DIY flats skiff

[curtintex]

Can't wait.

[captainsling]

Hope everything went well. Kind of curious.

[kevin nicholls]

Job well done. A video of the launch would be cool. Good luck with the maiden voyage.

[bboswell]

There should be splash pics here by now....

[Quackerbox]

There should be splash pics here by now....

my thoughts as well

[westtexducks]

There should be splash pics here by now....

Hopefully he is to busy catching a mess of fish.

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[Hoggslayer]

There should be splash pics here by now....

Probably still picking the bugs from his teeth from running around the flats grinning ear to ear. [emoji1787]

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[Hoggslayer]

I told him to put the plug in. Sure hope he's just out having fun. I know the last thing on my mind after, completing an accomplishment such as that, would be updating a bunch of internet yahoo's like us.

[Brazos Hunter]

Well, I have both good and bad news. The launch went great and Skipjack out performed my expectations. The original design said she should draft between 4-5” fully loaded but she did not. She actually drafts 2 1/2” fully loaded! I am able to move about without feeling tippy and casting from the bow deck is a dream. I realized 21 mph with a four blade prop before the outboard started acting up.

I launched solo at 0600 and had her back on the trailer by 0630. She would only go half throttle all of a sudden and after getting back to the dock, she would not start to load. That ended up being an o-ring that popped off that held the throttle linkage in place. Fortunately my neighbor has a giant assortment of little parts like that and I was back out on the water at 0930.

I pushed her hard to see what she was capable of going way back into the marsh where I found several tailing reds over oyster reefs just 6” below the surface. After going super skinny I wanted to see how she would take high speed turns so I opened her up and cut it all the way. She did not dig in as much as I hoped but she didn’t lean to the side either. I would say she drifted when I didn’t lean into the steer.

After playing around for a bit I ran her five miles to a shallow cove for pictures and video. Oh, did I mention not one chase boat showed up? Anyway, I got a couple good pictures and a little video before having to haul back to the ramp because a storm popped up out of nowhere. About 700 yards from the ramp a cool blast of air hit me dropping the temperature to 74. Pulling up to the dock there were no less than a dozen boats all scrambling to load before the rains hit. Fortunately I was able to get her loaded and on the road in time though everything including myself was covered in sand from all the wind.

Now back in the driveway I started cleaning her up. First I filled the barrel to run and flush her, reach over to start and she just spins, never firing off. It was then and there I decided to cut my losses and order a new Tohatsu 20 with electric start, tilt and trim. Skipjack turned out to be way too good of a boat to keep having to mess with the outboard!

I took minimal video posting some on Instagram and I will be producing a full build video this coming week. Overall I could not be more impressed with the design and performance! If able to go back there is not one thing I would have done differently other than purchasing a new outboard! Thank you for following along with me and I look forward to the next build being planned right now.


Michael

[Smart]

DIY flats skiff

Dang good looking boat Michael! Incredible craftsmanship.! Still can’t believe that is homemade.

Gonna be nice with that new motor and warranty too for peace of mind.

[Quackerbox]

I think the new motor is a good choice. May not be budget friendly but after all your work, she (and you)deserve it

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[DUKFVR]

Nice write up & Congrats on a great build!

[cwill]

How awesome and rewarding! Thanks for letting us follow along...I really enjoyed it!

[txoutdoorsman24]

Great write up bud. Bet that initial run was heart pumping. Great picture too

[Texas Grown]

She wet! Awesome!