Salt Bay Skiff

Matt Haslam bought the plans for the 12′ 6″ Salt Bay Skiff by Chris Franklin from Bruce King Yacht Design after it was featured in WB No. 199 in 2007. He built his skiff out of materials he found locally near his home in Wichita, Kansas. These included AC plywood on pine frames, and fir chines and rails. He made the oarlocks, the keel, and skeg from red oak, amply coated with epoxy. He ‘glassed the flat bottom and used marine epoxy primer and polyurethane paint for the exterior of the hull. The interior is a regular oil base paint.Matt finished building his skiff in 2011, and launched it on August 20 at El Dorado Lake near Wichita. He writes that, “Southern Kansas is quite windy, it is not uncommon for us to get 25 mph winds with 35-40 mph gusts, but launching day was uncharacteristically calm. Under oar, the design moved smoothly through the water. I haven’t attempted the sail configuration yet, but anticipate doing so in the future. Living in Wichita, I will use it locally for rowing and fishing. I will have to consider the wind in my sail rig. I’m investigating Osage Orange as an option for the specified gunter rig.”Matt adds that he liked rowing ever since he was a kid vacationing in Swan Lake, Maine, every year. He hopes to pass on the love of rowing to his children.