boatbuildlog

Design

Outboard Skiff 18

Designed by Jacques Mertens

An 18 ft planing vee-hull outboard skiff by Jacques Mertens, sold by Bateau / Boat Builder Central as the OB18. It is the OB15 stretched, with a slightly different sheer and the same 5 ft 6 in beam; the longer waterline brings more speed, a little more room and easier trailer launching. Hull weight is about 405 lb and 50 hp is the maximum.

The OB18 can be built stitch and glue or over simple molds, and overlapping panels form a built-in chine like a molded fiberglass hull. The designer says a first-time builder can do it and gives 80 to 120 hours. A complete first boat more often takes 180 to 300. The medians below come from builders who logged this boat here.

What building a Outboard Skiff 18 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.

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Build logs
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Launched
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Median hours
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Median months

Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.

Builds of this boat

Nobody has logged a Outboard Skiff 18 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.

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Same type, closest in length.

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