that's really beautiful - congratulations!

That is one seriously elegant skiff, my man.  I wish you all joy of showing off your fine work, but hope you are able to get away from the line of admirers to actually get out and have some adventures on the water.  What a handy, dandy little motorboat for messing about!

.....Michael

 I love the seating that you incorporated. I'm starting my skiff in mid December after delivery. Could you share the particulars re: the seats?

I'm putting my budget in order and am hoping to be able to do somewhat similar. Anything you could share about the vendor and installation would be greatly appreciated. I'm a long way from the installation or finishing but the info creates goals.  Thanks for sharing the lovely photos.

   What a beautiful boat! Congratulations.The color scheme really highlights the lines and features.

 Hi Robbie55,

I bought both of the seats and the post (for the captains seat) from West Marine.  I don't recall the exact cost but it was under $125 for everything.  Installed it myself.

For the captains seat I epoxied a 12" x 3/4" thick oak disk to the boat bottom to provide some 'meat' for stainless machine screws to attach the post to the boat.  I installed E-Z Lok stainless threaded inserts in the disk that provide great strength.  Be sure to apply a couple of coats on epoxy on the disk to waterproof it and use the drill-fill-drill technique before installing the E-Z Loks.

For the seat in front of the center console it's a lot more involved but not difficult.  I took the wood seat supplied with the console kit and attached the folding seat to it.  My wife really wanted grab handles so I used some aluminum angle stock to attach to the bottom of the folding seat then attached the handle to the aluminum angle stock.  If you need more detail let me know and I can send you some pics.

The only thing I paid for was the engine and controls installation.  The labor was about $1600 or so at a local boat yard.

Pro tip - I bought 2, 3 gallon fuel tanks and they have quick disconnects to the engine's fuel line.  The 15 HP EFI Merc burns about 1 gallon per hour at 12 MPH with 2 people on board.  We took another couple out and the fuel burn was almost 50% higher (that was a surprise) so having the extra tank came in handy for a 3 hour trip.

I live in Connecticut.  If you are anywhere near I would be happy to show you what I did.

Scott

Scott,

What a beautiful boat! Great job! I launched my Peeler Skiff in August of 2014. She has a workboat finish and is nowhere near as good looking as yours.

I second everything you said about the handling of a Peeler. I use mine on Narragansett Bay where there are a lot of powerboats who's users know little about boating etiquette. They think nothing about blasting by at full throttle and throwing a massive wake. The Peeler handles it all safely and comfortably and her stability is phenomenal. John and CLC created a great boat.

Enjoy the fruits of your labors!

-Dick

Thanks Dick.

I have read many of your posts.  I installed Doel-Fins on your recomendation and they certainly help keep the bow down and improve efficiency at moderate speeds.

The Peeler is such a good looking boat in person, thats what drives all the attention to it.  The side view is graceful and the head-on view is classic.  People in other boats come cruising over and ask if it's a refurbed old school boat.  As mentioned many times John at CLC knows how to design a looker that works great in the water.

Scott

   That looks great. The Peeler handles like a bigger boat.

I'm two three weeks from painting and making decisions. Your paint looks great. Were you pleased? What product did you choose? Which blue is that? I was so sold on the seats you discussed with me but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm leaning to a cooler seat. I've never been on a boat where I didn't need one.  t

Hi Robbie,

I used Totalboat Elixir paint for the interior and exterior (except below the waterline).  I applied it with a very fine sponge type roller and tipped it out with a sponge brush.  Super easy to clean up and it's water bourne so no fumes.  The finish is very good... not glass smooth but I think the semi-gloss/satin finish looks better on a skiiff.  The blue is called "Flag Blue".

I would say the only issue is the white does not have a lot of pigment.  I used a high build white primer and that probably saved me a couple of extra coats on the interior of the boat.  Note: You can't use the primer on the bottom of the interior if there will be standing water in the boat for any length of time.

The exterior bottom paint is a hard ablative: Pettit Vivid Antifouling Bottom Paint (the boat will be in a slip so I had to use antifouling paint). I painted the bottom while the boat was still upside down during the construction phase and the fumes were over-powering in a heated garage.  So, when it came time to paint the topside I wanted something fume-free. 

The Elixer paint gets marred a little easy (compared to gel coat) but it's also super easy to repair.  I had a little dock-rash due to a less than stellar approach to a boat launch in very windy conditions.  Some light hand sanding with 220 grit and a little paint and she looked not nothing ever happend. 

The seats have proved to be comfortable. On a couple of hot days I did lay a towel over the seats.  There are some mesh seats on the market that you may consider. 

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

Scott