's of space, and a big ass container ship running at 20 kn in the right direction. Who knew the skiff would bottom turn like my 9'6" longboard, over, and over, and over again. I am still grinning!"

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