Hello,
I have been dreaming of building a sailboat for some time now and have almost convinced my wife to let me get started.
I am interested in possibly building a Gaff Rigged Skipjack. I only need room for two adults for short outings and the Skipjackâs smaller size and lighter weight should allow me to have easy access to the lake without needing to get a new car. My hope is to build one over this upcoming winter and be able to sail sometime next spring. However, I was wondering what build times and costs people have seen with the Skipjack? Also is there information available (and where do I get it) about building the gaff rig and sail for this boat?
On the Stevenson's Website, they suggest between 100 and 120 hours for their smaller boats. The FAQ on their site is pretty informative. You can read it if you like by clicking
here.
I hope that helps. :-)
Regards,
Welcome to the Great Southwest Fleet Shane!
I have a Gaff Rigged Skipjack, though she hasn't been splashed yet. I would guess about $600+ using good marine grade ply and good doug fir lumber. More later...
Shane if you go to my web site you can view my Gaff Rigged Skipjack complete with construction photos and notes. There is a section on how to rig it for the gaff rig and the sail dimensions. The sailing rig was set up by a profesional sail rite. It was sold to Mark Hughes a little over a year ago.
http://www.geocities.com/edskipjack/index.html
A gaff-rigged Skipjack was what I've been wanting to build for myself for awhile, in that we don't have any boats around here any longer. I'll be doing a test-build of the new 14-footer instead, but it's gaff rigged. I think it's a good way to go for a fun, characterful small boat.
Mike
Thanks for the information.
Thanks Ed for the link. I will study your notes more closely. I am sure that I will have questions in the future.
I like the looks and character of the gaff rig. The 14-footer sounds interesting maybe project number two? I am interested in the Skipjack because of its small size. As I mentioned earlier I only need room for two for an hour or so at a time (for now). If I can keep the weight down I can almost tow it to the lake behind may bike. I also thought that it might be a good way to learn how to build a boat and how to use a gaff rig in preparation for a larger boat.
Mike,
I have been scheming on building a Stevenson project for some time, and I have particularly been wanting an open boat with a gaff rig. The new 14-footer seems to be exactly what I'm after and I have been excited since I saw the first tidbit on the site.
So, I'm now wondering if there is any anticipated date for release of the plans (or pictures) of the new boat. Will it require waiting until another 14-footer is built so you can check the plans? Any information is welcomed.
I'm looking foward to getting started on the project.
Andy
I'm afraid there is no date set for this project's plan release. I do need to build one to check the dimensions and to record the DVD. I suspect it'll be next year when we get everything wrapped up. There's some discussion about an article, so that may change the timing.
I'm all anxious to get ahold of one too, as I haven't had a little boat to knock around in for quite awhile.
Mike