Tolman Skiff

Tolman Standard Skiff under Golden Gate Bridge, California

The Tolman Skiff is a boat design of Dory heritage created by Renn Tolman of Homer, Alaska. Tolman authored two books, initially in 1992 and a revised version in 2003, describing advantages of the design and construction method Stitch and glue using plywood, fiberglass cloth, and epoxy. Many of these boats have been built and used around the world, garnering a reputation for being economical, seaworthy, and durable.

Tolman skiffs are very light compared to fiberglass or aluminum boats of similar size and strength, enabling good performance and excellent fuel economy with lower horsepower motors. A good example of this performance on a 25' Jumbo model with a 115 HP outboard can be seen in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH2WXtmElxI&feature=youtu.be

Renn Tolman on Lake Michigan March 2012

In addition to the designs described in the book, precision cut kits and detailed, full sized plans are commercially available.

Renn Tolman developed three different design versions of the Tolman Skiff, ranging in size from 18 to 24 feet. Although not documented in the original design, some builders have taken the liberty to stretch the Jumbo length to 27 feet.

The three Tolman designs are:

Standard: Semi-Vee design constructed from marine plywood and epoxy/fiberglass reinforced cloth
Widebody: Similar to the standard, but longer with 3" wide chine flats on each side of the bottom.
Jumbo: Longer and deeper than the Widebody, with 4" chine flats on each side of the bottom.

The Great Alaskan Offshore Skiff is a larger design, up to 28 feet in length. It offers similar performance advantages over fiberglass or aluminum designs. See http://www.glacierboats.com/ for study plans and more information.

Many builders modify the basic design of the boat to suit their needs. A montage of various Tolman Skiffs and stages of construction may found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXslgUaxaew&feature=youtu.be

Renn Tolman can be seen commenting on his skiffs and their history at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZK3tDjLeN4

A Guest Map has been created, showing the location of Tolman Skiffs built worldwide. See http://fishyfish.com/guestmap.html

Renn Tolman died on July 5, 2014. Further details of his life may be found here: http://homertribune.com/2014/07/esteemed-boat-builder-passes/

Professional Boatbuilder Magazine summarized the history of Renn Tolman and his skiffs here: http://www.proboat.com/renn-tolman-and-his-high-endurance-skiff.html

Schlechter Tolman Widebody
Nelson Tolman Jumbo Skiff
Fithian Modified Tolman Jumbo
Würfel Widebody Skiff, Hamburg, Germany
Tolman Jumbo 25 Performance with an Evinrude E-TEC 115
Tolman Jumbo 25 Performance with a Suzuki DF 140

References

"A Skiff for All Seasons", Renn Tolman, 1992, ISBN 978-0-9668711-0-4

"Tolman Alaskan Skiffs", Renn Tolman, 2003, ISBN 978-0-9668711-1-1

"Die Schwedische Bottenküste", Friedhelm Würfel, 2010, ISBN 978-3-86805-623-5 Describes a tour of the Gulf of Bothnia in a Tolman Alaskan Skiff in 2009. http://www.friedhelmwuerfel.de/

External links

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