Rowboats

Flat iron skiffs are said to be easy to draw but very hard to get right. QT is my attempt at a flat iron skiff. The prototype was built by Paul Krayniak of Odessa, NY and a photo of his boat is presented below. The above photo is of Brad Boerger's QT.I...

Don't remember where I read this but 100 years ago rowing was all the rage, the sort of thing you did on for fun. They said its popularity dropped and died after the invention of the modern "safety" bicycle which replaced it for athletic recreation...

Moby Dink was one of my first projects. I built and used the prototype for a few years before selling it to a man who uses it to tend his farm pond. If I were to do this one again I wouldn't change the hull at all but would try the small lateen that I...

Batto is sort of a "retro" boat. Every now and then I go over another designer's older design and try to update it to the way I do boats. I always learn a bit. Batto is a close copy of the Pete Culler clipper bateau Otter which appears in John...

Piccup Pram was the first boat of my design to get built, back in 1990, I think. I still have the prototype and use it regularly. I designed it to be the best sail/row boat I could put in the back of my short bed pick up truck. But I found it to be a...

I tried drawing a folding canoe a few years ago but thought twice about it, thinking little canoes are easy to stow even when they don't fold. But I mentioned it to Dave Carnell who has been boating for many years and never throws away a boating magazine...

This long narrow boat was designed a long time ago for Mark Bustemonte who thought it might be possible to have a boat for fast sliding seat rowing, for slower fixed seat rowing with a passenger, and maybe for use as a canoe by kids.I agreed with the...

Roar2 is a modification of the original Roar which had a plumb stem. After I had designed, built, and paddled Toto with its V entry bow I went back and cut the lower plumb bow off my Roar and converted it to a Toto-like bow. So Roar2 has a deep V entry...

Smoar is a 12 foot version of Roar2 ROAR2, ROWBOAT, 12' X 42", 70 POUNDS EMPTY

Mixer is a stab at mixing some features of my prams with the features of the original Roar rowboat. The prototype Mixer was built to perfection by David Boston of Factoryville, Pa. That's him sailing on vacation in Maine.Mixer's beam is half way between...

This boat is an "instant" version of the "8-Foot Seal Cove Skiff" shown on Plate 34 in Howard Chapelle's classic book BOATBUILDING. Such a great book, although it predates the building methods that this modern version uses. I recommend that you get the...

Oracle might have been called Roar3. It is a bit longer and lower than Roar2 so it looks sleeker. It is actually closer in shape to my Toto canoe. I'm pretty sure it is a visual improvement over Roar2. Hard to say if it is a practical improvement. Being...