22′ Ninigret

22' Ninigret Bassboat

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Ninigret is easily driven by a modest outboard motor (25-60 hp) and runs flat, smooth, and dry.

This 22′ skiff seems about perfect for most of our needs. She’s easily driven by a modest outboard motor (25–60-hp) and runs flat, smooth, and dry. We’ll spend most of our time in the huge cockpit, and not in the cabin. Yet when we do go below, we’ll find a head and sleeping room for a couple. If we should fall victim to claustrophobia, we’ll simply roll back the cloth housetop and stow its ash battens. The large fixed windows will block the breeze, and we can hunker down on the berths and look up at the sky. What a fine place to enjoy the last light of day.

John Atkin designed this outboard skiff-cruiser for a client who wanted a practical boat for use on Ninigret Pond (really a coastal lagoon) in Rhode Island, but this good boat will be at home along almost any coast.

An efficient hull with steep deadrise forward for a smooth ride in a chop, and a flat run for stability and easy speed with moderate power.

The hull shows healthy deadrise (V-shape) up forward, which warps down to about 15% amidships and disappears in a flat bottom at the transom. All this shape gives us a boat that planes easily across smooth water, and yet cuts smoothly through a harbor chop. In truly rough conditions, Ninigret’s ample volume above the waterline ensures that she’ll climb over large waves.

The designer tells us to sheathe Ninigret’s bottom with high-quality 3/8″ plywood. We’ll plank the sides lapstrake fashion with four strakes sawn from the same plywood sheets. This is simple work, but let’s take care with the lining off. Shadow lines cast at the plank laps will define the sweet shape of this hull, and we’ll want to get it just right.

Deck and bottom framing.

Atkin never liked the look of a big outboard motor clamped to the transom of a handsome boat, so he hid Ninigret’s engine in a well. Then he enclosed that well in its own compartment. We won’t see the engine, and we’ll barely hear it. How large an engine should we fit to Ninigret? Early on, the designer suggested 25–30- hp. Experience proved that this skiff could be happy with more horses. A revised motorwell drawing allows up to 60-hp.

John Atkin eventually built a Ninigret for himself, which is a designer’s ultimate compliment to a particular boat. For several years he and his wife, Pat, cruised and picnicked their way around the western end of Long Island Sound. That’s a fine use for a good boat. Ninigret design plans are available for sale at The WoodenBoat Store.

Ninigret Particulars

LOA:  22′
LWL:  20′
Beam:  6′ 8″
Draft:  1′
Displacement:  About 2070 lbs

22′ Ninigret Design Plan Details

DESCRIPTION
Hull type: V-bottomed, transom-sterned
Construction: Lapstrake plywood

PERFORMANCE
Suitable for semi-protected waters
Intended capacity: 1-6 Trailerable
Propulsion: 25–60-hp outboard

BUILDING DATA
Skill needed: Advanced
Lofting required: Yes

PLANS DATA
No. of sheets: 5
Supplemental information: No
Level of Detail: Above average
Plans Format: Print or Digital
Cost per set: $100

Related Publications

Practical Small Boat Designs WoodenBoat No. 253 by John Atkin (Foreword by Mike O’Brien)

Completed Ninigret Images

Timm Schleiff

Timm Schleiff’s motor sits handsomely in an exposed well.

Roeboats

John Atkin recommended a 30–45-hp outboard for Ninigret; the corresponding top speed with this power reportedly ranges from 18 to 25 knots. Tiernan Roe’s Ninigret is powered by a 30-hp Honda.

While John Atkin designed Ninigret for fishing the choppy waters of Block Island Sound, the boat also makes a superb camp-cruiser. Irish boatbuilder Tiernan Roe built the fine example in the photograph above.