gavin_ireland

Member

Registered: 16 Sep 2014

Posts: 3

which boat ?

hi,

I'm new to the forum and to boat making ! i have for many years wanted to build my own boat and have finally decided that i should get round to it. i was wondering if anyone could offer me suggestions as to which would be the best boat for me to purchase. i would be using it on loughs here in ireland on fishing trips (fly fishing).  id like it to be able to fit at most 4 people but no less than 2.
any suggestions and tips would be great,
thank you

wilddog

Member

From: Devon

Registered: 22 Dec 2013

Posts: 143

Re: which boat ?

Welcome to the forum Gavin!

I was in the same spot you were in until January this year when I took the plunge and ordered my Skerry kit from Fyne boats. I am now just a coat of paint and a spot of rigging away from launch day!

I would suggest that the Skerry sounds like a great boat for what you are after. The Skerry rows well and can be sailed, she has her own inbuilt buoyancy and she is designed as a beach boat, so ideal for launches on remote water. Very light too - some people car top their Skerries.

You can read my forum build log here.

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Built a Skerry!

gavin_ireland

Member

Registered: 16 Sep 2014

Posts: 3

Re: which boat ?

hi Wilddog,

thank you for the welcome and advice !

i was reading your build, the boat is beautiful. I'm sure i will be using it as a guild to my own building.

you bought the full kit, would you consider it value for money ?

wilddog

Member

From: Devon

Registered: 22 Dec 2013

Posts: 143

Re: which boat ?

Hi Gavin,

I tried to be clever and bought half the kit from Paul at Fyne Boats and then tried to pick other stuff here and there, often returning to Paul for the stuff that I had not originally purchased from him.

Once you factor in the time it takes to cut your own panels, source all the bits and bobs required etc, the full kit seems like much more of a deal. All the other stuff I have subsequently ordered from FB, including varnish, paint, an extra lot of Epoxy, oars etc are very good quality and no more expensive that from other retailers as far as I can tell. As a result all I think I have managed to do is to wast money on several delivery charges to keep the courier in business!

I was not sure about the stock rig and so I just ended up getting the timber for the hull kit, preferring an alternate rig for my Skerry. I commissioned my balanced lugg sail from our local sailmaker (this ended up being good politics, as I saw him down at the sailing club the other day!), but after getting a quote for the douglas fir for my spars from the local hardwood timber merchant, in the end, guess where I bought the timber from...!

Hope this helps!

Andy

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Built a Skerry!

wilddog

Member

From: Devon

Registered: 22 Dec 2013

Posts: 143

Re: which boat ?

Oh and BTW, if you are looking for some archive film of the Skerry, there is quite a lot on YouTube, posted by the French CLC distributor. I am sure that Fyne Boats won't mind me sharing... here:

Skerry sailing

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Built a Skerry!

marlinspike

Member

From: Derby

Registered: 9 Apr 2014

Posts: 3

Re: which boat ?

I dont know about the Skerry but I can confirm that my kayak cost £87 more to build from scratch than the kit cost.

See the Plans versus Kits thread.

It would be interesting to hear from others who have gone down the plans route.

Yambo

Member

Registered: 17 Jul 2014

Posts: 36

Re: which boat ?

Hi marlinspike (I hope you don't mind us hijacking your thread Gavin!).
I built my Skerry from plans purchased from Fyne Boats. A kit was out of the question as I live in Turkey and working from plans wasn't too difficult a route to follow. I had a few problems though; first I couldn't get 8 x 4 sheets of plywood here  (they're 2.2 metres x 1.7 metres) so every side panel has a piece in the middle. This is not a problem if you can do good scarph joints (they're not that difficult) but for belt and braces I've fibreglassed the whole boat inside and out. weight isn't an issue.

Plans for the frames are half plans so I got my local office supplies place to do mirrored photocopies so I could join them together and have full size plans. There were no real dramas in the build and she's floating happily in the north corner of the bay for the summer season.

I'm still learning to sail her but she's a great rowing boat. I'm not sure if a Skerry would be good for 4 people mind. It's Ok with 3 adults or two adults and 2 children but I'm not sure where you'd put a 4th adult. I certainly wouldn't want to sail with 4 adults.

Last edited by Yambo (20 Sep 2014 10:04 am)

DerekD

Member

Registered: 12 Aug 2013

Posts: 33

Re: which boat ?

Obviously I'm biased as I just built one, but I think the Lutra Laker which is designed as a fishing boat might be worth considering.
It is stable and has a transom for an outboard or electric trolling motor. I reckon it would cope ok with 3 fly fishing but with 4 fly fishing in any of the Fyne boats I suspect you might hook more people than fish, 4 fly hooks whizzing about in a relatively small area would scare me.

I don't fish and I use my Laker on Loch Lomond where it works well and feels safe.

The Lutra Laker doesn't come as a kit but when I compare what I paid for materials against what the kits cost, the kits are a fair price, pre-cut which saves some time and anxiety and good quality ply by all accounts.