Boat Plans: Flapjack
I try out the first plywood lapstrake skiff from my Pine Street boatshop in 1978.
Description:
Plans for Flapjack were drawn up in 1986 when I hired Tom Hill to build what was to be a one-off custom boat for my father. The boat was based on an epoxy-glued plywood lapstrake skiff I developed and built 8 years earlier in my boatshop on Pine Street in Burlington, Vermont.
Flapjack is similar to, though considerably lighter than, R.D. "Pete" Culler's classic Good Little Skiff. Later because he was building a second boat for himself, Tom made a detailed description of her construction the central theme of his book Ultralight Boatbuilding. And so there has been a small but steady demand for plans ever since. Ultralight Boatbuilding was perhaps a misnomer in this case. Though light, I don't personally classify Flapjack as an ultralight boat, and you can't carry her on your shoulders, the way you can Whisp. A small trailer is all that is necessary to transport her, however.
Because it was not originally intended for amateur builders, Flapjack was also designed to be lofted from offsets and built on a strongback, unlike Bluegill or Whisp, and as a result she took longer and cost more to build than she would have otherwise. There are some differences between the building description in Ultralight Boatbuilding and the actual designed construction, and it is recommended that builders follow the plans where they differ from the book, since they will make it easier to build and more economical of materials.
The plans were lofted with an early CAD program I developed and offsets were faired to a sixteenth of an inch. Lofting is therefore no longer required, and the molds and plank locations can be marked out directly on the setup. There is no need for a false transom, or deduction for one as described in the book.
Performance:
Flapjack rows easily with good load carrying capacity. She has traditional good rowing and sailing lines, and a generous amount of sail area in the by now well known cat sprit rig. She is shorter than WHISP or BLUEGILL but fits between them in stability, capacity, performance, weight and cost.
Materials:Flapjack's basic hull uses 4 sheets of plywood and about 25 board feet of lumber. A sailing version will require additional material for the centerboard case, rudder, and rig. Building costs will vary depending on sources of supply, degree of finish, and whether a rowing or sailing version is produced. Material sources are listed on the plans. We recommend epoxy/fiberglass coating the bottom, and epoxy coating the topsides.
L.O.A. 13'-10"
Beam 4'-6"
Hull Wt. about 125 lbs.
Capacity about 500 lbs.
Hull Type- Light flat bottomed skiff.
Power Electric trolling motor (not suitable for gas outboards)
Thwarts 3, fixed.
Sail Traditional spritsail, 70 sq. ft., centerboard
Oars 8' to suit owner
Canadian Orders: Due to bank policy we can no longer accept Canadian personal checks. International Postal Money Orders are acceptable, however.
Overseas Orders: Payment for overseas mail orders must be in U.S. Funds in the form of a check or money order drawn against the U.S. branch or affiliate of your local bank, and must have standard electronic readable routing numbers printed across the bottom.
Design fees are for single hull construction rights and plans provided are instruments of service.
(c) 2003 Stephen Redmond. All Rights Reserved