After sea trials in my "Tillamook" dory, adding spray rails was #1 priority. Essential in a flat bottom, flat side boat, unless you just like to be wet.
Here are the two details: 1) a splashrail in an external longitudinal that provides significant rigidity and strength to the boat's side and firms up plywood spans. 2) As for knocking down splash there are specific details that builders should put careful thought and attention to. Its not a willy-nilly deal. First the angle of the bottom part of the rail should only be about 5-10 degrees below horizontal (imagine a horizontal line bisecting the boat side to side). So you have to factor in the side angle of the boat and the angle cut where the rail is attached to the boat to achieve this modest downward cast. Most builders have WAY too much downward angle on their rails, creating a water collision vs an even cast. Next add a smooth fillet to the inside bottom edge of the rail where it meets the boat side. This will allow a stream of water under pressure shooting up the side of the boat to then turn and cast out and downward smoothly off the rail. If you really care about details then add a tighter radius edge to the bottom outside corner of the rail. This will also help cast water cleanly. YOu wont regret spending the time doing it right.
I used 3/4 x 1 strips of Douglas fir...from stem to stern 6" above bottom chine on my 14" Nola, epoxied and screwed onto the side planking, for extra stiffness and very efficiently knocking down the spray....
We know this episode is about Lou Sauzede's work skiff, which is a totally different boat from the Spira Carolina Dory, for instance... Lou's work skiff at 15 or 16 feet and six plus feet beam is a much much heavier boat than the Spira Carolina Dory despite being some two feet shorter....first off, the longer Spira boat has maybe half inch plywood bottom with two thin layers of cloth.... The tips from a shipwright skiff has over an inch thick solid pine cross planked bottom set in heavy oak chines oak ribs, heavy oak runners etc etc then the sides whole board is solid lumber built heavy thick and strong as a word skiff... The thing is a tank built for work and abuse ... In his video Lou drives it with what a 90 horse?... The Spira Carolina Dory would nearly sink If you slapped that engine on the back... it's the Prius of boats planes on 10hp.... It's going to bounce off the waves the work skiff plows through.... They are totally different boats with totally different requirements and performance
That work skiff is heavy for sure ...the two boats are not radically different at all...one is a ply on frame flat bottomed semi-dory Carolina style skiff and the other is a planked flat bottomed semi-dory skiff. The main difference is the construction style not shape...and the lumberyard skiff has no rake to the bow...its a bay skiff....and heavy or not a flat bottom aint going "plow through the waves". An 18" Carolina dory is a modestly more seaworthy boat and could take a 90hp just fine even though its unnecessary. Lou's 15+ ft skiff had a 50 on it...not a 90. Lou builds boats in ways that rely on a local selection of pristine CVG lumber and are largely overbuilt and frankly built with materials that are out of reach $$ for a homebuilder. That skiff as he built (with exposed edge grain planking on the bottom) would cost about 3x the money in materials, and will have about half the life in the water than a ply on frame skiff with a good glass job and common sense care. as Lou sais, "my dad had abut 20 of them".....disposable boats. Lou makes great boat building videos - but there are better ways to build a boat on a budget.
After sea trials in my "Tillamook" dory, adding spray rails was #1 priority. Essential in a flat bottom, flat side boat, unless you just like to be wet.
Here are the two details: 1) a splashrail in an external longitudinal that provides significant rigidity and strength to the boat's side and firms up plywood spans. 2) As for knocking down splash there are specific details that builders should put careful thought and attention to. Its not a willy-nilly deal. First the angle of the bottom part of the rail should only be about 5-10 degrees below horizontal (imagine a horizontal line bisecting the boat side to side). So you have to factor in the side angle of the boat and the angle cut where the rail is attached to the boat to achieve this modest downward cast. Most builders have WAY too much downward angle on their rails, creating a water collision vs an even cast. Next add a smooth fillet to the inside bottom edge of the rail where it meets the boat side. This will allow a stream of water under pressure shooting up the side of the boat to then turn and cast out and downward smoothly off the rail. If you really care about details then add a tighter radius edge to the bottom outside corner of the rail. This will also help cast water cleanly. YOu wont regret spending the time doing it right.
Thank you Jeff. This is quite the treat today-two of your videos! Hope all is well with you. Take care and have a great weekend.
I used 3/4 x 1 strips of Douglas fir...from stem to stern 6" above bottom chine on my 14" Nola, epoxied and screwed onto the side planking, for extra stiffness and very efficiently knocking down the spray....
And they look GOOD!
Can you send me pictures? I'd love to publish it in my blog.
Thank you for covering this. I’ve been wondering about splash rails.
We know this episode is about Lou Sauzede's work skiff, which is a totally different boat from the Spira Carolina Dory, for instance... Lou's work skiff at 15 or 16 feet and six plus feet beam is a much much heavier boat than the Spira Carolina Dory despite being some two feet shorter....first off, the longer Spira boat has maybe half inch plywood bottom with two thin layers of cloth.... The tips from a shipwright skiff has over an inch thick solid pine cross planked bottom set in heavy oak chines oak ribs, heavy oak runners etc etc then the sides whole board is solid lumber built heavy thick and strong as a word skiff... The thing is a tank built for work and abuse ... In his video Lou drives it with what a 90 horse?... The Spira Carolina Dory would nearly sink If you slapped that engine on the back... it's the Prius of boats planes on 10hp.... It's going to bounce off the waves the work skiff plows through.... They are totally different boats with totally different requirements and performance
That work skiff is heavy for sure ...the two boats are not radically different at all...one is a ply on frame flat bottomed semi-dory Carolina style skiff and the other is a planked flat bottomed semi-dory skiff. The main difference is the construction style not shape...and the lumberyard skiff has no rake to the bow...its a bay skiff....and heavy or not a flat bottom aint going "plow through the waves". An 18" Carolina dory is a modestly more seaworthy boat and could take a 90hp just fine even though its unnecessary. Lou's 15+ ft skiff had a 50 on it...not a 90. Lou builds boats in ways that rely on a local selection of pristine CVG lumber and are largely overbuilt and frankly built with materials that are out of reach $$ for a homebuilder. That skiff as he built (with exposed edge grain planking on the bottom) would cost about 3x the money in materials, and will have about half the life in the water than a ply on frame skiff with a good glass job and common sense care. as Lou sais, "my dad had abut 20 of them".....disposable boats. Lou makes great boat building videos - but there are better ways to build a boat on a budget.
another good one!!!