It's been said that flat-bottomed skiffs are easy to build but difficult to design, at least to design well. A half model made to the plans of a skiff we are about to build can save us shop time when building the full-sized skiff and just might avoid some unpleasant surprises on launching day. Mylar, that modern miracle film, can help ensure that we'll shape a model that accurately reflects the plans—and that we'll then build a full-scale skiff that is true to the model. A model provides such a great three-dimensional view, something that lines can never do. You can eyeball it at all angles, roll it to get those great quarter views that tell us whether it has the deadly powderhorn disease or the hollow-bottom-forward ailment—grievous sins in skiff design. You can even heel the model over and scoot it across an imaginary oyster bar when no one is looking. The half model also lets you speedily and accurately lift the expanded side-plank shapes by using a piece of Mylar bent around its side.
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