Goat Island Skiff

Over the last few months I have been putting a lot of thought into what, if anything, I am going to build next. Whatever I build it needs to be or real value to both myself and the family, it must also offer something different to the sailing that we already do. I really like the idea of a small trailer sailor, ideally gaff-rigged with an easily driven hull, it would also have to offer cosy accommodation for 2-4 people for the odd long weekend away. Being able to drive to a new cruising ground and then go exploring for a long weekend sounds like fun and with the time restrictions of work and family it would offer more options than cruising a larger boat. Designs that I have looked at seriously include the Dudley Dix Cape Henry and Cape Cutter and the Selway Fisher Evening/White Swan. The Problems with these are time for the build, space for the build and also cost. Once I had weighed up all the factors a decision was made that the trailer-sailor build would be postponed for the time being and an alternative project investigated.


I have been very interested to read about UK RAID events and Raiding in general. There was the first Solent Raid this year (http://www.raidengland.org/) that looked great fun, the Scottish raid appeals even more as you travel from the East to West coast (http://www.sailcaledonia.org/). One of the boats that completed Sail Caledonia this year (2010) was a Goat Island Skiff designed but Michael Storer in Australia. My initial thoughts where that this is a pretty boat and of a size to make it suitable for single and two-handed sailing as well as being a relatively stable platform to load up with gear and take the kids sailing if suitably reefed for the conditions. I had some reservations about some aspects of the design such as the flat bottom and Lug rig but there were more down to my lack of understanding than a technical problem with the design and having had some conversations with the designer and reading lots of information about the boat I have come to the conclusion that the GIS is actually a very clever design.

In a nutshell, the GIS is a very light weight, traditional Australian skiff with a large balanced Lugsail. She has an easily driven hull and will outperform most “Character” boats of a similar size yet has the load carrying capacity to be used as a family or carry enough gear to go camp-cruising or Raiding. From what I have read the goals of the designer were to have a performant and pretty design that is relatively cheap to build and fun to sail, all the reports and videos that I have seen show that this brief was exceeded.

The GIS is 15ft 6” in length with a Beam of 5ft. The hull should weigh around 125lbs (depending on how it is built) and the rig has an impressive sail area of 105 sq ft (9.75 sq meters) although the sail is designed to have two reefing positions. As a comparison to a well known design, the Laser sailing dinghy is 13ft 6” (2ft shorter), weighs in at 130lbs (heavier than a GIS) and has a sail area of 76 sq feet (29 sq ft less than the GIS). All this adds up to a light boat with great performance. I have been reading quite a lot about the intricacies of the balanced Lug rig and how is it designed to bend and flex to absorb the energy of gusts, it is all very interesting stuff and I look forward to playing with it once the boat is afloat.

So here it is, the next build is going to be a Goat Island Skiff and below is a picture of the designer putting a GIS through its paces in a good breeze…



Michael Storer sailing a GIS, Pic by Peter Hyndman


Here is a great pic of a UK GIS called Blanche..


Mark Sailing Blanche, Pic by Chris Perkins

Finished, just in time for Christmas

Finally finished off the painting on the rocker last night. The hardest bit has been painting the waves as I'm not particularly artistic and it was frustrating for me, however if you don't get too close the waves give the effect I was looking for and I'm sure for a toddler it will be just fine.

I just need to give it a few days to harden off before it is wrapped up in Christmas paper

The rockers and cross-beams have been glued together and thickened epoxy fillets added on all the visible joins to make it neat and give additional strength. Lots of primer and rubbing down followed on both the rockers and the hull before the two parts were screwed together, again thickened epoxy fillets are used on the visible joints.

The picture shows the rocking boat complete with the first top coat of paint applied to the inside. The colour scheme will be based on the Pup dinghy, Blue on the outside and Ivory on the inside (both International Toplac). Blakes Classic varnish will be used on the brightwork with red along the bottom of the hull to look like antifouling paint. The rockers will be more tricky to paint and will use two lighter shades of blue with some white detailing to make them look like breaking waves (hopefully).

The Rockers Rock!

The rockers have been cut out (quite a job with a dodgy old jigsaw) and all the bits trial fitted together. The cross pieces need some additional shaping to get the hull fitting snugly but it is starting to look very nice, in fact it rocks!

The pics below show some progress on the hull of the rocking boat, inner and outer gunwales have been fitted along with a handle for the captain. A coat of wood primer has been applied to the hull and seat with coat of varnish on what will be the brightwork.

The shape for the rockers has been marked out ready to cut, I could really do with a band saw to do this but as a dedicated wood-butcher without the correct tools I will be making do with a jigsaw. The rockers are 1.5"thick so it is going to be a struggle for my little jigsaw but if I go slowly with a new blade it should be possible. Fingers crossed.

The next project

I decided that it was time to get wood butchering again and have had to change the title of the blog to reflect that this is no longer just about building a PBO Pup.

The next project should be much quicker as I am building a child's sit-on rocking boat that I hope will be finished in time for Christmas.

Here are two pictures taken a couple of weeks back. Transom and sides are being bonded together on a simple frame. The frame is cheapo ply from B&Q but I have used marine ply for the hull sides, I tried to use cheapo B&Q ply but it was far too stiff to bend as required.

Finished and Rigged

I finally got around to completing the rigging and getting the sail on. The sail was made to my dimensions by Sanders Sails of Lymington, In retrospect I could have made the sail a little taller but it is nicely made and will be fine for now. I measured up for the rigging and had this made but by Arthur's Chandlery in Gosport. The Mainsheet blocks are Selden and all the ropes are from the offcuts bin at the Marine Superstore Port Solent.

Looking at the blog it does seem that building this little dinghy has taken a huge amount of time but the reality is that I never set myself a timescale to work to because I didn't want that millstone around my neck. Not having a deadline has meant that I can work on the project when I feel like it and leave it when not.

Building Naughty Note has been hugely enjoyable and I am very pleased with the end result. From a technical aspect I have also tried out lots of new techniques and learned a lot that would be applied to a future project.

Watch this space for pics of the launch and first trip out.

Fitting the deckgear

While I wait for the Sail and rigging to me made the deckgear, rudder fittings, etc are all fitted.

Turned over

The inside looks good so I don't think I will bother with a third coat, I'll keep the paint for the inevitable scratches. Just some varnishing to complete before fitting the final bits.

Keel band

A strip of brass has been added to give some protection to the bottom

Hull Painting

3 coats of undercoat, a light rub and two coats of Toplac and the hull's looking good. Just varnishing of the wood bits to finish.

Internal painting

The inside has been given two coats of International undercoat, a light rub down and one top coat of International Toplac. While it looks white in the pic below it is actually Ivory. The finish is good but a further coat or two will be added once this hardens a little more. This pic shows the Pup's first time out of the garage, done so that I can install the mast ensuring that it fits and the mast step is in the correct position, fortunately it is!

Filling and faring

With the hull upside down again the central rubbing-strake has been added. Some filling and faring has also been necessary where the glass tape was used on the hull chines. A final sand and coat of epoxy is applied before painting.

Internal epoxy sealing

The inside of the pup has been given the first of two coats of epoxy to seal the whole structure before painting.

Filleting and faring

A small amount of filling and faring is necessary where the side-tanks meet the stern-tank and the centre seat.

All the corners (and joints) are being filleted with thickened epoxy for both strength and aesthetics.

Centreboard case and seat fitted

Centre seat and centreboard case are epoxied in place, as are the tops of the two side buoyancy tanks. The clamp in the pic is holding the a strengthening piece added for the rigging chain-plates.

Centreboard case

The central seat has been attached to the centreboard case and it has all been trimmed ready to fit. Next step is to cut a slot in the hull to allow the centreboard to exit the bottom of the boat.

Seat and centreboard case

The seat will become the top of the centreboard case, both have been laminated from left-over ply. The inner faces of the centreboard case have been given a coat of epoxy and glass to aid strength and resistance to abrasion.

Centreboard top

Using a router a slot has been cut in some Iroko to make up the top of the Centreboard. The top has been fitted using epoxy thickened with Collidal Silica to give a very strong bond.

Epoxy and glass coating the rudder and centreboard

The centreboard and rudder blade have been epoxy and glass coated to protect the cedar from water ingress. Here one side has been done, the glass will be trimmed back before tackling the second side. The glass cloth should increase the stiffness of the centreboard and help with the inevitable knocks in use.

Cedar-strip centreboard and rudder blade

An attractive centreboard and rudder blade have been made from strips of cedar that I have laminated into a board then cut to make the two underwater foils. These need some further sanding before a coat of glass cloth and epoxy is applied to add strength and protection. A final coat of varnish will be required for UV protection. Both the foils have been oversized after comments from another Pup builder who suggested the standard size is a little small leading to excess leeway.

Mast step

I have used a scrap piece of Iroko for the mast step and using a router cut the shape below to take the mast foot. There is also a hole to allow any traped water to drain.

Transom teak veneer and stb gunwale

Teak veneer has been added to the transom (to match the bow), transom and outboard pad then sealed with a coat of epoxy.

Starboard side inner and outer gunwale shaped and glued in place with epoxy.

Port Gunwale and Stern Tank

The top of the stern seat/tank has been fitted, as has the teak pad to allow the use of an outboard engine.

The outer gunwale has been fitted to the port side (using every clamp I can find!)

Outboard pad and stern seat progress

So that an outboard engine can be used a teak pad had been added along with the outer gunwale.
The stern seat has been "painted" with epoxy to ensure that the ply is protected from any water that gets in.

The final supports for the starboard seat/tank are fitted, it's now ready to be epoxy coated as per the stern seat above.

Bow buoyancy tank/seat finished!

The side seat face panels have been fitted in place with a thickened epoxy fillet along the bottom, the top has a strengthening strip to provide additional stiffness at this joint and give the seat top something to attach to. The bow seat-top has also been fitted, it should now be water/air tight (apart from the drain hole).

Side bench panels cut out

The four ply panels that make up the side benches have been cut out and shaped. Below the side bench fronts are loosely held in position.

Teak Veneer

Teak veneer has been stuck to the bow and then given a coat of epoxy to seal. Looks great.
Stern seat has been trimed to fit, suport for the seat has been fixed.

Bow buoyancy tank and seat

Supports for the top of the front seat have been fitted, a hole has also been made for the drain/breather plug.

Here the top mast support is fitted to the underside of the front seat top. I have extended the ply used for the mast support so that it will prevent the seat from flexing when stood on.

Starting to fit internal structure

Internal chine seams are filleted with thickened Epoxy and covered in glass tape.


A plywood pad is fitted to bow for the painter fixing eye.


Front face of stern seat/buoyancy tank is trimmed and fitted in place. Blobs of epoxy hold it in place before filleting.

Additional Ply fitted where the drain hole/bung will be fitted. Shown here on the forward bulkhead.

Epoxy Sheathing

Hull joins are strengthened with 75mm glass tape, the whole outer surface has two protective coats of epoxy.

I have a mast!

I have been donated a mast, boom and sail and it's the perfect size. The sail is very old cotton and the rigging is rusty but otherwise perfect.

Hull panel's fitted

Bottom, side and chine panel fitted, joins are filled with thickened epoxy. Pins used where necessary to hold it all together while the epoxy cures.