"This is a boat that is moved slowly and smoothly through the water towards raft of waterfowl with the hunter lying in prone position in the bottom of the boat. Propulsion is a single oar that extends out through the stern (transom) of the boat and thru a waggling motion the boat moves silently and smoothly forward. When the raft of ducks is closed to a shooting distance, the hunter then sits upright in the boat, ostensibly at this time the ducks take off in flight and with some fine shooting a limit of ducks can be paddled or sculled out to and picked up." (Excerpt from Skulldugery write-up)
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| Skulldugery in it's Designed Environment and 'Dress' |
“Wait…” you’re thinking… “I thought this blog was about cruising in oar powered boats, not about gunning skiffs.”
It is.
And
Skulldugery would make a really nice oar cruiser for protected waters.
Why?
Because it has VERY low windage, easy to row with its V-bottom, roomy enough for comfortable sleeping on the (padded) floorboards, lots of storage space for supplies, stable enough to stand up.
The modifications I would make in order to provide a sleep-aboard oar cruiser would be:
- Rather than double layer of 1/4 inch plywood bottom, use just one layer (this MAY decrease the number of sheets of 1/4" plywood needed).
- Eliminate the cutout in the transom
- Add a rear deck
- Move the 6' 3" cockpit opening forward to enable a 2' (610 mm) rear deck to provide storage.
- Increase the height of the coaming
- Provide for a 4 foot span to the oarlocks using one of the designs shown here:
- For a shelter from rain/bugs, the ‘PDR Tube Tent’ pictured below would be one solution.
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| The "PDR Tube Tent" |
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| Lines of Skulldugery |
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| Construction Detail: Requires 4 Sheets of 6 mm/ ¼ inch plywood |
Specifications:
- Length: 15' 6" (4.7 m)
- Beam: 38" (965 mm)
- Water Line Length: 15' 3" (4.65 m)
- Water Line Width: 26" (671 mm)
- WLL/WLW Ratio: 6.9:1
- Hull Speed: 5.2 knots, 9.6 kph, 6.0 mph
Summary-Pros:
- High WLL:WLW ratio (6.9:1), V-bottom and very low windage all maker her fast for her length.
- The very low profile assures she will be little affected by crosswinds.
- Storage space for supplies in multiple waterproof storage bags under the decks.
- The added high coaming, splash guard and after-deck provides added protection from boat wakes and storm waves.
Summary-Cons:
- The foredeck, as designed does not provide enough room for sleeping (thus the recommendation for longer cockpit and/or higher crown to the decks.)
