Finally Finished - 14' Plywood Skiff

My friend Snapper and I have been working on this for about two years. It was supposed to take six months. To be fair we only worked on it for about two hours a week. I think it's going to be a fun boat to play in shallow water with. It holds water so I assume it will float. We hope to water test it this weekend.

We started with plans from Glen-L but after forming the hull we went off in our own direction. Glen-L calls it 14 feet, we ended up at 13 feet.

We call it a 20 foot boat because it looks good from 20 feet away. Not so great when you get closer. It may get named "The Cut Corner".

It's solid and the wood work is pretty good, we just didn't spend enough time with putty and sand paper for it to look great.

The engine is a 15hp Lehr propane powered engine. It's electric start with a tiny lithium battery under the cover and a key switch on the front. The fuel tank is a 31 pound fiberglass forklift tank.

Good job Parks! Can you reach the tiller from that seat or is the picture throwing me off?

Congrats Parks, I know you've been playing around with it for a while now. Looks great and like a lot of fun.

Thanks Dimer. There is a pretty wide stern seat that for some reason doesn't show in the photo. It's the same color as the rest of the interior. The bow platform doesn't show well either.

Lol figured it had to be something like that.

HopCar said:

Thanks Dimer. There is a pretty wide stern seat that for some reason doesn't show in the photo. It's the same color as the rest of the interior. The bow platform doesn't show well either.

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The anchor and bow pulpit must be the same color!

Very nice boat, Parks! It'll be a sweet ride in a vessel you made from scratch. Pretty cool, IMO.

What kinda anchor does it have?

Is the bottom a "V" type of flat like a dory?
The 28'boat I built was a " 20' boat" as you describe.

Any added flotation?

N4712 said:

What kinda anchor does it have?

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you beat me to it

That's sweet Parks . Did you have to scarf the plywood to get the length ? Tell us more about the build . I've got plans for an 8 ft Nutshell Pram . I need to get motivated I've had the plans for three years now . Do you have any pics of the build ? Too cool when someone ask "what have you been up to " ? You can say " I been building a boat ".

Nice little boat. Bet it will be lot of fun. Next one be 20' ?

The bottom is a very shallow V aft with hard chines. The V steepens forward and the chines soften.

Anchor? You're a bunch of wise asses. I know that no matter what I say, you'll say it's too small, the wrong kind and I don't have enough chain.

Flotation - That was a subject of discussion between Snapper and me. He wanted lots of foam. I wanted lots of storage. He won the argument but I may fix it later. There is foam in the bow compartment and on either side of the rear seat.

Here is the stern seat.

HopCar said:

Anchor? You're a bunch of wise asses. I know that no matter what I say, you'll say it's too small, the wrong kind and I don't have enough chain.

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Don't let them get to you....... Nice job!

Nice work HopCar, I built a Glen-L boat 5 years ago (10' Saboteer) so I can relate for the time and sometime difficult work. I now use mine as a dink with a 5HP Lehr as well... though I'm not too impress with these outboards so far.


What hard wood did you use for the chin, chear, and keel?
Did you use fir and merenti ply?
Did you fiberglass the hull? or just painted?


You will have fun with this boat, and guess what boat will be noticed in marinas? yours...

Pack Mule, the plans called for just using butt blocks to join the plywood. We thought about scarfing instead as we've done it on previous builds and enjoyed the process but we went with the plans instead.


The hull is 1/4" marine plywood. Nothing fancy, just what was at the local lumber yard. The dark wood is mahogany and the blond wood is cypress. I got all the wood at Shell Lumber here in Miami. You guys can figure out where I got the rest of the materials.


The hull is glassed inside and out. We used WEST resin and Interlux paints.


This is what it looked like after the second day.


Snapper posted a series of pictures of the build here: Park's Skiff - jmlynn

I started the engine for the first time today. It fired right up, ran smooth and quiet.
I used both the electric start and the pull cord. The pull cord was pretty easy to pull. It's actually easier to pull start the 15 than the 9.9. The 15 has a compression release.
I think the 15 is Lehr's best engine yet when it comes to fit and finish. It is very easy to flush as there is a garden hose connection on the starboard side.

Well, Parks, I have to admit you guys built a great little boat. The build photos are great. It is easy to see the time investment for such a project. That is a great shop with plenty of room. I like the yellow color. Maybe I will get to see it in January if we get down to Biscayne Bay.

Nice Job!!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Thanks Fork Lift.


Don, I look forward to seeing you. I'm actually heading North to the St. Johns River in mid January for a few days. I'm told the water is very high this year and with this boat I should be able to fish some new areas.

I've thought long and hard on my anchor choice. Because of it's sterling reputation, tremendous holding power, and my desire for a very small light anchor I decided on the Rocna pictured below. I'll be buying the chain from a jewelry store.

That's real purrrty Parks, but can it open a Bud Light??


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

ForkLift, Of course it can. Why do you think they put roll bars on Rocna anchors?
I do wish it was stainless like your Delta.

Parks, we may cross on the way. If Oliver's Rocna didn't let go, he may be back from the Exumas.

There is a guy who could supply a neat tiller extension to put a solo occupant on the central seat, for balance.
Only thing, I get confused, facing forward, arm extended back, which way is loud and soft for throttle.

Very nice Parks! Been trying to find the time to get a similar project started....my priorities need to get sorted out.

Any pics of your skiff underway?

Snapped this shot of Parks as he was honking out of Miami River. Nice job on the boat, Parks.

healhustler said:

Snapped this shot of Parks as he was honking out of Miami River. Nice job on the boat, Parks.

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You forgot to PS the anchor...........

Larry you have mad skills with photoshop! Of course that picture makes me look about eight feet tall.