Our family spends some time at a cabin in the Les Cheneaux Islands on Lake Huron in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula. In our fleet there we have a center-console 21′ Widebody Tolman Skiff that we finished building in 2011, a lug-rigged Arch Davis Sand Dollar that we finished in 2015, a rowing wherry, and an assortment of kayaks. Do we really need another boat? Peter, my 13-year-old son, wanted a small powerboat that he and his friends could take fishing and exploring; I was interested in a utility skiff for trailering to the lake to do work at the cabin. We both wanted a quick build, simple construction, and nice lines.When I happened across the Sponge Docks Skiff 13 by Bedard Yacht Design, I was immediately intrigued by the simple, practical interior and the gently curving sheer and transom sides. The Sponge Docks Skiff can be purchased with a CNC cut file, and since I have a CNC router in the shop, the simple, quick build became even simpler and quicker. Peter and I had a project. We ordered the downloadable plans and received six plan sheets along with a building manual and, in lieu of the full-sized templates, a DXF cut file, which had all the pieces drafted and nested on sheets. The three seating areas enclose buoyancy compartments and provide access to storage compartments.
Photographs by the author
Read this article now for free!
Sign up here (No credit card required) to finish reading your article now.
— OR —
Subscribe now for $29.99 a year! You'll have access to our new issues as they are published, and access to our entire archive of back issues, starting with our inaugural issue in September 2014. Subscribers can also post unlimited classified ads. This is an extraordinary value!
Join The Conversation
We welcome your comments about this article. If you’d like to include a photo or a video with your comment, please email the file or link.