Professional BoatBuilder - April-May 2018

52 Professional BoatBuilder

D

uring my last few trips up and

down the Intracoastal Waterway, I

became aware of a new-to-me personal

watercraft. These are small boats that

appear to be a type of sit-on-top kayak

intended primarily for recreational

fishing. Some are human-powered

while others have small outboards. The

distinctive feature of the latter is that

the motors are not conventionally tran-

som mounted but farther forward. The

human-powered fishing kayaks appear

to be propelled by a pedal mechanism.

To satisfy my curiosity about these

boats, an Internet search yielded several

interesting examples of small kayak

types and one similar but larger craft.

Of the former, the most popular is

called a Solo Skiff. These boats are mar-

keted as power kayaks dedicated to

fishing. Their motor installation is

unique in my experience, as it places

the outboard on a bracket at the front

end of a slot cut right through the well

deck and bottom of the boat and

extending forward about 3' (0.9m)

from the kayak’s open stern. The slot is

long and wide enough to allow the out-

board’s propeller and lower unit to be

tilted up and out of the water.

A new generation of one-person fishing skiffs inspire

a slightly larger dive tender and fishing boat designed

for easy, affordable access to the water.

Dive TenDer 14

Above—The author made his 14' (4.3m)

plywood/epoxy outboard skiff lightweight

and efficiently driven, with an open

transom and an outboard mount about

4' (1.2m) forward to enable easy ingress

to and egress from the water for swim-

ming and diving. He designed the boat

as a tender for his larger motorsailer

when cruising in the Bahamas.

DESIGN

BRIEF

Text and graphics by

reuel B. Parker

(except where noted)

DesignBrief172-EDFinal.indd 52 2/22/18 11:14 AM