Skiff , Skiff about , runabout or ????

[fatpigeon]

What is the difference in hull construction of the above , whether it be a Lewis , Simpkin , Eddy, Hammond, everingham etc. Whether it be a reverse plank or number of planks, what are the tells !I know it's a bit general but give it a go.
Be nice !

Stuart

[screwit]

Skiff about, from what I thought any way, is the hull is the same as a skiff , that is less planks and narrow beam but with the cockpits all moved back to the transom - no fuel tank at the rear, they run side tanks, skeg is generally hard back to the transom.
All this to get the engine weight back for balance.
Let me know if I'm wrong !!

[fatpigeon]

Thanks Ross
That more or less answers my question . I can mostly recognise a runabout converted to a skiff. But a skiff about to a skiff ... Same hull !! With a couple "skiffs" on the market for sale just raised my curiosity .
Stuart

[DaveD]

Stuart, as Ross said for a Skiffabout plus this usually means the front deck is longer than what you would see on a runabout, say 7ft ish.
Reverse plank is a plank that doesn't follow the normal overlap pattern, see photo of Rebound. On Skiffs and Skiffabouts but not on all.

[bootlegger]

I really dont know where you guys get all your information from. There were no records let alone plans out there for any of these hulls.
I have skiffs with the tanks behind the driver. I also have a skiff without a reverse plank and a wide transom.
These were custom built boats with modifications that happened or evolved as the builder saw fit.
You really cant generalise.
The only way you know what it is is with documentation / history.

[DaveD]

I agree Dave, thats why I used the words "usually" and "not on all".

[Apache1946]

Runabout. The rules for the runabout class championship racing were that two people had to be in the boat with the driver fwd of the engine and the exhaust had to exit out through the transom. Various engine sizes also divided the class for different championships.

Skiffs. These were basically raced in open class events with no restrictions of exhaust or number of people on board except that engine size also came into play for various championships.

Skiffabout was a term Lewis Brothers used for their later model racing runabouts which was basically a runabout deck layout on a skiff hull but the hull was lengthened to accommodate the passenger.

All of the above were considered "Displacement type boats"

The inverted plank as shown in the previous photo was used mainly in the skiff type of racing boat. The idea was to get the hull to plane on theses planks which were further outboard and allow air to run under the hull therefore reducing friction. As the APBA in those days saw that this may evolve into a type of catamaran hull placed rule restrictions on the amount of height between the bottom of the reverse planks and the bottom of the center at the transom.

[tommo]

I was having a conversation with Ron Hodge about my runabout "old age" and he believed that all Lewis hulls were the same as it would have been to expensive to make a new molds for each boat,but as we all now if you have enough money anythings possable.

[bootlegger]

I wasnt around when lewis were building boats. I could imaginet hat tooling up for a new glass hull would be difficult and expensive but buildng a clinker wooden hull would be extremely flexible as to shape and design.
The moulds in a wooden boat are just wooden formers the sectional shape of the hull.
Experienced boat builders could alter the placement or shape of these fairly easily.
I concede a runabout would be standardised to an extent but even so I have rarely seen two identical.
Maybe due to attrition.

[tommo]

Having built a couple of timber boats from scratch clinker hull and carvel and one 9 planker with 5 clinker and 4 carvel planks starboard and port sides the mold is the most important part of the build changing you mold changes everything about the final result of the hull the mold has to be of a proven design for the hull to be any good in the water, crap molds crap boat cheers.