This isn't my personal request but I talked to a guy over the weekend who brought up the old railbird skiff. I have seen them on line but don't have much info on them beyond what you can find below. I've seen doubleenders and square stern versions of this skiff. I think it makes a nice personal pole boat for those who don't like paddleboards and prefer a more traditional boat with sides. Here is some info:
Neat boat! I love boats with some history. Looks like buying plans for the Maurice River Rail Skiff from the Independence Seaport Museum is the way to get an accurate replica. What's interesting is the slight rounded bottom the hull had (intended to be built from planks not ply). A builder would either need to use thin ply with extra fiberglass or perhaps a 3 piece bottom to get the shape and effect.
The one in the picture is awesome.
My only question concerns the amount of rocker.
I've never understood why so many historical flat water boats use so much rocker.
Specially those with super low shear anyway. The other down side IMHO
is the wind catching nature of it all while poling. My yak has rocker like that and it weathervains mucho.
Someone might need to straighten me out on that piece of historical design philosophy.
I'm no expert but have found this from practical usage. Keep in mind that I paddle swamps and creeks here in Florida and south Georgia.
Basically it is the reason that it shows in the picture .... Paddle it up to the shore and the front of the boat is on land so you just walk up and step out.
It is also useful when you run up on something while paddling... it takes a lot less effort to get off a log , stump or anything else when the boat has rocker in it then one without rocker.
It also makes the boat a lot easier to turn or maneuver. A boat with rocker in it turns on a dime and can give you back a nickle in change. A handy feature when paddling in tight places , narrow waterways or a lot of trees.
Poling the boat , a person would normally be in tight cover and shallow water so the wind factor would be at a minimum.
The skiff I built has a good 2 1/2 inches of rocker in it and it is a 14 footer. The pirogues I have are about 2 inches of rocker at 15 feet. Loaded with camping gear the bow and stern are normally at the water level and I have not had any wind problems , so far.
Chuck.......
Remember:
Amateurs built the Ark...... Professionals built the Titanic
Visit some fine paddlers at The Southern Paddler
That boat is likely shorter, but it reminds me a lot of the AuSable River boats. They were also designed for poling, but they use a short pole while sitting and drifting downstream. These were mostly 20-26 feet long.
Oldsparkey wrote:I'm no expert but have found this from practical usage.
Words of wisdom none-the-less. Thanks
Oldsparkey wrote:Paddle it up to the shore and the front of the boat is on land so you just walk up and step out.
It is also useful when you run up on something while paddling... it takes a lot less effort to get off a log , stump or anything else when the boat has rocker in it then one without rocker.
.
That's the one that never crossed my mind before. Makes a lot of sense to me. One of current kayak has a lot of rocker. it is 15 foot long. I have a second kayak too that is 11 foot long with NO rocker. I tend to use the shorter one more these days just because it is shorter. You are right though. The longer kayak is just as maneuverable as the short one but sometimes the added length gets in the way. I guess it just boils down to intended usage. Thanks for your input.
