R.I.P Jeff. Your boats have given many many people a great deal of joy.

I build a 32´sailboat flat bottom and it´s my loved companion from many years. I´m living near a 100 miles long lake in South America, and beaches around here are all accessible , I just have to pull up my Yamaha, and the rudder for a dry pick-nick. And as with any kind of wind have a kind of heeled, no slamming 90% of the time

In the 70's. I built a 20 ft. Carolina dory, fished up to 20 and 30 miles offshore LA. I worked running offshore supply boats in the oil field industry I have caught tons of Red Snapper in that skiff. I would overnight in the skiff around the oil and gas rigs loading up on Snapper. Big Paydays!

I can't believe the lack of information about this. I am use to Googling something and the answers just being there. Thank you!

Rest in peace Jeff. Thanks for the wonderful videos. ❤❤❤

Thanks for the good info. I was looking to build a wood boat here pretty soon and you have really helped me out on my decision. And just to let you know I live in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. 👍🥃🍻🇺🇸

Jeff, Thank you for the information on flat bottomed boats. Your point on their being more economical to operate compared to v bottomed craft is an especially valuable piece of information. Thank you for being willing to share your extensive knowledge to help educate others.

I am so grateful for these words about flat bottom boats. I would like to build one myself. Now I'm looking for building plans.

Jeff, you are speaking to me. I have been looking at a TriloBoat, a flat bottom barge type shanty houseboat build. I want to do the great loop. I hope to go completely solar electric. I am going to go check out your plans right now. Thanks for the confidence boost.

Hello i came across you video when looking at a first time mini boat owner. And have to say your designs look great. Thanks for sharing.

Building a 16' flats skiff from XPS foam and fiberglass right now. Cant wait to get it on the water!

a really nice bloke, easy going and very informative. thankyou

I really like your designs and am making plans to join the boat building crowd in the very near future. I'm thinking about a Carolina Dory.

Thanks for this information 😎👍 Really helps in the planning of building the boat.

We miss you jeff

So it seems that v- shape bottom hull is more stable than the rest , thank you sir..

Your videos have give me the confidence to build a 8ft flat bottom river boat. Let’s see how it gos 😬

In Alaska flat bottom deep well skiffs are used for catching salmon with 40 ft nets. They have to lay the nets out on the mudflats to catch fish with the tide. They sit out there for a few hours. But man when that tide rolls in they start really pulling in fish.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about flat bottom boats. I want to build my very first boat and I was not sure what hull design will work for the intended use of the boat on the ocean.

The high prioritization of stability by the majority of power boaters is based on the fear of tipping over, which itself is rooted in the fear of the sea. You’ll never hear any complaints about stability under-way because the engine is running and the sea is at your mercy. But as soon as the motor shuts off, those deeply ingrained fears manifest, and the average boater demands a boat that feels like a pier, no matter the cost. Basically, you shouldn’t get into a flat bottom because of stability, flat bottoms have other greater merits like, efficiency and being able to beach launch due to shallow draft, ease of build. Stability is a pleasant side effect.

South Texas. I will be making a flat bottom boat to hold five people. It will be a 72" bottom with a length around 20'. myself and my 2 sons are about 300lbs each. it is going to be used for bass fishing, catfishing and then fishing at night below a light. i will also use it to swim off of and maybe tow an inner tube. Center console 20 hp. you definetly have inspired me.

I had.skiffs for 40 years. Best boat for shellfishing. 19 and half foot by 7 feet wide. Was the best riding oone I owned.

Good information about this is hard to find. Thanks!

Hey, Beau... I was searching KZfaq for videos on building a poling skiff and found yours. I watched both build videos on the Railbird and the Railbird XL. This was exactly what I was looking for! Went to find the plans on Mr. Spira's website only to discover that sadly, he passed away earlier this year. His plans are no longer available. I'm not looking to circumvent any copywrite laws or anything but sure would like to get my hands on a set of plans for a Railbird.

Apparently this man has passed away. They are no longer selling boat plans.

Can anybody help me understand why we so rarely see flat bottom catamarans / multi-hulls? I'm thinking of double-ender canoe type demi-hulls with no submerged flat transom, almost no inclination of the lateral surfaces (minimum drag) and no rocker, plus a pointy "axe" type bow. In other words: a hull shape where the least amount of overcome drag translates into lift, but instead forward movement only. Such a vessel would lose top speed, but gain a lot of efficiency. ~ Let's face it: sailing vessels often travel at rather slow speeds around 6 knots and the winds aren't always strong, but still, modern sailing cat hull shapes often seem trying to imitate racing cats or fast going power boats. The hull shape doesn't reflect the speeds that they're actually going at, in my view. Coming onto a plane isn't very realistic anyways, so why not commit to 100% displacement-only demi-hulls, accept speed limitations (~hull speed) and optimize for efficiency instead? Even when a sailing cat is motoring, fuel isn't free, and they still don't go very fast. I also have solar-electric catamarans in mind, where it's all about efficiency. Flat bottoms also increase live-aboard usability of hull space, plus: shallow waters and beaching become possible. Of course, such hulls wouldn't really work for mono-hull sailboats (dynamic stability and maneuverability), but I believe it's a different story with multi-hulls. ~ I understand that a pointy stern (=double-ender design) seems counter-intuitive for pitch stability. On the other hand, if the stern has more displacement, a wave rolling under the stern will most likely lift the rear end and make the bow (which will be pointy anyways in order to reduce wave-making resistance) submerge even more (lever effect), hence the increased pitch stability may prove wrong if only the stern is wider, like in most modern cats. I don't believe that with a typical modern catamaran hull they pitch any less, instead only the pitch axis is located more at the rear end. Moreover, with motor cats (e.g. solar-electric) the COG is much lower anyways and there are no wind gusts blowing high above COG into sails (thereby further affecting pitch stability). ~ I also would only sllightly round out the transitions between bottom and lateral surfaces (=in order to reduce the wetted surface/friction resistance and induced drag), but no actual "round" bilge. ~ Thoughts anybody?

I just had a wooden boat given to me that needs a bit of work,This is my first wooden boat and know nothing about them other than I want to fix her up and use it.I live on Vancouver island. Would u by chance have any information on her..I have a video of it on KZfaq please have a look thanks.(rebuilding a beautiful free wooden boat)

been following you for years and have purchased 1 of your plans, but moved and haven't been able to find them. one day i will,(i hope)

Thank you great info

Any one knows that the American air-craft carriers are Flat Bottom Boats(Ships).

You da MAN !!!

Seit 1993 konstruiere und baue ich boote mit flachem boden, welche keinen anleger, keinen hafen, keine slipanlage benötigen...mit maximaler wölbung von 25 cm auf 2m...oder gar 0cm...

What if the boat is flat bottom at 50 ft L, 21 w and 11.5 H ?

So what should a greenhorn beginning builder start with for a very first project?

Hi, Its a great video very informative. I'm from a Carpentry background but never built a full size Boat. In England we have Canals that can accommodate a boat 4m wide and well over 20 meters long but when I checked the depth of the Canal after heavy rain in Wiltshire, it came back as only 1100mm deep. I was looking at the possibility of building a House Boat suitable for the Canals with a flat bottom. I'm sure I could build the Boat as I specialised in bespoke Carpentry but was worried about the depth of the Canal and the possibility of perhaps a stolen bike dumped managing to rip a hole in the hull. I wondered how deep would you think a flat bottomed Boat around 15 meters long and 4 meters wide at deck level. The flat bottom of the Boat would probably have an area of around 4 meters by 15 meters. The Hull would be angled slightly, so the keel part would be perhaps 200 mm below the highest part of the Hull at the edges. Would it go under my target depth maximum of under 500mm. That's the max depth I would like the Hull to reach. I plan to build spars and then clad with batten and fibreglass. I plan to add skid rails around 75mm running the length of the hull to give a second chance against hitting obstacles dumped in the canal or grounding out in shallow water. It would not travel far and it would rely upon outboard power to move around. Most Canal Boats in the UK have steel hulls but mine will be fibreglass as I'm not that great a welder. Please help with the depth calculations, if you don't mind. Thanks

Hi, interesting video thanks, would it be a crazy idea of building around 17-19ft wooden but fiberglassed over flat bottom boat and building a shelter cabin in the front a light one probably fiberglass one just for two people?

Good Day Sir.. Do you have any completed photos or video one of your St. Pierre Dories?

Hi Jeff! Really informative video, thanks! I will definately have a look at your website. Quick question - Do you have any thought on why the majority of sailing boats is not flat bottomed? I would have assumed that building a little sailing dinghy as flat bottomed would be much quicker and cheaper than anything else. Please make me understand? Thanks Regards Jean from Durban South Africa.

Schokker, zeilt prima. Ook op zee(tje)

Of course you can take a flat bottm boat out to sea The navy does it constantly Freighters are flat bottom But flat bows can make you eat it hard!

Do you sell any jon boat plans? Most of my local fishing holes are pretty shallow.

Flat bottom boats fly over the sand bars better to then semi v or v hulls

Flat bottom boats are the best, they are the easiest and cheapest boats to build, they are very fuel efficient, super stable, and can carry a lot of weight.

So a flat bottom boat should be easier to build. It should be cheaper to build. It should take less power to get it up to speed! It’s rougher in rough water.

Hello, is the free downloadable print for the 17' Garvey the same as the ones you sell? or do they come with any additional information?

I would like to build a 18 ft Carolina dory and put a 25 hp on it but I am wondering what you do about level flotation requirements in the US

Just wondering, what is the clip of the race footage you showed? What race is it from? It looked really intense and I'd like to see the full footage, which I'm sure is online somewhere. Thanks!

I river and lake fish missouri and Mississippi River local around st louis area would like a wide surface flat bottom boat would like aluminum or wood got any plans 25-50 hp outboard motor range don't need a speed boat just a simple fishing boat that holds good weight for 3 ppl and not cost a ton

Can you post the link to Bradley's page? I can't seem to find it

Please plans free huntington boat thanks my name is Jordi from Spain Barcelona

Where can we buy your plans?

I think that a lot of these myths about flat bottom boats come from the very real factual dangers of using flat bottom boats on the great lakes. ESPECIALLY the Saginaw Bay. The great lakes are notoriously unpredictable. I've been out 2 miles on a 14 foot deep vee in glass-flat water and within 30 seconds i'm beating feet at 20kn back to shore riding 6 foot swells. The trouble with flat bottom boats on the great lakes is that the Dynamic stability that you mentioned is paramount due to the rough water we get. You see whitecaps any day where the wind is anything more than a stiff breeze on the bay, because the water comes about 100 miles from Lake Huron proper into the bay, and the prevailing currents can sometimes come in from Thunder Bay in Ontario. So essentially, to go any further than 2 miles, you need a 16 foot deep vee with a MINIMUM 6 foot beam and a hell of a lot of draft, and if you want to get into lake Huron from there, you better get at least a 20 foot with inboard motors. People think the great lakes are a piece of cake compared to the ocean, but they're 1,000,000 times rougher, more unpredictable, and scarier. On the ocean, it's generally calm, it takes a hell of a storm to kick up 6 foot waves. But the Great lakes are so cold that they just crap out an unforecasted storm like it's nothing, and even at that, it doesn't take more than 20-30mph winds to kick up 6 footers.

B