Compass Skiff

Easy To Build | Cartoppable | Build With The FamilySpecifications:

• LOA 9′ 6″
• LWL 8' Beam 49″
• Draft 3″
• Depth amidships 17 1/2″
• Power 6 hp outboard

The Compass Skiff was designed to meet two needs in the community: a cute, small, outboard-driven skiff that provided a stable platform to help kids get out on the rivers and lakes and protected bays, and, secondly, to create a boat that was so easy and fun to build that we could do it in 2-days at a the first annual Biddeford Boatbuilding Festival. While performance is not the point of a small outboard skiff like this, a 6hp motor can definitely get this boat to plane no problem and a 3.5hp would power her just fine. Oarlocks are mounted to the gunwales for rowing; a special space for a paddle is built into the boat as well. One of a few design challenges in an outboard skiff is how to introduce enough flare in the hull sides up forward so that people inside feel secure and spray is potentially knocked down before coming into the boat. The Compass Skiff solves that by utilizing some compound curvature in the hull sides and bringing the bow up high in the bow. It looks and feel great! The other design challenge in a skiff this is making her feel bigger than she really is. The Compass Skiff solves that by having more than ample freeboard. People always remark about how comfortable it looks and how much bigger it looks than it actually is. The construction is all 9mm Okoume plywood built over bulkheads and a midship frame, all in the kit. The kit utilized Chase Small Craft's tab-n-lock system of assembly where no strongback is required. The timber kit may include White Oak keel members, Spruce chine logs, White Pine seats, and Ash rubrails.