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;
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.
Following are pictures of the hull glassed and the final gloss coat finished. We are ready to paint the hull this week.
Skeg detail
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
A bunch of good friends showed up to turn the skiff over. Thank you!
February 14th, 2010
Happy Valentines Day World.
Progress as of today.. All inside structure and finish work is complete. We are ready to turn the boat over and glass the bottom.
PT Skiff prototype 2 Feb. 13, 2010
PT Skiff prototype 2
Inside structure and finish work complete
January 25th, 2010!
I know! I know! I am getting slack with blog posting! Well, dang... It is not like there hasn't been a whole lot happening!
Today I am posting a shot of the CNC cutting that happened on the 15th and a couple of shots of the recent final coating of the inside of the PT SKIFF. We have decided to keep it clear coated as this boat is our showpiece and people have really loved the clear finish. Further, the construction techniques are clearly visible and it helps people get a good picture of how the boat went together. So here goes...
Turn Point Designs in Port Townsend cutting a kit on the 5 axis CNC macine.Russell tipping the final coat of epoxy.The inside is completely coated now. Next we will finish the side decks and upper coamings, turn the boat over and finish the outside.
Paste this YouTube link into your address bar to see a brief clip of the coating.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyaVfV-yeo
JANUARY 1st, 2010!
Happy 2010 to all! We are back online again ...
Combings being installed for hatches in middle and forward seats.
gluedfinshed combing on the forward seat.Water tank lid, console & driver's seat, forward sole in...
All 3 seat tops ready for final installation. Almost all surfaces have been glassed and are ready for the final gloss coat of epoxy.
Foredeck framing & foredeck are installed next with the boat upright in the cradle.
Cheers for now...AE
DECEMBER 28th, 2009
HOPE EVERYONE HAS ENJOYED THIS LAST WEEK! I know we have not updated recently but that does not mean progress has not been made between entertaining friends and family and being entertained. We will be uploading new photos shortly of the console and drivers seat in and the forward floor in and more. Wishing all a HAPPY NEW YEAR and may 2010 be a positive year for you!
DECEMBER 20, 2009
Inside of the water ballast tank and under the grates finished.
DECEMBER 8, 2009
This past week we finished glassing the chines and have been making the patterns for, and cutting the lumber parts for this boat and at least 5 more kits. Pictured below are the glue-cleats placed near their positions.
glue-cleat mock up
DECEMBER 2nd, 2009
Filleting and taping the chines..
All inside structure gets welded together with fillets. This goes very quickly with our "patented" technique.Filleted...Taping the chines. A blank of fiberglass is wet out on plastic, cut into strips & applied like this.Peel ply goes over the glass.
NOVEMBER 24th
Gluing down side-deckstipping on edge for injecting chine seams with epoxyExtension screwed to cradle that allows the boat to stand on edge at a good height for finishing insideReady for fillets and chine taping
NOVEMBER 23
New pictures and more to come.
Side decks trial fit
NOVEMBER 16th,
Progress is being made! The next set of pictures shows aligning the stem, topside panels and sheer clamps, transom inwhales and side decks prep.
This photo taken whe aligning and gluing the stem. Note the white string.This photo and the next show topside panels and sheer clamps. The funny looking thing on the transom is a temporary former.
Side decks and combings being pre-finishedTransom inwhale being glued up.
Updates are happening weekly so please keep checking. We could easily be twice as far but the manual is specific and comprehensive and all will no doubt agree, worth the time taken to create it. Cheers..AE
November 10th
Over the last couple of weeks, we have made a lot of progress even though we are working on the builder’s manual more than the boat.
Pre-finishing parts is a large part of the job in the beginning of building this boat. This stage goes really fast on the bench and means very little finish work later.
The assembly goes really quickly thanks to the tongues and slots. Here are some pictures of where we are to date and we will post more in the next few days.
Fill coating hull panelsHull panels assembled and their inside surfaces glassed and coated.Frames 1 thru 10 pre-glassed or double coatedBeginning of hull assembly in cradleAll these parts fit in their designated locations with tongues and slots in a very short amount of time3rd panel in place. Cradle legs here are shortened after all parts are locked in place with a thin bead of epoxy in all jointsAnother view...
November 1st.
Pre-finishing parts is done and the cradles are ready. This first week of November will see the skiff get wired together.We have been able to refine much of the building technique with this skiff so that the manual reads better and your building experience will be easier.
Pre-finishing is the first part of building the PT Skiff.
Building has begun. See here all the ply parts cut.
117 parts, 12 sheets of plywood and they all fit so far...
Owner testimonial:
.., 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.. 
