This is our Tolman skiff building/adventure website.
My wife, daughters, and I have been boating for a quite a few years. We have always bought the best cheap craft we could afford. Still we always ended up with something less than we really wanted. We made do and had a lot of fun with what we had. But Kath & and I both yearned for something more. For one we wanted a larger boat with cabin to escape the cold Alaskan weather (even in summer it can get pretty chilly and wet). We wanted a longer boat with a better ride in the chop. I especially wanted something new that hadn't been scrapped together in a hodge-podge of wierd wiring and mishap "custom" design modifications. We also wanted to be able to do a comfortable over night trip which requires at least some basic ammenities and the range to do it.
In the spring of 2005 Kath found an article in the Sunday paper and thought it looked like an ideal boat. It was an article about Renn Tolman and his Alaskan skiffs he had developed in Homer AK. Well that captured our imagination and when we saw that many were owner built that lit a fire in me. We attended the Homer Wooden Boat Festival in May 05 and that was it. We had to do this. I say we because Kathleen was pretty excited about this boat and has been very involved in the building of it. (guys does it get any better than that?) She even offered to be evicted from the garage for the winter(s) for the building to be done at home. So one remote start with timer on her car later we were on our way.
Because so many other Tolman skiff builders have created websites of their projects which, for me, have been so incredibly helpful I decided to document our trials and tribulations during this project here on this site.
We began in Nov 2005 and launched in May 2008. As of Sept 2008 we have put nearly 900 miles on the K'Marie in her first season. She is the most seaworthy boat I have ever been on for her size. She is by far nearly complete though there are still details yet to be finished but she is completely usable. I'll keep the site updated from time to time to show some of our adventures.
Bob Southwick
AKA WalknBob
Adventures
2008 Homer Wooden Boat Festival
Breaking in the new motor
First Outing
Prince William Sound day trip
Our cottage
Tolman Links
Renn Tolman 
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