The EZ Skiff came about one year after I took my 3 boys trout fishing on opening day. I think it was the first time I was able to take all three of them, at that point we were using an 8′ pram that I had built in college. It served us quite well for a long time and Ben had even caught his first trout in it, but it was a little tight for all 4 of us at the same time. The moment though that cinched the need for a bigger boat was when one of the boys in the back had a fish on and Ben who was in the front decided it would be a good idea to stand up and help net the fish. I white knuckled both gunwales and was sure that we were going to be swimming shortly. We did not end up swimming but by September (this was in April) we had a new boat.
The premise for this boat was that it be easy to row, easy to build, stable, and not too big. To make it easy to build I decided to go with stitch and glue construction. Stitch and glue is a very forgiving method of building boats that uses epoxy putty and fiberglass tapes to do the joinery work as well as being a fast construction method. A flat bottom boat with low rocker would take care of the stability and ease of rowing with the assumption that this boat is meant to be used in calm or sheltered waters.
Using those parameters I took a look at existing boats like the Babson Island 14 and drew up a design that I liked. This design incorporates a more vertical transom that can accept a small motor if so desired and a lightly rockered bottom to row or sail well. I kept it narrow enough that it can go into the back of a truck with a long bed although really at this size the practical way to move it around is on a trailer.
Free plans are available here. Pre-cut kits are available from www.fiberglasssupply.com.
