Matt Hickey is a software engineer with clients in distant places, for whom he develops apps and programs for cell phones and other technology.

Whether or not they know that Hickey lives on a sailboat named Madrone in Port Townsend is not too important in terms of what he produces.

But Hickey has always loved sailing, and has taken his affection for boats to a new level. He taught himself how to design an ultra-lightweight dinghy, built a number of them and started a one-man company called Hermit Cove Boats. He sells designs, not boats, and with a bent toward making them as simple and inexpensive as possible, and buildable using easily found materials. His kits provide computer-cut wooden frames, templates and clear instructions.

“Hermit Cove skin-on-frame boats are uniquely designed to make them incredibly easy to build,” he noted. “They don't require any special construction guides, like jigs or molds. These are not craft boats meant to be pored over and lovingly varnished all season long. These are rough and ready boats that want to get out on the water.”

NYLON SKIN

A strong but simple wooden frame covered with a tight and strong nylon skin is the essence of a Hermit Cove boat.

Almost any sunshine shows the ribs of Hickey’s various boat designs through the tough synthetic skin.

As a sailor, Hickey sailed to the Marquesas, a group of French Polynesian islands in the South Pacific, and all over the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2012, he had the de-masted Madrone trucked to the Pacific Northwest, and in mid-2013 he moved to Port Townsend. He sailed through all of the San Juan Islands, circumnavigated Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, sailed with friends to Alaska, and did whatever was needed to get on the water and into remote places. When not sailing, he traveled by bike to equally remote places, putting in long miles.

And he thought about boats.

In 2014, he designed and built what he calls a “camping rowboat,” which he named the Loon. This became his prototype of a wooden-ribbed, synthetic-skinned, lightweight rowboat. A tent cover can be pulled over it to comfortably sleep two in almost any kind of weather.

He developed the design on a computer, had a precision plywood frame cut and then attached the skin. In the end, the 15-foot dinghy weighed 35 pounds, compared to the standard weight of even a lightweight manufactured dinghy, at about 60 pounds.

SUPER LIGHT

“While they look good, the real value of skin-on-frame construction becomes clear when you pick it up,” wrote Hickey. “No need to strain, ask for help or use a winch. Skin-on-frame boats often weigh less than a backpack.”

Who are Hickey’s customers? Well, he doesn’t have a lot of them – he’s just getting started. But he knows the type. It will be someone who has some skill with his or her hands, although they don’t need much. They can follow a design and instructions, and be precise in their measurements, although the kits include precut plywood parts. They will love building their own lightweight boat.

“We offer kits, paper plans and PDF plans,” noted Hickey. “The PDF plans include a detailed instruction manual, access to the support forum, and cutting plans in PDF formats. The paper plans are full-sized, so that you can cut the shapes out of the plywood using the plans as a template. The kit includes the required plywood parts CNC (computer)-cut from marine plywood.”

Design names and sizes range from the Owl (8 feet 1 inch long, 4-foot-1-inch beam), a utility boat; Little Owl (6 feet 7 inches, 4-foot beam), wide and stable; and the Pacific Loon (13 feet 4 inches, 4-foot-8-inch beam), which can become a camping rowboat.