19' England Deadrise Skiff (2023) - PIPER

Piper is a Deltaville, Va. deadrise skiff, built at the Deltaville Maritime Museum Boat Shop. Boat shop director John England has organized a dedicated group of volunteer boat builders to carry on the long tradition of deadrise boat building, as practiced by the local Deltaville builders. We are now completing our seventh outboard skiff, ranging from 16 to 25 feet in length. Our skiffs are built “rack of eye” from rough sketches and local “rule of thumb” practice, on an adjustable building jig. The cross planked bottom is built upside down, of two epoxy glued layers of juniper on oak or fir backbones. The bottom, with keel, stem, and transom is rolled over, leveled, and then framed for the juniper topsides planking, and interior structures.

Piper was built alongside another 20 footer, over a roughly one year period, and launched in 2023. We keep her in a slip on Jackson Creek, close by the museum in Deltaville, Va. We run her up and down the Chesapeake Bay between Windmill Point and Horn Harbor in Mathews, in Fishing Bay, the Rappahannock and Piankatank rivers. These boats are economically powered (Piper runs 24 knots WOT, and cruises comfortably at 15-18 knots with a 50 HP Suzuki, burning about 7 NMG over a range of speeds). We are looking forward to taking her further afield in the new season. She’s an able and comfortable skiff, at home in the local conditions she was built for.

I’ve been working with John and crew in the boat shop for about three years, and have really expanded my own range of boat building experience. I’ve learned an enormous amount in a short time, and look forward to many more skiffs to come.