10' Sailing Skiff, Annabelle
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Join to view PDF Purchase 10' Annabelle PlansWhen it comes to building a small wooden boat it’s hard to beat a skin-on-frame (SOF) for economy of time and materials, and ease of use when the boat is finished. Dave Gentry’s 10’ SOF-built Annabelle skiff is for sailing and rowing. Weighing just 63 lbs, it’s well suited for cartopping, and about as easy to carry and launch as a kayak. Your boating won’t be limited by access to ramps and trailer parking.
The hull is built around the stem, four frames, and the transom. The keel, chines (three to a side), and gunwales create the shape that supports the fabric skin. While any SOF boat can be built quite plainly, Gentry has added some elegant decorative touches and specified high-quality woods that are too pretty to hide under paint. SOF boats don’t have planking to brace the structure the way plywood braces the framing of a house, so the longitudinals can’t be sprung into place: Over time, they’ll straighten out and spoil the boat’s shape. Gentry keeps Annabelle’s shape by laminating the outwales in a stack of three pieces and he prebends the keel by soaking it in water, supporting its ends on sawhorses, and putting weights in the middle.
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