Minor modification of existing design?

[Murky Deep]

So after multiple posts here, another build (Bolger Junebug) I still need a small power skiff for clamming, fishing and transporting family to various sand bars and beaches under reasonably calm conditions.

Other than it being ugly, the 15'6" Bolger work skiff would meet all my requirements.

What I want to do to it is modify the plumb sides, stem, and transom by a few degrees, say 5 or 7. I have made a few sketches to scale on paper, this does wonders for its appearance. I think I will just pull them in a few inches.

Is this going to mess up anything else? I have built a few other boats, including a one off skiff I modified from an existing design.

 

[bajansailor]

MD, could you post your sketches on here please?

Here is some info about the Work Skiff -
Workskiff – 15′-6″ x 4′-4″ – H.H. Payson & Company https://instantboats.com/product/workskiff-15-6-x-4-4/

Rather than changing the work skiff, would something like a 15' Diablo work?
Diablo 15′-0″ X 5′-0″ – H.H. Payson & Company https://instantboats.com/product/gypsy-15-x-4-4-copy/
And
DIABLO https://www.woodenboat.com/boat-launchings/diablo

Or the 18' Diablo Grande?
Diablo Grande – 18′-0″ x 6′-3″ – H.H. Payson & Company https://instantboats.com/product/diablo-grande-18-0-x-6-3/

 

[Murky Deep]

Honestly I like the diablo quite a bit. There is no doubt it is a better all around boat particularly on rough, windy days. However, for the types of fishing and seafood collecting we typically do, round boats are not the best until larger sizes as primary stability is most important. Standing and casting is the biggest use, followed by clamming. Reaching over in a boat that is going to heel quite a bit to measure a striped bass is a disquieting experience.

 

[ThomD]

I know it is an old thread, but when I looked up Bolger Workskiff, it came up.

The two problems I can see are that when you want to pull a lobster trap, or gaff a tarpon, you have to lean out further than the hydro support fi you flair the sides. In Workskiff he has designed the waterplane to line up under the gunnel. It maximizes the dynamic stability, or your walking around stability.

The second problem is the use of materials. Normally sides with flair waste a lot of material. It won't be all that much in your proposed case. Because you aren't planing on the usual 10 degrees. But I do admire the fact that Bolger is willing to at least squeeze hard for efficiency. More on that later.

A boat without flair will also be easier to store in a tight place, just put it on its side., no stress on the shears. And overall narrower.

This boat looks to have been designed later in his career when he probably knew people were glassing all his boats. He designed many of them to be made of American marine ply, nailed together with ring shank nails, and painted with conventional paints. They would then hang around the anchorage; give good service; and hold up until they fell apart or where stolen. The latter a contingency he actually designed for.

At today's prices and fussy assembly preferences, the question is whether any of the efficiency makes sense. Every region has its own prices, but I am not sure his dodges make the sense they used to.

I am thinking of making one. One reason is because I have several wooden skiffs and a persistent problem is that one never feels like pulling them up on a rocky shore; even one sharp pebble can be enough to "void the warranty". It is also fun to see whether this time he got away with it. Some of his designs were tragic failure, and some seem to have been worth the "World's Worst Boatbuilder" t-shirt, that is being silently awarded by shocked passers by as one climbs into "that thing".

 

[Murky Deep]

I never built it. Instead I used a cheap craigslist v hull aluminum boat for some time. It’s leaky so I sold it, and the plywood in the garage is still there. In the last month or so the urge to build has grown…but it’s going to be round bilge or v bottom.