Re-thinking the Salt Bay Skiff

[Charlie43]

The lines of the Salt Bay Skiff are those of a “flat-iron” skiff for which dozens of plans can be found at places like Duckworks or the Wooden boat Store. There's nothing privileged or special about that boat type, and there's nothing good or bad about it except in how it is fitted out, which can vary from competent to horrible. Pictured below is a beautiful example. For a less than adequate example, just recall what you've seen happen at the family builds.



What distinguishes the two boats isn't a higher level of wood-working skill, but a sense of color and proportion. In the Wooden Boat School's rendering, every piece of wood in that boat serves a function, and every piece is properly proportioned. To use just one small detail to stand for the whole, note the oarlock blocks and compare them to what is done on the SBS.

If Monk's version were kitted out to the same extent done for the SBS,  families could be putting that boat into the water Sunday afternoon instead of the woefully inadequate, woefully incomplete boat they do carry to the launch ramp.

Consider another factor. Why do even low-end production bicycles come in multiple sizes? Because their  users come in different sizes, as do the users of boats. But what effort is made to do the customization of the SBS that should be done in terms of distance of the thwart above the deck, distance of the oarlock aft of the thwart and above the deck, so that the boat is comfortably fitted to its principal rower, never mind the more serious problem of the inadequate oars thrust upon unknowledgeable users which are too short by a 12-18", unleathered, unbuttoned,  and horribly unbalanced?

The problems created by how Rivers West is choosing to build the SBS could all be fixed, and easily. But them in charge of the build have to care enough about building a boat properly to want to make those changes.