!Website Retirement!

I make no income from this site, in fact it costs me a little to run it! I originally created this website when I built my first wooden boat, the website code is now 13 years old, and will require a complete rewrite to continue funtioning properly. With only 25 average daily page views, I feel that the website would not really be missed. If you wish to see this website continue please send an email to me at  jim.kubik@jkwoodstudio.com.

Atchafalaya Basin Lake Skiffs

Originally powered by a 2, 4, 6, or 8 horsepower, two-cycle, inboard "putt-putt" engine. The skiff was often over 20 feet in length, four to five feet in beam, with considerable rake and sheer to the bow. The skiff was as popular and common to swamp dwellers as the Model T was to dry landers of that era. Boat builders found the flat boat to be particularly compatible with outboard motors as well. These flat boats are ubiquitous throughout Louisiana and the entire Mississippi Valley where they are also known as john boats or joe boats. The modern version of these boats are 16' - 20' lake skiffs which are able to handle outboard motors up to 115 HP.

Louisiana Pirogues

A flat-bottomed, low-gunwale cousin of the canoe. A classic pirogue is 12 to 16 feet long, pointed at both ends, has a concave flat bottom with a slight rocker fore and aft, flared sides (beam wider than chine by as much as 10 inches), and low sides. The pirogue's ability to negotiate shallow, narrow waterways, coupled with the boat's light weight, load-carrying capacity, and ease of handling, makes it perfect for many outdoor situations. An increasing number of outdoorsmen, waterfowlers and pond anglers in are discovering just how useful these muscle-powered boats, used for centuries in the backwaters of southern Louisiana, can be.

18' Lake Skiff

This boat was completed in April of 2008. It is fitted out with a fuel efficient 2008 Yamaha F60TLR 60 horsepower, electronic fuel injection, four stroke motor with a stainless steel propeller, hydraulic steering, a 12 gallon gas tank, removable floor boards, a removable rotating captains’ chair. It comfortably seats 5, and has forward and aft storage areas. For more pictures of the completed skiff click here.