Solomons, MD – What would happen if you took a traditional wooden skiff and added a cutting-edge electric motor? The Patuxent Small Craft Guild (PSCG) volunteers at the Calvert Marine Museum, a group of mostly retired men with a common interest in wooden boats, decided that this was an idea whose time had come. Working in partnership with Annapolis Hybrid Marine and financed by PSCG member, Bill Wright, the “guys” hope to have their electric skiff prototype in the water by April 2016.
Currently in production is a 20- foot open boat following the traditional lines of the Smith Island Crab Scape. In order to create a lighter vessel, the design calls for a plywood hull structure instead of the traditional cross planked bottom and planked sides. Propulsion is also different and will be a Thoosa 7000-HT, along with a 48 Volt DC battery system.
The electric skiff has come through a rigorous process of design and testing. Alan Suydam, a CMM volunteer, member of the Solomons Island Motor Boat Club and retired Ford Motor Company engineer, created two scale models, which have guided construction decisions. The first radio controlled model was tested in the museum’s basin and a local swimming pool to evaluate operating characteristics (Photo 3379 – see below).
The second model is a 40 inch scale of the framing and longitudinal structure. This static “builder’s model” is mounted bottom up on a strong back providing a visual aid to the construction process in the same way that traditional boat builders would use a half-model rather than a blueprint to guide construction (Photo 3378 – see below).
See the PSCG members at work on this project every Tuesday and Saturday in the Patuxent Small Craft Building from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. See the trial run video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEvTPOIphFg.
