At the age of 60, a widower and an empty nester, I wanted to build a boat not because I needed one but because I needed a new focal point for my life. Having grown up with runabouts in my family, I went to the Cleveland Boat Show looking for one but, after roaming aisle after aisle of fiberglass and aluminum boats, I found nothing appealed to me until I found some handsome wooden boats built by members of the Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding and Boating Society. Inspired, I joined the group and decided I’d build a runabout.I browsed the web for runabout designs and settled on the Alamitos, a 15′ V-bottomed dory designed by Jeff Spira of Spira International. The plans come as six 18″ × 24″ prints at 3/4″ scale along with detailed step-by-step layouts and easy-to-read measurements. Included with the prints is a 50-page booklet explaining procedures for building the strongback, cutting strips of plywood to accommodate the twist of the bottom at the stem, and handling fiberglass and resin, along with recommendations for interior outfitting such as building a console and seats. The plans call for frames constructed of common dimensional lumber and fir plywood for the bottom, sides, and transom.
Tom Baugher
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Nice job Tom! Time well spent – enjoy
You did a great job on your boat and I appreciate you detailing your modifications to smooth out the ride. You didn’t mention whether or not you had tried your 9.9 hp on the boat. I’m curious what the results were if you did.
Wonderful job! I tinker and build and have played with all kinds of boats from sail to power over the last 40+ years. I’ve watched a lot of Jeff Spira’s videos and loved his soft gentle tone. His approach to boats and boat building was calm and reassuring. Almost meditative to watch and listen to. Very sad to hear of his passing and that his boat plans re not available.
It’s a great looking boat. My cousins are watermen in the Northern Neck of Virginia, so I grew up (summers) down there. I would opine that Alamitos is a deadrise skiff rather than a dory. I just love the old deadrise workboats- cousin Lee used to have a round stern 40′ one for oystering- and would love to have a deadrise skiff of my own- just not sure it would be altogether appropriate in Hawaii! (Ocean out here is not the Chesapeake Bay!)