Design
Laughing Gull
Designed by Arch Davis
A 15 ft 9 in self-bailing sailing skiff by Arch Davis, drawn for his twelve-year-old son: lively in a breeze, forgiving and close to unswampable, thanks to a large flotation compartment in the bottom and freeing ports in the transom. The flat-bottomed hull has lapstrake plywood sides, a 4 ft 5 in beam and weighs 225 lb unrigged. Plans show an unstayed cat rig of 83 sq ft, a gunter sloop of 95 and a sprit rig of 82, and she rows or takes a small outboard.
The build adapts the Jiffy method, with frames added to hold the lapstrake planks, and the designer meant it for inexperienced woodworkers. He calls it a manageable winter's project. Budget 250 to 400 hours. Measured medians from build logs appear below.
What building a Laughing Gull actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Laughing Gull here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Chatte | Glen-L Marine | 15′ 8″ (4.78 m) | 0 |
| Lapwing 16 | B&B Yacht Designs | 15′ 8″ (4.78 m) | 0 |
| Adelie 16 | Bateau | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Sid Skiff | Ray Speck | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Alexa’s Rocket 15 | Bateau | 15′ 6″ (4.72 m) | 0 |
| Otter 16 | Bateau | 15′ 6″ (4.72 m) | 0 |