[Chris Morejohn]

Over the past year I have sailed over 9000 miles from Florida to here in Hilo Hawaii. I am on my last couple island hops sailing to BC. During this time at sea I get lots of time to think about skiffs and life.
As you will see here and on my blogs, Instagram I am offering more skiff designs for the home builders.
My plans are to finish my cruise to BC and to then cross back across the USA by land to set up shop in N.Carolina to build 2 of my latest designs as one off skiffs to video and photograph the build process for the book I have been writing on skiff design and how to build. The boo will cover everything. This fall and winter I will be doing this and will make molds of these 2 designs. My goal is along with my plans business I will sell bare hulls to finished parts as kits for the home builders that don’t have enough time to build from scratch from these molds. I will build the Beryllium 2 lower chine pocket design and the 16’ Boron skiff. The will allow 6 hull lengths from here 2 molds. A build from a kit will take an amateur from 100 -200 hours to complete.
Along with my latest designs we will soon be providing plans for Aluminum skiff hulls that can be welded up by any shop sing our cad plans. They can also be built using core panels or plywood using my stitch and glass method for home builders.
Once my book is finished I will go back West to settle in BC. The kits will be built by an established builder in S Fl. Or anyone that wants to get

into this type of building.
My future goal is to provide a low cost alternative to those that want to say “I built her myself”
Info is on my blog hogfishdesign.wordpress.com lots of pictures on my Instagram site.

 

[DBStoots]

Cool!

 

[Capnredfish]

Nice looking.

 

[Guest]

Awesome!

 

[sss]

All of that sounds really, really good! Looking forward to your book!

 

[Fritz]

Awesome stuff Chris! Likely I’ll be a buyer of your book.

I know it’s early, and I won’t hold you to any guesses, but where would you like to see prices start on a basic Beryllium or Boron hull and deck?

 

[makin moves]

 

[firecat1981]

Sounds like a cool plan. Good luck!

 

[Chris Morejohn]

Awesome stuff Chris! Likely I’ll be a buyer of your book.

I know it’s early, and I won’t hold you to any guesses, but where would you like to see prices start on a basic Beryllium or Boron hull and deck?

Ha! Now it starts.
I have talked about the real costs of skiff building on my blogs many times in great detail. I personally don’t want to be a boatbuilder again with employees but I do enjoy building boats on my own.
I know some really good guys that are wanting to just build parts for me. They make money building them and I make a % from selling them, along with my plans or my book. Not much as I live a simple life.
Now what everyone needs to know is the actual costs of materials for say an 18’ Flats skiff of any design is...hull, deck, hatches, stringers, cockpit, console will be from $3,500.00 basic glass which to me is the best to all carbon and vynelester resin, core at $4,500.00 plus labor costs.
I will in my book and online here this fall show all my real build times and costs for every phase of building.
What everyone will learn is how it’s all very doable to build than to buy.
A set of parts ready to be assembled, that is you glass in the the stringers, add the bulkheads, rod tubes glue the deck on, rig the skiff for around $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 depending on materials used decided on by each client.
My goal is to sell skiff packages with all hardware needed, everything in a box and all you have to do is assemble it. So no fairing or painting etc. cuts time down to not much.
Do the math,
$10,000.00 hull parts for my preferred build layup 18’ Beryllium tunnel
$1,000.00 to $3500.00 hardware parts, depends on if tiller or console, how much crap you want.
$2,000.00 upwards for trailer
$5600.00 upwards for engine
Hells Bays latest add says they take 300 hours to build a skiff. It’s about right. Now multiple that by today’s wages for glass guys, riggers etc. so let’s be generous at $30.00 an hour average.
That’s $9,000.00 plus the above... equals $26,600.00
Then what brings the costs up is all the rest of the overhead. But we don’t care about that because we are just building a skiff at home. We are not worried about the Skiff Challenge, boat shows, advertising etc.
during my time at HB our skiff costs to us came to between $9500.00 to $18500.00 from Watermans and Guides fully rigged out the door. Do the math.
Any build using my plans or kits is going to get you a finished skiff for under $20,000.00 plus your time.
And ah taking your significant other out to dinner now and then to help with using the porch etc.
What this ends up being is you are paying yourself $56,400.00 over going out and buying a Chittum 2 degree flats skiff and building my design which I feel will go head to head with all the skiffs available today in performance and how it’s built. My book will be available as an ebook or in hardcover so it will be the guide to all questions answered in pictures, drawings and info.
Or you can go up to the next level and build one from scratch at a better savings and really have a custom skiff.
When you are buying an all carbon skiff from the top builders you are paying lots for their overhead not for the few yards of cloth that’s in your skiff.
You can all save the overhead and put that in your pocket and when it’s all done you can have the satisfaction of building your own skiff.

 

[Guest]

Ha! Now it starts.
I have talked about the real costs of skiff building on my blogs many times in great detail. I personally don’t want to be a boatbuilder again with employees but I do enjoy building boats on my own.
I know some really good guys that are wanting to just build parts for me. They make money building them and I make a % from selling them, along with my plans or my book. Not much as I live a simple life.
Now what everyone needs to know is the actual costs of materials for say an 18’ Flats skiff of any design is...hull, deck, hatches, stringers, cockpit, console will be from $3,500.00 basic glass which to me is the best to all carbon and vynelester resin, core at $4,500.00 plus labor costs.
I will in my book and online here this fall show all my real build times and costs for every phase of building.
What everyone will learn is how it’s all very doable to build than to buy.
A set of parts ready to be assembled, that is you glass in the the stringers, add the bulkheads, rod tubes glue the deck on, rig the skiff for around $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 depending on materials used decided on by each client.
My goal is to sell skiff packages with all hardware needed, everything in a box and all you have to do is assemble it. So no fairing or painting etc. cuts time down to not much.
Do the math,
$10,000.00 hull parts for my preferred build layup 18’ Beryllium tunnel
$1,000.00 to $3500.00 hardware parts, depends on if tiller or console, how much crap you want.
$2,000.00 upwards for trailer
$5600.00 upwards for engine
Hells Bays latest add says they take 300 hours to build a skiff. It’s about right. Now multiple that by today’s wages for glass guys, riggers etc. so let’s be generous at $30.00 an hour average.
That’s $9,000.00 plus the above... equals $26,600.00
Then what brings the costs up is all the rest of the overhead. But we don’t care about that because we are just building a skiff at home. We are not worried about the Skiff Challenge, boat shows, advertising etc.
during my time at HB our skiff costs to us came to between $9500.00 to $18500.00 from Watermans and Guides fully rigged out the door. Do the math.
Any build using my plans or kits is going to get you a finished skiff for under $20,000.00 plus your time.
And ah taking your significant other out to dinner now and then to help with using the porch etc.
What this ends up being is you are paying yourself $56,400.00 over going out and buying a Chittum 2 degree flats skiff and building my design which I feel will go head to head with all the skiffs available today in performance and how it’s built. My book will be available as an ebook or in hardcover so it will be the guide to all questions answered in pictures, drawings and info.
Or you can go up to the next level and build one from scratch at a better savings and really have a custom skiff.
When you are buying an all carbon skiff from the top builders you are paying lots for their overhead not for the few yards of cloth that’s in your skiff.
You can all save the overhead and put that in your pocket and when it’s all done you can have the satisfaction of building your own skiff.

I like the thought of the “kit boats”! It is a terrific way for a person to get hands on building their skiff exactly like they want it at a fraction of the cost for a “custom built” skiff or production skiff without the time or mess that comes from building a one off hull! Both are great ways to get into a great full custom skiff! Way to stay ahead of the curve Chris!

 

[Fritz]

Brilliant!

I’d love to have a bit part in building my own skiff, but I’m not in Travis’s league (a man has got to know his limitations...).

I really like this idea.

 

[manny2376]

Man! This makes me want to sell my Waterman and finance a build. Although I’m totally incapable skill wise, the allure of knowing you built your own skiff is so tempting!

 

[topnative2]

Where in N.C.?

 

[Vincent A Sawchuk]

This is great news to here! When do you think the kits will be available for sale?

 

[firecat1981]

When does the hard cover come out?

 

[Fishshoot]

Not familiar with each country’s laws, but if these kits can be imported into Caribbean countries and finished there saving on import duties I bet they will soon be in every lodge in the Caribbean!!

 

[jbnc]

Where in N.C.?

I believe in another thread he said the Mt. Olive area

 

[Chris Morejohn]

I believe in another thread he said the Mt. Olive area

I think we might call my next shop the Mt. Olive Briny Pickle Boatworks and design office.

Here’s a couple more designs to think about.

I will be building this version of the Beryllium skiff to be known as the B2. I will make the plug and mold at 18’4” long with my signature rounded stern. This way I can put in plugs in the mold to make any length down to 16’ with flat, crowned sterns with pockets or tunnels if wanted.
Will do the same thing with the Boron skiff at 16’.
The other design is my version of channeling the past skiff designs that have evolved from the Banana River skiff morphing into the Super Skiff, then to the Maverick Marage, to the HPX, then onto the Chittum skiffs redesign of the HPX and using Harry Spears sheer down turned sheer that has been adapted by Sabine and Explorboats to my interpretation of a hard chine skiff.
This hull differs in that the lower chine is not strait but has a Variable deadrise the the bow, uses my reveres spray strake, and a pad and lifting strakes to be able to use low Hp.
This hull can be built in aluminum, core, or plywood using my method of building.
To build in wood or core it will take 40-50 hours to complete this hull shape. In core it can weigh if following my specs 400lbs.

 

[makin moves]

View attachment 75358 View attachment 75356 View attachment 75360

I think we might call my next shop the Mt. Olive Briny Pickle Boatworks and design office.

Here’s a couple more designs to think about.

I will be building this version of the Beryllium skiff to be known as the B2. I will make the plug and mold at 18’4” long with my signature rounded stern. This way I can put in plugs in the mold to make any length down to 16’ with flat, crowned sterns with pockets or tunnels if wanted.
Will do the same thing with the Boron skiff at 16’.
The other design is my version of channeling the past skiff designs that have evolved from the Banana River skiff morphing into the Super Skiff, then to the Maverick Marage, to the HPX, then onto the Chittum skiffs redesign of the HPX and using Harry Spears sheer down turned sheer that has been adapted by Sabine and Explorboats to my interpretation of a hard chine skiff.
This hull differs in that the lower chine is not strait but has a Variable deadrise the the bow, uses my reveres spray strake, and a pad and lifting strakes to be able to use low Hp.
This hull can be built in aluminum, core, or plywood using my method of building.
To build in wood or core it will take 40-50 hours to complete this hull shape. In core it can weigh if following my specs 400lbs.

Perfect name for the company!

 

[KurtActual]

@Chris Morejohn any more info on the smaller (12-14') Boron skiff designs? I found the listing for them on your blog.
https://hogfishdesign.wordpress.com/2019/05/16/latest-skiff-plans-available-for-purchase/