her performance under sail and oar. I
consulted the designer and, to my
surprise, he was very relaxed about the
idea. He agreed that a well was the ‘way
to go’ and even suggested the outboard
could be positioned on the centreline, by
cutting out the aft end of the keel.
As expected, the refurbishment turned out
to be more extensive than I had expected.
I replaced both the fore and aft thwarts, cut
out and scarfed new sections of planking
and bulkheads where the moisture had
spread into the adjoining plywood. And of
course I repainted inside and out.River life upgrades
I also made a couple of important
upgrades for her new life on the river,
fitting a rope fender around the bulwarks
and attaching brass strips to the keel and
bilges, to protect her when coming
alongside and when being dragged up
and down beaches. The overall effect was
pretty spectacular and made me look at
her with renewed affection.
As for the outboard well, I couldn’t bringmyself to cut the keel and instead made
the smallest well possible directly next to it
on the starboard side. The well itself was
made out of 12mm marine ply, with three
layers on the forward side, lapped over
the new stern thwart to spread the load of
the outboard.
I shaped the hole through the hull to the
dimensions of the propeller and skeg, and
used the cut-out to make a lid to close the
hole while under oar or sail.
We relaunched the skiff in June 2016, and
the effects were immediate and dramatic –
a ‘life-changer’, as my neighbour put it. The
outboard conversion was a great success,
performing far better than I had expected.
Even laden down with the whole family,
including dog and picnic, she nippedNic, Betty, Sol, and dog Winnie under motor
along at quarter-throttle under her new
3.5hp engine (suggesting, as Nigel gently
hinted, we could have got away with the
smaller, lighter 2.5hp engine we had
originally intended). The tilt of the
outboard needed adjusting, as the aft
bulkhead (whose angle I had copied for
the outboard well) turned out not to be
vertical – but it was nothing a couple of
shimmies of wood couldn’t rectify.
Suddenly, the river opened up to us.
Whereas before we had been more or less
confined to a mile or two upstream or
downstream, we now had the run of the
whole estuary, and beyond. We sped up
to Totnes (4 miles upstream) in half an
hour and Dartmouth (5 miles downstream)
in 40 minutes (on both occasions with the
tide). And, for the first time since coming
to the village, we headed out to the open
sea to take pictures off the spectacular
Mew Rock, now just an hour away. More
importantly, perhaps, she has embedded
us in the local community, allowing us to
join social events on the river that would
have been out of reach before.
There have been some unexpected side
benefits of having an outboard. Because
the skiff is so light, Nigel always used to
recommend carrying a couple of jerrycans
of water as ballast when rowing alone, to
give the boat more momentum. Now, the
outboard does the job. When not in use, itfits snugly next to the centreboard case and
provides the ideal extra weight in just the
right place. If the outboard isn’t on board,
then our dog provides the extra ballast.
In due course, I intend to re-rig her to
teach my kids to sail, so that potential is
still there waiting to be unlocked.
But, in the meantime, there’s no doubt
that the outboard has breathed new life
into old bones and brought the skiff back
into our lives as a much-loved member of
the family.
And it’s not just in my head this time, as
friends and strangers now tell me how
good she looks, and one person even
asked to buy her. The answer to aspiring
buyers is the same now as it’s been for
the past 20 years: not a chance!REFURBISHING A SKIFF
The Nigel Irens-designed skiff is
undoubtedly a very pretty boat