Three Wo/men In A Boat

By Phil Thiel

In a casual moment an English friend requested my thoughts on a three-person dayboat, to be built and used by amateurs at his local sailing and rowing club. Thus, with fond reference to Jerome K. Jerome's classic 1889 Three Men in a Boat, I worked up these 2007 sketches for "Sims' Skiff."

In the backyard boat builder's open boat economy version using Douglas fir marine plywood, fir and pine framing with brass screws and carpenter's glue (no epoxy!) this 21'x5' (overall) hull would weigh about 250 pounds.

An upgraded alternative shown here includes decks forward and aft enclosing buoyancy voids and coamings. And, to challenge the Brits, also shown is an application of the EZ Row forward-facing rowing system for a new approach to amateur pleasure on the water.