By
M. E.
Daniels
Y OU CAN build this family-size, 16-
ft. skiff just as easily and inexpen-
sively as a flat-bottom rowboat. Yet it
has the wave-splitting, bump-smoothing
bow of a true semi-V, readily converts
to a sailboat and can be carried in a sta-
tion wagon!
And all of this is accomplished with-
out any tricky plywood bends. The for-
ward V-bottom contours are shaped
from Styrofoam with saw and rasp and
resorcinol-glued to a centerpiece. Then
the job is skinned over with Dynel
bonded with epoxy. The result is not
only a smooth ride but built-in flotation
and a tough, armored hide where it
counts most when beaching the boat.
The use of Weldwood resorcinol glue
in all joints and seams boosts strength
enough to permit you to weight-trim
framing parts in aircraft fashion and
makes possible a finished hull that
weighs about 120 lbs.—light enough for
two people to carry.
Total cost of materials for this boat
was just $80.
Its resin-bonded seams never need
caulking and small, 3- to 5-hp outboard
motors will push it along at 6 to 10 mph.
A Mercury 110 (10-hp) motor was used
with the prototype and speeds in the 20-
mph range were achieved. The sailing
version is simple to operate and adds an-
other whole dimension to this attractive
boat.
Let the lumberyard start the job for
you. For your side planking you need
four 16-in.-wide strips ripped length-
wise from 1/4-in. exterior plywood pan-
els. Most yards have a panel-cutting rig
and can do this job easier than you can.
There may be a nominal charge but if
you give them your materials list first
and tell them you're buying only if, you
get those ripping cuts free you'll prob-
ably win.
One other tip on the materials: do a
FASTEN SIDES to stem, mid-irame, transom.
Spot mid-frame 1/2 in. ahead of butt joint.
little phone shopping in advance. The
plywood planking for the original hull,
for example, was bought at a cash-and-
carry yard for $3 a panel, though prices
elsewhere ran from 30 to 80 cents higher
per sheet.
No construction mold or form is re-
quired if you assemble the parts in the
proper sequence. First, join the 8-ft. x
16-in. side planking strips end-to-end
with butt pieces 10-in. long cut from the
same thickness plywood. The butt
pieces don't extend all the way from
edge to edge at the joint but stop 3/4-in.
short of the bottom edge to allow space
for the chine.
Incidentally, while still at the lumber
yard make sure all your side planking
strips are the same width. Because of
the thickness of the saw blade some may
be a trifle narrower than others. Have
the wide ones run through the saw
to make them match the narrow
ones.
Assemble each joint dry (without
glue), using about five 1/2-in. #6 flat-
head brass screws on each side of the
seam. Be sure you're making a left and
a right side—not two of a kind! After
dry assembly, back out the screws, coat
AFTER CHINES are installed, flip hull,
bend forward bottom section into place.
all mating surfaces with resorcinol resin
glue and reassemble.
Squeeze-out should be about even all
around if the surfaces have been coated
properly. Lack of squeeze-out means
poor contact. Add extra screws where
this is apparent.
Cut the stem and glue up the midship
frame and transom next. The frame and
transom can be tacked together lightly
with copper nails for dry assembly.
Since only the back section of the
stem is involved at this stage, it doesn't
require glue. Unless you're in a rush it's
best to do the foregoing gluing the day
(or night) before all-out construction
begins. Leave the joints overnight at 70
degrees and they'll be good and solid in
the morning.
To plot the bow's up-curve, clamp or
temporarily screw-fasten one of the
chines along the lower edge of one of
the sides, setting the last clamp or screw
(from the stern end) just 4 ft. 3 in. from
the bow end. Then spring the free por-
tion of the chine upward so its bottom
edge is 7-1/4 in. from the bottom edge of
the plywood and clamp or screw the
chine in this position.
Then draw a pencil line along the en-
tire curved run of the chine's lower
edge. This gives you the fair curve your
bottom planking will follow later—
along the area where the foam contours
will be. Use a saber saw to cut the ply-
wood along this line after the chine has
been removed.
Actual hull assembly comes next.
Start by fastening the forward ends of
the plywood sides to the stem with a
couple of 3/4-in. #6 brass flatheads on
each side. Then set the mid-frame in
place 1/2, in. forward of the midship butt
seam so the two screws you'll use on
each side won't go through the seam.
Use a scrap of 1/4-in. plywood under the
midship frame to allow for a butt-joint
piece between bottom sections.
After the mid-frame is screwed in
place (with screwheads slightly above
the surface to allow some play), spring
the aft ends of the plywood sides inward
and screw them to the rim of the tran-
som. The transom angle should be
marked on the inner surfaces of the
sides beforehand. This entire assembly
is made dry and is easiest if the sides are
in inverted position.
The chines are fitted in next along the
straight run of the hull and the upcurve
at the bow, held by 3/4-in. #6 brass flat-
heads 18 in. to 24 in. apart. Space them
closer only at points where chine and
plywood fail to draw together snugly.
Once the chines are in, turn the as-
sembly right side up. Then fasten the
rubrails in place along the outside of the
planking at the top edge.
Check over the stem and transom
joints in case any plane-trimming is nec-
essary (not likely). Also, measure the
diagonal distance from each transom
corner to the opposite planking mid-
frame joint. If these match to within 1/4
in., that's good enough. If they're off by
more than that, use twine in crisscross
pattern to pull them as required to
match.
After this the parts are disassembled,
glue coated and reassembled. Turn the
assembly bottom side up and wipe off
the squeeze-out along the chine-plank-
ing seam. Add screws where the
squeeze-out is thin.
The bottom goes on next. Lay a panel
of 1/4-in. plywood good side outward on
the forward section of the assembly.
You'll find the forward end can be bent
down easily along the bow's curved sec-
tion and fastened temporarily with a
1-1/2-in. roundhead steel screw into the
bottom of the stem. Put a washer under
the screwhead so it won't pull through.
Bend the panel's midship end down
and clamp it to the frame or fasten with
a few 3/4-in. it 6 brass flatheads into the
chines. Add extras anywhere the seam
shows a gap. Then mark the panel along
the outside of the planking on both
sides. Butt the stern section's panel
against the forward one and follow the
same procedure. Remove and cut with
a saber saw.
Before you replace the bottom panels
for gluing, cut and fit the butt piece that
runs across underneath the mid-frame.
Like the side planking butt pieces, it
should be 10 in. fore and aft. Plane-fit
the ends to seat snugly against the inner
surfaces of the chines.
When the butt piece is fitted, glue and
screw it to the bottom edge of the mid-
frame, using three 3/4-in. #6 flatheads.
Then lay the forward bottom panel in
place and mark it where the glue is to
go. Glue, assemble and tighten all to-
gether. Be sure to get a good seal across
the base of transom!
After the bottom panels are on, trim
off the side and bottom planking at the
transom angle and turn boat right side
up. Use a rounded stick to smooth the
inner squeeze-out into the chine seams
to form a rounded fillet. You now have
a watertight hull. The original one
reached this stage at the end of the first
day's work.
Begin the foam bow job by adding the
first section of the false stem. As the
drawing shows, this is beveled to the
same angles as the stem already glued
in place but it comes out flush with the
outer surface of the side planking. And
EFFICIENT but simple sail rig moves this
light hull along even in lightest breeze.

it extends all the way down to the full

16-in. depth of the hull.
It's glued to the original stem and also
held by a 2-in. galvanized screw (#12)
driven into it from inside the existing
stem. Once this false stem section is in
place, you can fit the skeg-like forward
section of keel behind it.
By holding this against the side plank-
ing along the up-curved section and
rocking it around the side planking
curve as you pencil-mark it, you can
draw a pretty accurate cutting line.
Allow a little waste at each end for
trimming.
Bore through the stem into the for-
ward end of [Continued ]

DETAILED PLANS
include additional details for sailing
rig and a Bill of Materials. To order,
send $5 to MI Plans Service, Fawcett
Bldg., Greenwich, Conn. 06830. Please
specify Station Wagon Skiff, Plan SW-
3-67.
 Station Wagon Skiff
[Continued
the keel piece for a 1/2 -in. dowel. Then glue
all meeting surfaces, glue in the dowel and
fasten the aft end of the keel piece to the
bottom planking with a flathead brass
screw. After this, you can turn the hull
right side up and drive more brass screws
down through the planking into the keel
piece.
The next section of false stem is glued
and screwed on with two 2-in. flathead
screws driven from front to back into the
preceding section. The final (point) section
of stem is glued and held by a couple of
finishing nails. Twisted wire through the
keel piece and around the whole business
helps tighten it up while the glue hardens.
After this, it's a good idea to turn the hull
over and fit in the rest of the frames and
the seats. All these are simply cut and
fitted on the spot and at the spacings indi-
cated in the drawing. The vertical side
members of the frames are planed to fit fair
against the planking.
If the trim-fitting causes some frames to
snug in place slightly forward or aft of
the prescribed spacing, don't worry about
it. The metal fastenings are just there for
clamping until the glue hardens, anyway.
But make sure you do a good glue job
all around. It's the stuff that gives your
boat its strength. Don't skimp on it and
definitely don't build this boat without it.
The foam bow job begins with half a
[Continued on next page]
 Station Wagon Skiff
standard log of Styrofoam. This is 4-1/2 ft.
long and approximately 22 in. wide by 7-1/2
in. thick with slightly convex surfaces.
Mark it to cut off a half-inch slice from each
convex edge so you'll have flat surfaces for
fitting. Then cut the resulting block
diagonally. You'll be using one of these
triangular pie-wedges on each side of the
forward keel piece.
The cutting is best done with either a
coarse rip saw or a narrow-blade buck saw.
The buck saw is best because it has less
blade surface to bind in the cut and it can
cut the curve where the foam fits against
the up-curve of the plywood hull.
It pays to do your cutting on the safe
side of the line, then trim to a final fit with
the rasp. You mark for the curve-cut in the
same manner that you marked the forward
keel piece. But mark with a red or blue
pencil. On foam it's difficult to tell a black
pencil line from an accidental dig or saw
scratch.
When the foam pie-wedges are fitted to
the bottom you can hold them in place by
hand while you shape them to the desired
bottom contours with saw and a Stanley
Surform tool.
You can use either resorcinol glue or
epoxy to stick the foam to the plywood. But
you should have ample leftovers from your
resorcinol gallon so it will pay to use that
at this stage. Then you can get by with only
a quart of epoxy.
Applying Dynel to the foam is the easiest
part of the whole project. This stuff has
such give that you can pull it over almost
any shape in sweater-girl fashion. Then
just staple it tight at about 2-in. spacing
along the edges. To bond it on forever,
merely brush, roll or squeeze the epoxy
through it.
There must be enough epoxy on the
Dynel to close its weave, however, because
oil paint should not get through to the
foam. Before painting, disk-sand the edges
of the bonded-on Dynel to fair them out
smooth with the plywood.
The final, full-length 3/4-in. x 3/4in. keel
strip and the skids are resorcinol-glued to
the hull—although you can epoxy the front
portion of the keel strip if you have any
epoxy left after the Dynel job. All the
strips also are fastened with brass screws. •