Melon Seed Skiff

Today's wooden melon seed pays homage to its ancestors as a beautiful, stable, responsive boat that is a pleasure to sail in a range of conditions. The traditional sprit rig is quick and easy to set up or break down and can be stored right inside the boat for transport. The boat also has oarlocks and rows readily, allowing you to slip in/out of a crowded harbor or pull up the daggerboard and explore shallow inlets and marshes where usually only a canoe might venture.

If you're looking for the perfect little wood daysailer, you have found it in a melon seed skiff from Windfall Woodworks.

If you're interested in the melonseed skiff, you might want to visit the "Melonseed Skiff Melonheads Group", an active discussion group on Yahoo.

I do currently have one sweet little melon seed for sale.
melonseed skiff at sunset melonseed on the beach off long island the builder sailing a melonseed melonseed under sail melonseed under sail at sunset close-up of melonseed skiff melonseed skiff profile bow view of the melonseed
Construction: northern white cedar on black locust
LOA: 13'7"
Beam: 4'4"
Approx. weight: 203 lb.

Pricing: New orders for a standard boat are $12,000-14,000. This includes hull, rig (mast, boom, sprit, sail, and lines), custom bronze fittings, daggerboard, rudder, and tiller.

History: With a profile low to the water, the melon seed skiffs were originally used to hunt ducks on the Jersey Bays. Built around Little Egg Harbor in the late 1800's, they were noted to sail well. The Melonseeds proved fast and capable on the choppy waters of the open bays, where they quickly displaced their more sensitive predecessor, the Barneget Bay Sneakbox.


all photos by Nick LaVecchia