Brockway/Lumberyard Skiff...

Nate Grace

Nate Grace

Well-known member
Hey guys,

Anyone have experience with either a Brockway or Lumberyard Skiff? How do they handle in a sea, say waves 2-3 feet? The flat bottom would make for a bumpy ride, but can that design handle it OK?

Thanks,
Nathan
 
Hi Nate.

I grew up on Long Island Sound lobstering/sea ducking in a Brockway ( AKA "The Mutha"). We took that boat, and others of the same design, out in all the conditions the sound had to offer, and the results were definitely mixed.

The boat was capable of handling a great variety of seas, but there were very real concerns with its abilities in following seas, as well as the boat's tendency to get awfully squirrely with an uneven/shifty load. This included people/dogs shifting position, water sloshing around, or loads of recently gillnetted bunker sliding around. Another quirk that shorter fellows (like myself) found problematic was their design's tendency to really nose up until up on plane- but that might have been a motor problem (as 25 HP was the average).

I can't say that the old timers who traded up from their Brockways did so at gunpoint. Many of them made some part of their living running pots, fishing, etc- and a simple tri-hull design took a heavy load of gear on deck much better that the flat bottom, high sided Brocks did.

But, that said, there were and are quite a few out there. The Mutha finally ended her 20 year on-again, off-again career quietly in the maples a few years ago. It now houses the local foxes.

Good luck.
Geoff
 
Nate,
Geoff summed it up well. I would add that the Brockways were never intended to be big water boats and the time I asked about fishing the Race and using one of his 16 footers Earl just about cuffed me and said an 18 was minimum for that and a 20 would be better.
I modified my last build of a 16 to use the front to back 2x6 stringers or Keelsons that Ren Tolman designed into his skiffs. Totally eliminates the side to side load shifting issues if you set the width at just "Fish Box" wide. Also, in their defense no boat with an open layout will hold a shifting pile if its not contained by bin boards or tie downs if in boxes or barrels. That is just planing on the operators part. (I say that having nearly sank a Lema 19 with a load of bunker that showed up in the net one spring unexpectedly)
Given unlimited choice a 20 foot seacraft is about the ultimate hull shape in the small boat class, BUT
for $800 out the door ready to paint, a whole lot of working and recreational guys got a lot of near shore sea time out of the Brockway designs.
And, I know it is just about blasphmy here on the site to say that painted AC fir plywood with no glass could ever work as a boat, but I have seen way to many 15 year old skiffs still working to believe that.
Within its limitations they can provide economical service for many uses.
If I can I will try to take some photos of one of the last 16' clam scows that I know Earl built that is still working in this area.
 
Thanks Bob and Geoff for the replies and information. I greatly appreciate it. I've been trading emails with Walter Baron for a bit. He has a 16' LYS at his place that he said I could come down and check out. I am thinking of this boat as I'd like something that I can trailer that would be good for fishing, lobstering, clamming and some near shore sea ducking. A guy up here in Rockport has one of Walter's 16' boats and he fishes 300 traps with it. I've seen him out in some nasty weather in that boat, and it seemed to handle it OK. Not that I would do it, but it seemed to take the waves and swell fairly well.

Thanks guys.


Nate
 
Some additional discussion with Walter Baron, and he also recommended Phil Bolger's Diablo. He thought it would be a better rough water boat. Something to think about......


Nate
 
Nate,
This Bolger plan is closer in intent to a Brockway than the one you linked.

work skiff

But after seeing one in maine near Beals Island I thought it was not for me.
Bolger designed the boat to be economical to build as he is all about small sustainable fishing. But I dont like straight sides. Guys who haul a lot of lobster traps by hand do. I feel the flare in a semi dory hull is a huge plus and as it is loaded down it increases in volume and stability.
Like the modern flat bottom alternative, the Carolina Skiff, these hulls can pound in bad weather. But for normal working conditions they excel. The loads they have moved is amazing.
What I liked about the Brockways and the Work skiff was the minimal expense and time required for a guy to get on the water working. The hardest part was the cash for the motor. When the fishing was good or work was paying well often times an owner would "Move up" to a fiberglass hull or even Aluminum if he was a highliner. But, like the Point Judith hard chine, cross planked, pound net skiffs, all these boats work in shallow water very well and are able to take a large load with little HP required.
It is also different for a commercial operator who intends to use the boat hard and when the time comes move on. Recreational builders tend to think in heirloom terms and strive for very long wood boat life expectancy. I always thought of mine as shorter term propositions because I liked the building as much and I always wanted to change something as soon as I started using it.
I will vouch for, and can get pictures of unglassed doug fir ply skiffs that lasted more than ten years with just paint for protection.
This is no knock on the very fine work that has been posted here for years using stitch and glue to make some very sweet boats, just another way to get on the water in a boat you built yourself.
 
I think the amazing part about the work skiffs is the range of reccommended HP
How can you go very far wrong with a boat that is powered by anything between 5 and
50 horse?
There is also a 15 1/2' version of that skiff I believe.

I am currently weighing out the pros & cons of the Diablo and the Sea Hawk, both
Bolger designs. The Diablo is probably the better choice, but I just like the Seahawks
lines. http://instantboats.com/downeastdories/showdory.php?dory=seahawk
 
Geoff,
I will try to find a digital picture of the John Gardner based clam skiff I built. The lines were very similar to that and I got a lot of use out of that hull. You would be very well served to read the story of the plan and the update he published when he rereleased his book with it in it.
I will try to find the title of the one with the updated plan. Your library may have it. I built it with a few modifications that I wanted based on my earlier boats, but the shape was maintained.
 
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