WOO-HOO!! The skiff has arrived!!!!
Here is the box. It's about 7.5 x 10.5 x 31.5. It didn't weigh too much - much less than the parlor.
Anana was taken from her beam and bar work to demonstrate sizing for us.
The open box
The boat part. It's made of wood but has a coating that makes it feel like plastic. Definitely wood, though. There are two seats - one on each side. There is a hole on one end for the mast and sail. There are two plastic silver knobs for the oars.
The dolls sit very easily in it. The sides of the skiff are close enough to the doll's bum to support her so that she won't flop overboard when the skiff moves.
Here are two dolls. Excuse the hair on my niece's Elizabeth. I wanted to take some quick photos and grabbed the dolls from their gymnastics class. The dolls have plenty of room. Their toes might touch a bit at the center of the boat but they're definitely not kicking each other.
The boat doesn't even come up to the doll's knee when flat...
But is much taller than the doll when held on it's end.
The sails. It's cloth connected by elastic bands to three poles.
To assemble the mast and sails, you click the horseshoe shaped piece onto the main mast and then adjust the elastic bands to make the cloth sail tight. Not quite sure how to describe it but the boat comes with instructions.
You then insert the mast into the hole at one end of the boat. Now, here's the thing: I've been able to take my mast out whenever I wanted. However, I was too wussy to really try and push it in the hole - I was afraid it would 'click' in and not be able to remove it. But I'm pretty sure that's not how it's designed -I think the point is to be able to take the mast and sail out when you want. It's kind of sturdy in there - not flopping around or anything but if you grab the mast to move the boat, most likely you'll pull the mast out. Does that make sense?
Two dolls with the sail. The sail has to be out to the side or it would knock Elizabeth overboard.
One doll alone with the sail.
There's a few inches between the sail and her tummy. One rough wave and she'd be impaled. :-(
From the floor to the top of the mast - 19.25 inches. From the floor to the top of the sails - 22.25 inches.
From one end of the boat to the other - 28 inches.
The boat is 8 inches wide at it's widest without the oars or sail.
The oars stick out approx. 8 inches from the side when they are fully extended.
The sail sticks out approx. 15 inches from the side of the boat when fully extended.
The oars. The plastic pieces on the boat are two knobs at an angle. You place the holes in the oars on the knobs. For sure they do not lock in - they move back and forth at an angle due to the knobs being at an angle. It's a realistic angle for rowing. I can see the oars coming off though while playing.
The hands don't quite reach the oars, no matter what side of the boat the dollie is in.
Size comparison to a parlor wall, It's longer than the wall but the wall is a bit taller.
Top view comparison of the skiff and old edition dog sled. It's longer than the dog sled.
I give this an A. It's just an adorable piece - great details and fine quality like Sam's 3-wheeled bike. It will definitely be a show piece for me. I am curious how the mast will stand up to play - if it will frequently fall out or will stay in the hole until it's meant to be taken out. I may let my niece play a bit and give you an updated report.
