The PT Skiff wooden boat

Hello and welcome to my blog/journal about the building of my boat. I have decided to build a 18.5′ wooden boat, a skiff. It comes as a CNC cut marine grade plywood kit, put together using the stitch and glue method. While I have building and wood working experience I have never built, never dreamed of building a boat. I have found a local builder, Kea Kayaks, who has the space and will be building the boat with me; or more likely, I will be building with him.

So why a wooden boat and why a kit. I really had no plans to build a kit boat but from the moment I saw this boat in Northwest Yachting magazine article I knew this was the boat for me. First, it’s wood, the appeal of a wooden boat, compared to a aluminum or fiberglass boat, is striking. . Most of the fiberglass and aluminum boats I have found lacked soul. I just couldn’t get excited about them. Wooden boats are different, a well kept wooden boat has soul. As I searched for my perfect boat I quickly learned that I needed my boat to be more than simply a floating structure. Second, this boat seems to be very smartly designed. So many boats try to be too things at the same time. Boat designed, I feel, have become crazy added onto contraptions. While I first looked at boats up to 32 feet (the Grand Bands 32), this being my first boat, I decided I needed to start simple.

So why the PT Skiff? I won’t repeat what’s been written about this boat but basically I see, in the PT Skiff, a very versatile boat, that I have yet to find in a built boat. It’s a boat that I believe my family and I can enjoy boat camping in. Puget Sound, the San Juans, Desolation Sound, and beyond. It’s also light enough, only 550 pounds with a motor, that my aging 1987 Vanagon Syncro Camper can trailer.

This morning I spoke with Ashlyn at PTwatercraft about the pick up on Tuesday of my new kit. I will be going Tuesday afternoon, from Seattle, with my 9 year old son, to Port Townsend to pick up the 3 boxes