The Derwent Skiff is a lightweight recreational rowing boat designed to row with much of the ease of a racing scull. With buoyancy tanks built into the bow and stern, the Derwent Skiff handles rough conditions and has undertaken some adventurous journeys. The sliding seat rowing allows you to use the whole body to row.
At 5.5m (18ft), the Derwent Skiff can carry the camping gear and supplies needed for recreational coastal and adventure rowing.
The boat comes in three versions:
- The open boat version is the lightest and a sheer delight to row in sheltered waters.
- The well deck version provides additional buoyancy in the bow and stern, but retains the open boat feel.
- The fully decked version includes full buoyancy fore and aft and a wave-breaker on the foredeck. This version has been rowed in seas up to 1.5m in exposed conditions. A support vessel was on hand and the boat carried extra foam buoyancy.
Tempted? Options include:
- Simply buy the plans and build from them.
- Buy the kit and buy or hire* the mold. You would fit the mold together in a day and start building without delay. The kit is very accurately cut out using CNC technology and saves a lot of construction time.
- Commission your boat to be built. Your complete boat is built to an exacting standard and customized to your choice.
The plans
These comprise nine A1 sheets. These include the lines plan and full sized drawings of - the sections (mold stations), skeg, stem, riggers, stern, stretcher and central buoyancy tank. The plans are supplied in a postal tube with A4 printouts detailing how the parts are nested on the plywood sheets. Click on the following link to access the Building Notes.
For further advice contact Allan Witt or Julian Robertson.
History of Development
The Derwent Skiff’s precursor was a 4.5m (15ft) hull developed by Lou Witt (Allan’s father) in the late ’80s. Allan developed this concept to a 5.5m (18ft) recreational rowing boat and entered it in a design competition for the 2007 Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, Tasmania. The design was successful and won the competition. As a result of this recognition, the Derwent Skiff was developed commercially. Plans, kits and fully completed boats have been sold in Australia, Europe and the Philippines.
