Matthew P. Murphy
With her near-midship console, the Jericho Bay Lobster Skiff's center of gravity is well forward of that of a tiller-steered skiff, whose helmsman, batteries, motor, and fuel all occupy the stern. Shifting the weight forward allows for quicker planing and, ultimately, greater efficiency.
This little gem of a skiff first caught my eye a couple of years ago as she sat on a trailer in a field at Wooden Boat. She belonged to Aaron Porter, managing editor of Professional Boat Builder magazine, and he'd purchased her from a man on nearby Deer Isle. Built of cedar on oak, carvel-planked, the boat had been sitting in a garage for the previous 15 years, and Aaron brought her back to life, bending-in some new frames, refastening, recaulking, and painting. Aaron also added a small, slightly off-center console for a steering wheel (the boat was originally tiller-steered).
Small outboard skiffs have a lot of appeal. They are challenging to design, but you don't have to be an expert to build one. They can be carvel, lapstrake, or strip-planked and built and stored in a small garage at a price affordable to many. Small skiffs can easily reach speeds over 20 mph with 20 horsepower or less, with fuel-efficient, four-stroke outboards. They can cover a lot of territory in a day of fishing or sightseeing on less than five gallons of gas, and can be used as workboats for commercial fishermen or yacht tenders.