Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks Blog Post

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Beau Smith Launches His 16' [4.8 M] Rail Bird Poling Skiff

Beau Smith just launched his home built Rail Bird poling skiff. He just sent me these pictures and this note:

Hi Jeff,
I just completed my Rail Bird. It turned out great. I used 1/4 inch sandy ply for the sides and the bottom with 2 layers of 6oz fiberglass cloth. The deck is made of pine and oak that I milled down to 9/16 inch thick to manage the weight. I wanted to really celebrate the wood in this project. The final finish is spar varnish. It is very stable with me and one of my kids onboard. I'm able to stand up and paddle it with a SUP style paddle with little effort. It zips along nice with a trolling motor as well. I'm making a few modifications to the aft section so that I can adjust the trolling motor when I'm onboard. At 250lbs I can stand in the aft section without swamping it. The addition of a battery and trolling motor is just a little too much. Overall, the Rail Bird is exactly what I was hoping for and I'm eager to use it to slay a ton of fish.

Thanks,
Beau Smith

Rail Bird Poling Skiff Wood Boat Plans

Rail Bird Poling Skiff Wooden Boat Plans

Rail Bird Poling Skiff plywood Boat Plans

Rail Bird Poling Skiff Easy Boat Plans

More information and FREE study plans may be found here: 16' [4.8 M] Rail Bird Poling Skiff Boat Plans

Facebook Boatbuilders Group: Boat Building and Builders Facebook Group

Also check out my YouTube Channel: Spira Boats YouTube Channel. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the "Subscribe" button and bell to get notified when new videos are posted.

Jeff Spira, Naval Architect, marine engineer and boat designer

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Boatbuilding Pictures

Boat Building Photos

Please don't be embarrassed to send in photos of your projects. I get a lot of emails from people who tell me about their build but never send any pictures. I'd love to see them, as would all of the other people who are either building a boat or thinking about it. They need all the encouragement they can get.