Conchfish 16

Wow, Travis you are moving right along. I’am amazed you are taking the time to answer all these questions.
Let me say to you all that Travis is doing an excellent job. He’s getting it done quickly because he’s just working on it instead of just dreaming about building one.
There are lots of ways to build Skiffs like this using epoxy or just plain ole cheap as you can buy polyester resin.
Epoxy is great because it does not smell like polyester resin and it can have a slower working time.
Rick Hambric is miss leading you all with the info that you can put polyester resin, on top of epoxy. NEVER SHALL THE TWO RESINS EVERY MEET! Don’t ever do this. The other printed stuff he showed is just a copy of my emails to him answering a shitload of questions just like yobata.
And after all the time spent still no Skiff to show for it. Geeze come on and just get out in the shop and start on something.
The cloth layups can be just like I show on the plans. I don’t like 1708 and all the tri axels because you get lots of little air bubbles in the weave and they are to me not as strong as a good 10 oz. cloth layup. Try laying up a one off like Travis showed with the cloth in 1708. A nightmare and a whole lot more resin.
I will give a cautionary note here, all people that sell fiberglass supplies are salesman. They want to sell you stuff. Be careful as they are not going to build the Skiff, you are. Look at the plans. Listen to the guy who designed the Skiff. His name is on the line not the salesman’s.
Now as to my plans. Yea they are old school plans. That means they are like all the others from the past 150 years. What you get is numbers that you have to layout on your own using your brain, your hand and a pencil. It takes 6th grade math, English knowledge, to draw up the stations. Having cad patterns takes all the fun out of actually learning the process of figuring out the treasure map that is called a set of plans.
I am very happy to see a guy like Travis getting it done. There are a dozen people building to this design right now along with a whole bunch more building to my other designs up to 37’. All it takes is just basic skills with the mind set that it’s just one day and step at a time. Yes and some $ to buy the materials. Sites like this can give great inspiration and shared knowledge. But beware, some guys have never had glue on their hands but will quote you the gospel according to them.
One last note here, traditionally when buying a set of plans you are purchasing the right to build one vessel from those plans. Any more and you have to pay the designer another plans fee again for each vessel built.
I have not written this on my plans as I want to see a fleet of these skiffs out there instead of a few extra $.
On my blog site....hogfishdesign.wordpress.com You can see most all my designs and I feel most anyone can find a way to download them and get your own info there for FREE. I have posted all this stuff to hopefully inspire others to get going and design and build their own boats. Remember, what I say is just an opinion based on my past work and experiences. Does not mean it’s the way to go. Lots of ways to build a skiff.

Travis, here’s what I use to Fair the hull in minutes. That is all the flat surfaces. You still have to long board the radiuses. I always start with the core having a big radius so as the glass builds up its till easy layup. Then you can put any type of radius on. I use 30% silaca and the rest glass bubbles. I never use wood dust as it will swell later with moisture. The flat pad is the same size as a sheet of sand paper. I glue it on with quick dry contact adhesive to a 1/8” sheet of ply that is glued to a 7” foam pad. Use a slow buffer or what I use is a variable speed grinder. Nothing faster than 2500 rpm.
The whole thing to think of when building like this is that the putty does all the work. Don’t ever grind raw glass. Just sand and fair putty. As they say “putty and paint will make the devil look like a saint”.

bryson said:

That looks heavy duty! So the paper is directly on the ply and the ply is glued to a regular foam pad for the grinder/buffer?

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It’s easy to make. Buy a 7” foam pad that fits a 5/8” arbor. That’s standard thread size for polishers, buffers and such. Now buy a sheet of door skin. That’s 1/8” ply you buy to replace your kicked in door in your house. It’s about $12.00 a sheet. The rest you can use for patterns. Now cut this to 8-1/2”x11” or what ever the sand paper size is. Now glue this onto the flat side of the foam pad using epoxy glue. Make sure it’s centered.
Now to glue the sheets of sand paper on you buy feathering disc adhesive in spray form or just tube and smear around form. Spray or goo around on the ply sheet. Slap the sheet of sandpaper a few times to it till it’s starting to stick. Bingo it’s stuck on. Now when using this set up what the corners of the ply as they dissapear when it’s turning. I wear jeans when sanding. Lay it flat and let it Coast over the hull. You can tilt it just a little as the ply will bend. Put on plenty of putty, like a nice cake. It will fly off real fast and level. Once you see glass move on.
I use it on round hulls, convex ones like in the picture and can Fair a CONCHFISH hull in less than 2 hours time. Takes way longer to apply the putty.
I use 3M glass bubbles for all my fairing. The least expensive and the best. Use silaca to bulk up a bit or when on vertical surfaces. Stay away from WEST products as they are set up to make $. You can buy enough Glass bubbles in one box to build and fair 3 Skiffs for less than $200.00. Going the boutique WEST route you would be paying $1,500.00 for the same amount.
I have used this set up since 1978.
Wear a full facemask if you have one unless you have big fans.

Today finds me with good WiFi in Bocas Del Toro Panama. I’am on my way sailing slowly to the Canal to transit in September.
I have been able to read and see all of the pictures on this post. I will shed some info here to hopefully clear up some questions.
To draw up the station molds on my plans you need to know how to use a tape measure, an angle for drawing out a square grid, a bendy batten, some finish nails, hammer and a pencil. You just draw up a square grid and as Travis said you then connect the dots... which are the measurement points.
Look up Wooden Boat magazine for all the ways to ( pick up the lines from your drawing) it’s easy and very rewarding when you put it all together.
Once you understand how all this goes together you will start to look at all the other boats hull shapes and start to think of what will work for your own needs.
When I drew up the Plans for the CONCHFISH and the LITHIUM skiffs it was a few years ago and all guys were talking about was building in stitch and glue and in wood, ply. That’s why they are drawn out this way.
BUT you can build in core the same way. Just use a bit thicker core 3/4”.
I like to build with cloth because of the weight and costs you save in resin use. Because Cedar is very stiff you don’t need that much glass. Same thing with core.
PLEASE LISTEN HERE. If building a full deck on any skiff that is glued and glassed to the stern you don’t have to build the stern up like it’s a production skiff. The deck glued and glassed on holds the stern in place. Most Production skiffs are just stuck together so they can get cracks and flexing issues at the stern joint. Not a problem with one-off skiffs.
Good consistent glass work is way stronger than a bunch of extra glass. Think one piece. Think of how strong the ends of a beer can are. It’s still the same thickness through out the can.
These CONCHFISH home builds should weigh with a full deck and floor somewhere around 325 lbs if built in core.
In cedar they will weigh a bit more. A typical HB skiff or a Gordon built skiff will weigh close to 485-500 lbs in the Whipray model if lucky today. A Chittum skiff would be very happy to weigh anywhere near what your homebuild will weigh.
What would be great is if you all put a site together on this site or Instagram, Facebook or so to help each other in buying materials and sourcing. There are lots of deals out there to be had on Craig’s list and so on. You just have to be ready to buy.
You can stretch this design out to 17-1/2’ by just adding another station in. You don’t need to make the rounded stern. Its what I drew in 1997 so I put it in the plans.
Anyone that wants a free set just look up on my blog and print out the info.
Once you understand how to draw stations from my hull lines drawings then you can build to all the drawings that have numbers on them. You just look up my details for reference.
I charge the plans fee because I end up answering Lots of questions to the builders and this is my fee. It’s been great getting to know the builders but I’am hoping you all can share enough from what you are learning so I can stop with the email questions and just post my designs for free.
It’s very rewarding to see all the interest, involment, and energy that’s happening with this little skiff design evolution that I first drew up in 1993. Thanks

Muice said:

I’ve been modeling up this hull in CAD in my free time based off of the drawings posted on Chris’ website for an upcoming build (I’ve been given an ultimatum that I can’t start on the build until I finally finish rebuilding our house). So once I finish up this damn shoe moulding and painting cabinets/doors I’ll be starting.

Since Chris awesomely seems cool with RE’ing the boat off of what hes posted on his website I would be willing to share the file (with Chris’ approval of course) with those interested. No timeline on when that will happen as I’m juggling a toddler, a busy work schedule and rebuilding a house. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Thanks Chris for sharing your knowledge and inspiring future generations of boat builders with your plans. I’ve finally got the fire under my ass to finish this house because I can’t wait to start this build.

OP, beautiful work so far man. Can’t wait for you to enjoy her.

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Please feel free to share what you end up with the world. The more self built skiffs out there the better I feel. I am presently cruising on my sailboat in Panama till November and then I will be sailing out into the Pacific en route to BC Canada via Easter Island and on up. This trip will take my wife and I till next July. So I will not be taking the time to answer emails except to the people who have bought plans. With all these great builds being shown online all these guys are showing the world howits done. It’s great.
For me going back through the Panama Canal out into the pacfic after 43 years is a new lease on life. I will be looking for new boats to dream of and will be leaving my flats Skiff world to this side of the canal and you all.
I will say it here one more time, all the stuff on my blog is there to use for free.
Have fun on your build.

Muice said:

The CAD route has a lot of benefits and I don’t think it takes the “building” out at all. Just like how people learn differently, some people visualize differently. I dont have an artistic bone in my body yet I got a rough 3D rendering of the boat drawn up in CAD in about 30 minutes - so it helps me visualize the end goal. It also helps me space plan my garage to show my wife that she can in fact still park in the garage during the build! More than likely I will loft the stations but as I progress I’ll have something to compare to.

Also just to clear things up, if I do provide CADs I would never even consider emailing @Chris Morejohn with a question about his hull and expect him to answer without paypal’ing him the $250 first. (ETA -I don’t want that to sound retaliatory to Chris’ post above, the intent of this comment is that it would be assanine for one to expect support on a build the designer has not seen any profit from)

I like Chris’ idea of developing a community around the design that can support itself.

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The CONCHFISH plans that I have been selling come in two forms. One you get my original hand drawn hull lines and offsets for how I wanted to originally build the Whipray except I have now changed the upper spray rail making it wider. I drew in the stern as originally drawn being curved.
Then Nathan Shawl did the plans on his computer drawing it up and fairing it out. It’s hard for computers to fair my hull designs out because my visions go from one type of hull shape aft and change to another going forward. This I see in my head and because I have built lots of boats I know from instinct and experience what shapes I can get away with.
Nathan and I have worked closely going back and forth with HIS hull lines of my hull lines to figure out how to get the computer to work with what I know can be had in reality and what IT sees in mathematical fiarm.
Remember computers are just calculators. They don’t know a break through shape when it gets put into them. They have to have a good computer technician help them fair in my crazy transition lines.
Now all my past designs up till I met Nathan Shawl I just drew up and lofted the stations and laid them out on a strong back jig and started laying battens over them. The worst I would be out might be 1/8-3/16” here and there in my transition area in the curve of the bilge. This is typical boat building one off. I would then just Fair the stations quickly by eye and start to plank the boat. To do this with a planked hull takes me 2-1/2 days to be ready to glass.
Now if it’s to be a biggger boat say 30-45’ I draw the hull lines up old school full size on the floor and fair with long battens. This is called lofting up the hull lines.
What all this means is with my CF plans you are getting two hull shapes to choose from but are very close in shape.
Now I feel that it’s great to get anyone into building and if using a computer makes it happen then fantastic. It’s the same thing with boating today. I grew up using a sextant for navigating. Just think of what it’s like having to keep track of what you think you are doing going through the water all the time. Keeping a written logbook. No VHF when I was young, just a compass and your wits.
When the GPS came along it changed my life. Makes things so much easier and less stressfull.
So yes please carry on with what ever gets you going.
I am presently designing and finishing up new designs for 5 new skiffs for five different companies that are all different. They will be coming to light in the market this coming year. I make a few $ from doing this. I can do this work on my boat anywhere.
What is killing me is when some guys that buy my plans after 5-8 email questions back and forth, when they get the plans the first thing they ask is “what do I do now?”.
I won’t have the time to answer these emails anymore this coming year because I will be sailing off the grid. So it would be great for others to pass on their info and I will get to be out of the loop. I will keep on posting all the hull shapes that my clients give me permission to show and everyone will either way see the refinements of my designs as they go along.
Where I am anchored now is the world of a thousand Pangas and Cayucos. The Cayucos are built in one piece of a hollowed out tree and are 30-40’ long. They go along really well with a 15 hp on the stern. No wake and really smooth running. But you have to have lots of room when you go in a turn and they weigh a ton. The Pangas do all the tourist hauling back and forth. They run along great, are dry but pound like crazy.
You know when ones coming by the spanking noise. I would love to redesign their mid section forward.
So many boats, so little time...

Looks great Travis,
I will say for everyone looking at the inside here. The gaps are no big deal. Fill them with thicker putty. Fair off, vacuume out well, then resin coat. Let cure, then lay your glass in.
I always glass my bulk heads first. I do the whole sheet at One time. I can use all the pizza pie pieces somewhere down the road. Also I never used Coosa board for builkheads. I understand it easy as it’s stiff. But it’s heavy.
I always glassed bulkheads with 1 layer of 7oz cloth on each side. They are only in compression. Anymore glass is a waste of $ and time. Tab in with 2 layers of 1-1/2 oz. matt or 1 layer of the biaxel scraps you have.
Remember any weight you save you can use with gear and stuff. These skiffs like you are building can weigh about 300-325 lbs finished. A 40hp, 2 guys, gear and stuff and you will be going along at 29 + mph.

As for buying a 2 stroke in the Bahamas, call Spanish Wells Marina. They are the Yamaha dealer there. Get a price and ask them the cost to ship to you on the freight boat or if they can get a fishing boat to drop to your in Ft. Lauderdale. They cost the same throughout the Bahamas as it’s one family that has the dealship.

I always bought my sheets of core by the box. I kept a sheet of 3/4” ply on top to keep the sheets flat and not trying to look like a potato chip. I would slide out a sheet and lay it on top of a 4’x8’ sheet of Formicad plywood that was waxed and perfectly flat. I glassed on top of this and hand rolled out air. When just cured I would flip and glass the opposite side. These sheets would end up perfectly flat. Very light and extremely strong. I would make up 7-8 in a day and these I would use for the build. Please just think that all bulkheads supports and such are only in compression. Why add weight. When you glass and glue the hull and deck together it’s like the end of a beer can. Very strong. When I see a 1/4” of glass on a Beavertail bulkhead I see total ignorance of structural engineering and building. A huge weight, cost loss. Just think outside the box. The bottom matters, the sides less so and inside it’s just the joints-connections. These skiffs if built to my plans will weigh 150 lbs less than a Chittum Skiff at $56,000.00. They are the same size. When you are done launching your CF16 go out and buy a new car with the savings.

Travis Smith said:

@Chris Morejohn can you please explain to me the process you build a fiberglass tank? What type of resin? I am using MarinEpoxy boatbuildercentral. Thanks man

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This is how I build a fiberglass tank in polyester resin or epoxy.
I build a 4x8’ sheet of flat plywood and wax it. Or you can use an old sliding glass door or a good sheet of glass. Wax em up smooth. Use mold wax. I then lay up 4 layers of 1-1/2 oz matt hand rolled out and finish with a 10 oz. cloth. When cured I peel this sheet off the waxed ply- glass.
Her you then cut out your sheets like you would an aluminum tank. Make a pattern first out of Door skin or card board.
Now you fillet together the whole tank from the inside leaving the top on last. Before adding the top I glass tape the engine with a 4” Wide tape so 2” is on each side. I use 2 layers 1-1/2 oz matt.
Grind and clean up the inside. Now you can coat the inside with a coat of epoxy resin if built in epoxy.
If using polyester you need to use vynelester resin or resin that’s made for fuel.
When the top of the tab
No is fitted I install bronze through hulls through it and glass in a copper tube for the pickup.
I then place on the top of the tank and glass all the edges with 4 layers 1-1/2 oz. matt.
Once all is done you can close off the fills and vents and pressure test for leaks.
You must do perfect glass work, no air bubbles. All neat. Especially the corners.
I have over 40 tanks still being used built by me from 40-800 gals that were built 38-42 years ago.
Look up WEST Systems book on boat building. They give good directions for. Building fuel tanks in epoxy and plywood. There are other ways but I will describe them offline.

Travis Smith said:

Thanks Chris!!

Couple questions

1. Is west systems epoxy gas proof? Or is it a specific epoxy from them?

2. Can I wax or use tape on my bulkhead(between the two and floor of boat) where I want the tank and use them as a mold?

3. What psi do you test it to?

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Travis,
I would suggest asking WEST technical team about how their epoxy works with gas. Should be fine is my guess.
I used to build my tanks in in fiberglass like I show in the plans. It’s very easy that way. You end up getting a sub floor too. Lots of space in the bow. If you want to go that way let me know and I will explain it here and the other site in detail.
I can’t remeber what psi the coast guard said to go to. Ask an aluminum guy. He will know.
For me it’s just get the sides or the lid to bulge and hold it there and put soapy water around looking for leaks.
Once it’s built they are pretty bulletproof, especially if you go with the version I drew on the plans.
At the last Miami boat show the Coast Guard officer in charge of all new designs stopped and talked to me at the Piranaha Noatworks booth and I asked him all about using fiberglass as fuel tanks. He said it’s not a poproblem with them. Just has to follow their guidelines.
To me everyone would build one my way if they could relie on their workers to do a good job. Not easy today.

Poomay said:

A question for the professionals... for this project, would the cost/reward benefits be worth it to substitute a layer of Kevlar or carbon fiber for the hull? Would you put this down as your first layer then cloth the other 3 layers for hull?

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Kevlar is a sales tool. It’s not needed in skiffs. It was always an option when I built at HB and all my other builds. 1 layer of 10 oz Kevlar cloth is all I ever put in the outside laminate of my HB skiffs. Truth is it has a bit more impact resistance than a layer of eglass but to me it’s not worth it. But everyone wanted to pay the extra $ for it. It takes about 4 yards for a hull bottom. It has to have a layer of cloth or better matt laid over it.
You don’t want to be abraiding it because it will just puff out and wick water in.
If you hit something real hard your hull will puncture no problem with it. Unless you do multiple layers.
I could gone and on. Not for me but if you want it than go ahead. ANY SKIFF YOU SEE WITH KEVKAR ON THE INSIDE OF THE HULL BUILD IS WASTING MONEY, YOURS. You don’t get impacted from the inside of your hull. So stupid.

Now carbon is a very stiff fiber. If used properly it can make things very stiff and stronger for the same thickness in layers at a greater cost.
No Skiff needs it anywhere ever unless you want to pay for it.
The HB Whiprays I built 17-19 years ago had 1 layer of Kevlar in the hull bottom only, carbon on top of the center stringer and sometimes around the deck by the hatches. I bought a bunch of carbon for nothing from a guy that just walked in the door selling stuff hence I used it here and there.
All these skiffs were built using basic polyester resin and then vynelester resins all hand laid up. Then vacuum
Bagging around hull # 55. They are way lighter than most of today’s skiffs and have lasted quiet well with good owners over the years

My last build was the 18’ Lithium Skiff I built in Islamorada last summer. I built her in vynelester resin with a solid glass hull. All very low tech. Total weight of fully rigged skiff with a 50 hp tiller was 920 lbs.

Here’s how I built my glassed in tanks. No drawings needed I hope.
First off Coast Guard rules state that no part of the fuel tanks side can be made up of the hull skins.
This is how I deal with the rule.
First off i get a five gallon bucket of water and fill it up. I then pour into the bow area slowly to not get water verywhere the bucket repeating till I get the amount of fuel in gallons in the bow area. So for you say 20 gals. Now you have a small vee shaped pond of water in your bow. When calmed take a felt pen and just at the waters edge trace it all the way around the pond.
Now bail out and dry off.
Next grind your inner hull laminate well above the felt drawn waterline up say 5”.
It’s got to be a good secondary bond here. Vacuume our well.
Now wax all the inside of the hull real well everything below the felt tips water line. The whole area where the fuel will be. Do not buff out like waxing a mold. Just say. 4 coats of wax everywhere.
This will be your separation of your soon to be laid up fuel tank from the hull skin.
Now lay in 4 layers of 1-1/2 oz. matt one on top of the other rolling out real well with a hard grooved roller to get all the air bubbles out. These layer need to go all the way up to the 5” above the waterline felt tip pen mark.
This will be your fuel tank. This skin is your fuel tanks sides. The top 5” will be it’s attachment hold down flange to your hull skin.
Now lay up the tanks lid with the same amount of matt. 4 layers of 1-1/2 oz. matt on a flat waxed sheet of glass or Formicaed sheet of ply.
When cured peel off then add in your pickup,vent and fill through hulls and tube.
Make sure all this fits the hull side as close as can be.
You can add a baffle if you want but it’s a small tank. I wouldn’t bother.
Now lay the lid down and its edge should fit right along the felt pens waterline. Or close to it.
You can fillet the whole top in using Silaca to thicken the resin you will be using.
Now glass this in by using 10” Wide 1-1/2 oz. matt tape going along the whole edge.
Hard roll this very well so mo air bubbles. Watch the three corners to make sure they are rolled out very neatly.
Voila !
Now you have a fiberglass fuel tank that is not part of the hull except it’s flanged attachment point.
Tanks I have built this way from 1983 onwards have never failed and are in perfect shape.
It’s easy and if built in polyester cheaper than aluminum.
I will include a picture of a boat I built in 1984 for Carl Navarre. Pres. Bush used it every year to fish the Keys.
It’s still in the same family since I built it.