Shelter Island Boat Works

Study Plans – Seaford Skiff

Before ordering the detailed plans from Mystic Seaport I spent some time with the study plans. They were a couple of bucks. It is always hard to imagine a complete boat from study plans. Photos or a visit to the real thing helps. Sailing one is of course the best. For me, I had seen the one that Mystic kept in their livery fleet many years ago. It was just one of the many they kept for people to sail – each one more beautiful than the next. The cross section lines diagram in the study plans was telling. It showed the flat bottom, shallow draft, and outboard turn of the bilge. That hull shape was what I was looking for. It would sail in thin water, beach easily, and would stand up to a bit of a blow. And the profile drawing assured me of its lovely lines.

Cross Section Lines Drawing – Seaford Skiff

I spoke with someone at Mystic to ask a few questions about the materials, the weight and the construction (as they had built this one after the demise of the previous original). They seemed to take that little boat for granted. It was just another wooden boat to them. However, they did give me all the info I needed. With that I ordered the full set of plans. They were $100 at https://store.mysticseaport.org/ships-plans/seaford-skiff-by-paul-a-ketcham.html You never really know what you will get when you order plans. How detailed would they be?

Full Plan Set

Well, they weren’t very detailed, at least as far as the construction went. The hull shape and the rig had the most info. The Table of Offsets was the most critical, and that seemed well documented – measurements were given down to 1/16th of an inch! Now that I had the plans, I decided to build a model so I could test out how to put the big one together and check out her lines in 3D. Good thing I did, as those offsets had some surprises.