An adjustable and removable skimming assembly is provided for attaching to the bow of a watercraft. When mounted, the skimming assembly presents vertically orientated starboard, port and bow cages that house oil absorbent padding. The cages with the positioned pads are largely porous so that at slow watercraft velocities, the water flows through the pads but the oil is retained within the pads across a substantially horizontal plane. As the pads become oil saturated along this common plane, the vertical cages are adjusted to expose a section of the pad that is not saturated. This process is repeated until the entire pad surface is saturated. The resistance force created by the water against the starboard and port cages during movement is countered by a plurality of tethering cables extending from the structural members attached to the bow of the watercraft to the outer edges of the cages. The lengths of these cables are such that the port and starboard cages are swept forward from the bow cage to form an oblique u-shape. As the skimmer moves through the water, this cage positioning creates a capture zone for funneling floating debris and oil toward the center of the bow cage where it can be collected and removed by other means.