PT Skiff Activities | Port Townsend Watercraft BLOG

PT SKIFF While Aweigh For Sale

Ashlyn BrownMay 23, 2026May 23, 2026

Located in Massachusetts, While Aweigh is a beautifully built Bieker Boats designed PT SKIFF. Owned and well cared for for 10 years as of 2026.

Details about the boat and where it is listed are in this PDF: While Aweigh Copy II

Original Design information HERE.

Owner's listing on the following link. https://classicboatshow.com/classified/18-port-townsend-watercraft-pt-skiff-2016-while-aweigh/

Owner testimonial:

Ten years ago, I was anxiously awaiting delivery of my skiff kit and little did I know about the journey I would begin. I had built a few things from wood like bookcases and a covered deck, but nothing that even approximated the 126 or so pieces of Okoume that I became so intimate with. I learned much from the process of going to work every day, following your superb directions and asking for help when I needed it. And as I would often say about the Catboat we owned for 15 years, "...every day we take her out, she teaches me something" So too, building my Skiff taught me much.

I never would have expected to make a wonderful new friend, Damian...as well as Linda, and a cohort of "boat shed rats" who would enrich my life immensely. I have learned so much from this experience and always remind myself that many of my favorite books are about what goes on inside boat sheds.

Teri and I recently downsized our lives, and I think it is time to allow someone else to enjoy the fruits of my labor. The enjoyment and satisfaction I have garnered since I first dreamed the dream of building a boat a decade ago is priceless. And there is nothing that swells the ego quite like being able to say, "....yes, I built her."

PT Skiff for sale on the East Coast

Ashlyn BrownJanuary 31, 2025February 6, 2025

This beautifully built and well loved PT Skiff from the original kit is presently for sale. (1/30/25)

Details about the boat and where it is listed are in this PDF: While Aweigh Copy II

and on the OCH classic Boat SHow: https://classicboatshow.com/classified/18-port-townsend-watercraft-pt-skiff-2016-while-aweigh/

Owner testimonial:

Nine years ago this month, I was anxiously awaiting delivery of my skiff kit and little did I know about the journey I would begin. I had built a few things from wood like bookcases and a covered deck, but nothing that even approximated the 126 or so pieces of Okoume that I became so intimate with. I learned much from the process of going to work every day, following your superb directions and asking for help when I needed it. And as I would often say about the Catboat we owned for 15 years, "...every day we take her out, she teaches me something" So too, building my Skiff taught me much.

I never would have expected to make a wonderful new friend, Damian...as well as Linda, and a cohort of "boat shed rats" who would enrich my life immensely. I have learned so much from this experience and always remind myself that many of my favorite books are about what goes on inside boat sheds.

But, having just clocked my 80th birthday, and the fact that Teri and I recently downsized our lives, I think it is time to allow someone else to enjoy the fruits of my labor. The enjoyment and satisfaction I have garnered since I first dreamed the dream of building a boat almost a decade ago is priceless. The mere 120 hours on the meter are in no way a true measure of those feelings. And there is nothing that swells the ego quite like being able to say, "....yes, I built her."

I have listed her on the Off Center Harbor Classic Boat Show;

https://classicboatshow.com/classified/18-port-townsend-watercraft-pt-skiff-2016-while-aweigh/

40th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat festival

Ashlyn BrownSeptember 27, 2016

Two weeks have already slipped by since the festival! I am late to express my deeply felt gratitude to everyone who makes the festival happen, (http://nwmaritime.org/) , all who participate, and all who come to talk wooden boats and all things boaty. I realize that is a big blanket statement.

ptwatercraft.com — Our booth with WEST SYSTEM EPOXY and 3 PT 11's on display!

For the past 5 years we have been very fortunate to share a tent with WEST SYSTEM EPOXY. This year Alan Gurski (CEO) and Bruce Niederer were on hand with their comprehensive and unbiased knowledge about epoxy; its uses, history, and the very chemistry of it all. If you want to understand epoxy, pros and cons, these are the guys to talk to.

There were more than a few of our customer boats in the festival. PT 11 nesting dinghies and PT Spear dinghies were to be seen on boats, behind boats, at the docks, and out in the bay.

Two customer PT Skiffs graced the festival as well. Both boats are mind blowingly beautifully built and equally unique interpretations of the kit. High compliments are due to these two builders.

Steve Merrill wipes the morning dew from his PT SKIFF, Takin' Five. Steve has been meticulous with his build, taking his time. He says he has been really enjoying it and getting creative especially with his 'expanding' driver seat and his self bailing installation.

This seat hinges up, slides forward and ......

....expands into a romantic, "side-by-each" joy ride seat. My jaw dropped upon seeing this. But, alas, there are NO PLANS for it so you will have to charge up the brain-waves to create your own if you want one!

Our friend, Cooper Parish, took time off from his high-tech job at Scaled Composites in Mojave, to help us at our booth again this year. We love having him! We want him to keep returning every year so we make sure he gets plenty of sailing time in! In spite of being the smallest boat with the least sail area, Cooper sailed 'Rascal', a PT SPEAR, to a 3rd place finish (out of 6) among the Non-T-Bird class in the 26ft and under race.

Of the events in the bay over the weekend, I totally missed getting photos of the Schooner Race. With a piping wind, it was one of the fastest schooner races on record at the festival. It was over before I could get to the beach with the camera. I hear it was eventful! John and Anne Bailey's recently re-launched , Sir Issac, snuffed the fleet.

The PT Wooden Boat Festival is always a colorful affair. It is an overwhelming weekend for us, exciting, exhausting, and encouraging. Customers often visit us at this time and we see our 'family' growing. We are seriously looking forward to holding a casual, PT11 sailing regatta of sorts and I will keep you posted on any development in that direction. Thank you all again. AEB 😉

Fun overview Video off of You Tube..

A PT Skiff taken to the ‘next level’

adminJanuary 3, 2015

Launched!

Brian in Australia has completed his PT Skiff and I think there is much to consider about what he has done with his boat. After developing sensitivity to epoxy, he had to hire help to finish the boat and we tip our hat to his perseverance. Clearly Brian is a stickler for detail and he has maintained a clear vision for his skiff. He sent a detailed account of his choices for outfitting the boat and it is this account that I want to share. I have put it together as a PDF document (HERE) that you should be able to download or read online. It is filled with photos to compliment his notes. If you are currently building a PT SKIFF, these notes will be informative. If you are thinking about building one, this should wet your appetite! His boat is very impressive!

In addition, the following photos arrived with this 'Launch report"

My PT Skiff launch went extremely well today. Everything worked.

The photographs attached were taken during the initial 15 minute warm-up of the motor at the boat ramp at Adelaide Sailing Club. Whilst it looks very calm at the ramp (large breakwater), we ventured out into wind waves up to 1 metre in St Vincent’s Gulf. The wave fetch here is approximately 38 nautical miles from the other side of the gulf with the wind in a WSW direction. I have checked our weather website tonight and the wind was 11 knots gusting to 14 while we were doing stage 2 of the motor run-in (2000 to 3000 rpm).

The boat was lively. Whilst it is quite tender at the dock, once you understand that you can deal with it.

We went upwind for about 20 minutes. The boat was reminiscent of a lively sailboat. The boat was bouncing around a little into the wind waves, though it was dry. The boat was very pleasantly quiet even in the one metre waves. After flooding the water ballast tank, the boat was a little more stable, but did not show any significant loss of speed into the breeze.

Running downwind (again limited to 3000 rpm) the boat started surfing the waves. It was fun.

The first 1 hour of run-in is now complete and I can now use the boat at weekends without causing queuing problems at the ramp.

The 38th Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

adminOctober 10, 2014October 11, 2014

September 5-7th were the days of the 38th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.
This year was unique for us due to having a relative fleet of PT 11s on hand; 8 or 9 PT 11 dinghies could be seen over the weekend of marvelous sunshine and sailing breezes, tethered behind their "motherships" in the harbor or out in the bay among so many beautiful boats!

Joining them was our own PT 11 captained by Cooper Parish.

Cooper (who currently works for Scaled Composites) has built a PT 11 at the NW School of Wooden Boat Building. Many of our friends and customers share our deep appreciation for innovative aircraft as well as boats. We love the following picture Cooper sent to us earlier this summer, (wearing a Port Townsend Watercraft hat!) and we love having his help at the festival!

As usual, I did not get out and about to take more pictures. The reason, I am pleased to say, is that our display maintained a virtual flood of visitors and our team (including my wonderful sister, Dana) was happily kept busy showing off 2 PT Elevens (one on the stand and one for rowing demos), and a PT Spear, (generously loaned by Mr. Swantner).

Our tent hosts, the smart folks from WEST SYSTEM EPOXY, were on hand with expert epoxy advice, interesting props and informative booklets. This year’s festival was also special and memorable due to having our dear friends, Kathy Massimini & Steve Callahan here. Steve was a guest speaker for the festival. If you have not read his book Adrift or don't know about Steve, you've missed out. See his website HERE.

You might already know about Off Center Harbor, and all of the really well done, interesting videos they offer on a wide range of boating topics. We were honored (and pretty camera shy) to receive an interview request from the OCH team. Filming took place right after the festival and the video will be available sometime in the future. Thank you Steve Stone and Off Center Harbor!

The fine weather inspired more boats to be out sailing for the entire three days than I have ever witnessed in my 5 years of attending. The final ‘Sail-By’ was quite spectacular. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for the first weekend of September 2015 and keep an eye on the NW Maritime Center website for events over the year.

Please enjoy a small album of pictures I took during the Festival.

Some videos of this years' festival are on You Tube. This is a particularly artistic slide show. HERE

PTW AB 😉

Featured Launchings, Fall 2014

adminOctober 9, 2014October 11, 2014

Enjoy Pictures recently received of boats launched this summer or boats in use. I love the new colors added to PT 11's; now sporting blue, green, sunny yellow, mellow yellow, cream, red, white...have I missed any? Beautiful!! Keep those pictures coming! What do you think about a photo contest???? Let me know and I will work on prizes to offer. 😉

forget_me_not_a_PT11_sm — PT 11, 'Forget Me Knot' in New England.

Launchings Spring 2014

adminMarch 25, 2014April 3, 2014

More boats are getting wet this year. I am really enjoying everyone's news.

Olav in Victoria BC launched his PT 11 earlier this year. I like the below photos in particular. If you had to choose a dinghy to be proud of for your beautiful cruising boat, would it be like those in the back ground? Or more like the sleek hull in the fore ground?? Beautiful job Olav! 😉

James in Australia launched his PT 11 this winter (summer ,'down under') with his son. I received these pictures in January. Again, a great job on the boat!!

BLUE WHALE ADVENTURES is headed into the Pacific with a PT 11 that was recently built by Cape Fear Yachtworks. Fair winds and happy adventures!

It sure is fun when folks get colorful. This sunny yellow PT 11 is sure to turn heads for Gregg in California! I continue to be impressed with beautiful workmanship. I may be able to publish more photos soon as the weather warms and folks get out on the water.

Is your PT 11 or PT Skiff in the water? I would love to feature it next. 😉 PTW

Launchings for late 2013

adminDecember 27, 2013December 29, 2013

More PT Watercraft boats are hitting the water! Here are some to spotlight;

Simon and "crew" happy after launching in New Zealand. I quote Simon, "I didn't really realize how much of a delight to build she's been until the bumper had been stuck on and I was a little disappointed that there wasn't anything left to do except go sailing."

The blog for this build is great. Simon took wonderful photos of his progress. Check it out HERE.

I really like the red on the PT 11! Great choice of color!

Garland has finished his PT Skiff in Virginia! The first one to be built on the East Coast and the first with self bailing installed. Congratulations! Looking very classy!

While taking his time to build the boat, he wrote, "“The other thing that delays me is I enjoy it too much! And it relaxes me. I stand back and admire the quality of the wood, and how things look. Once it takes shape, I'll admire how the flat panels pull together to make the graceful curves.” Garland says.."we launched Sunday, and carried a real load! Five adults and two dogs. Considering the load, we did well. I was prepared for the boat to be tender, and she was, but not bad."

Not everyone has a camera handy, even in the age of fancy phones. I still want to congratulate James in Olympia on his launching of his PT 11 this year. I am looking forward to pictures! See his blog with some construction photos HERE. Awesome glosscoat!

Wouldn't it be fun to have a fleet of dinghies and skiffs at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in 2014??!! My thanks to everyone for doing such lovely work on their boats. These kits are very detail oriented and our growing family of builders appears to be putting heart and soul into their projects and I must say, it makes us feel really good! Thank you! 😉 PTW

2013 Bainbridge Wooden Boat Festival

adminJune 24, 2013June 24, 2013

You can see the official website here. We enjoyed our visit as guests of Glenn and Kathy, owners of a PT Skiff. This is a small event with a lot to offer. ...

View of one dock, PT Skiff and PT11 side by side. 6m boats in the back.

A Rendezvous in Seattle

adminApril 9, 2013Leave a comment

Sunday, March 24th was an overcast and cold day to be out on the water. Russell was not deterred. Paul Bieker's new design (the Riptide 41;"BLUE") was in the water and Russell was invited to check it out. "BLUE" is one of the most innovative racing sailboats around and sailed almost 23 knots on her very first sail. { read more about it. }Bieker Boats design team of Paul Bieker and Eric Jolley are responsible for designing our PT Skiff, the 18.5ft fuel efficient motor skiff kit, sold by PT Watercraft. The PT Skiff, "Pika", built by J. Brandt in Seattle, was also there to compliment the gathering. While on the dock at Shilshole Marina, a wedding party came down the dock and the bride and groom asked for a ride in the PT Skiff. Jan obliged and the smiling couple posed for photos. Russell snapped a few along side the wedding photographer. The PT Skiff has been put to work as a regatta chase boat, a marine research commuter, a phototgrapher's platform and now as a wedding prop!Since we sold our PT Skiff, .., we have been using our experimental tornado cat motor boat for any over water commuting. The 'Grasshopper" (as we sometimes refer to it) has many many miles on her 15hp motor. The trip from Port Townsend to Seattle takes about 2 hours and generally uses about 2 gallons of fuel. This boat was designed on the back of an envelope and it is definitely a unique boat. No, there are no plans available.. Russell was able to surf a cargo ship's wake for about 10 miles before the intensity of it got to him and he exited the wake. The trip from Port Townsend to Seattle and back, with favorable currents and surfing, used about 3 gallons of gas. This short video does little justice to the fun he was having.