Preliminary Plan

[timgoodwin]

Here is a rough sketch of a prelim. for my boat. What does anyone think?

[Skagit Hideaway]

Foaming the hull with 4lb and/or 8lb foam will add substancial ballast. You shouldn't need to weight the keel I'd think.

[Skagit Hideaway]

Your sole (cockpit floor) to upper roof clearance of 12ft. seems a bit much. It needn't be more than 6ft or so. Its not a flying bridge that you want. Screws and bolts are not particularly good fasteners for fiberglass boats, generally. Better to laminate the two assemblies into one piece, maybe. If I were to redo the Skagit's new cabin, I would make a plywood form of the cabin shape, cover that with a thin, plastic sheet (contact cemented), and then laminate over that. When cured, you just pull the fiberglass off the form, for a wood-free laminate structure.

[timgoodwin]

Your sole (cockpit floor) to upper roof clearance of 12ft. seems a bit much. It needn't be more than 6ft or so. Its not a flying bridge that you want. Screws and bolts are not particularly good fasteners for fiberglass boats, generally. Better to laminate the two assemblies into one piece, maybe. If I were to redo the Skagit's new cabin, I would make a plywood form of the cabin shape, cover that with a thin, plastic sheet (contact cemented), and then laminate over that. When cured, you just pull the fiberglass off the form, for a wood-free laminate structure.

The hull foam will make a good counter weight for sure but I didn't mean that the upper roof would be 12 feet from the upper deck to roof I meant from the lower cabin deck to the upper deck roof would be twelve feet. In other words a total of 12 feet from keel to upper roof. Does that contact cement come away from the wood pretty easy?

[Skagit Hideaway]

Contact cement holds the plastic against the wood contours, pretty much forever. The wood frame is disposeable. Laminate over that. The laminate comes away from the plastic easily enough, provided it is an open shape. Pry it off with a screwdriver. You'd do a whole cabin in sections.

12ft is way too much. What is the beam of the boat? Lower deck to upper roof should be just over what you need to stand without hitting your head. No reason for it to be higher.

[John Nelson]

I like the Idea of a pilot house. Making a photo copy of a picture whiting out the unwanted lines then inlarge to desired size. You only have to draw the lines you want to change.Then you can get more critical of the shapes. You could make it out of 5-8 # foam and glass over it. Glassing over the corners is difficult though. PVA is a relece agent that worked well for me if you start making parts. You don't want to ballast a planning hull. That boat rides high in the bow and in general moving weight foreword helps. Chuck thought his could have used 50 gal of fuel right in the bow. Some of the old boats transoms are too vertical a 1.5" tapered shim between the engine and transom can help that or you might be able to do something to your engine bracket to let it go down further. The hard part is getting you the training you need to do all this stuff.

[timgoodwin]

I like the Idea of a pilot house. Making a photo copy of a picture whiting out the unwanted lines then inlarge to desired size. You only have to draw the lines you want to change.Then you can get more critical of the shapes. You could make it out of 5-8 # foam and glass over it. Glassing over the corners is difficult though. PVA is a relece agent that worked well for me if you start making parts. You don't want to ballast a planning hull. That boat rides high in the bow and in general moving weight foreword helps. Chuck thought his could have used 50 gal of fuel right in the bow. Some of the old boats transoms are too vertical a 1.5" tapered shim between the engine and transom can help that or you might be able to do something to your engine bracket to let it go down further. The hard part is getting you the training you need to do all this stuff.

The training. Now there's the rub huh! But I am so intent on this project and willing to pay attention to everyone I am sure with time and patience I can learn. OJT here we go.

[Skagit Hideaway]

The Farallon length to beam ratio is a bit less than 2.6 to 1, so it is not surprising that it rides bow high. Lengthening the hull 24" ala the Snohomosh River Farallon would bring the bow down.

[timgoodwin]

Trim Tabs?

The Farallon length to beam ratio is a bit less than 2.6 to 1, so it is not surprising that it rides bow high. Lengthening the hull 24" ala the Snohomosh River Farallon would bring the bow down.

What about trim tabs? Would they work for bringing the bow down and on a faster plain?

[Helmar]

What about trim tabs? Would they work for bringing the bow down and on a faster plain?

Yes they will.
The difference between those early Dorsetts are they were designed for the Bay area and all that chop in the water. Still flat bottom to a sense but if you look at the hull, you will notice that there is a Lot more hull done in the water just forward from the helm.
I would suggest Anything that you have to put on board, goes into the cabin and forward.

The only thing I found that seems, Not right, is the angle of the transom. Seems as that is pretty standard in comparison to all the Skagits and Bell Boys.
I think it should have had more of angle to it.

I was able to run along side Chuck Careys Farallon in which I had install those automatic trim tabs. (someone moves from port to starboard, the gyro would pickup and adjust the trim tabs automatically) The first engine he had on it had a pretty good trim setup and I could see him learning it as the bow was way up but later on, he was able set the trim tabs for running (down more) and he adjusted the engine trim to help bring the bow down.
One thing you have to remember is the way that bow was designed, its supposed to be down in the water for a good ride though the chop.
If its not, then your running a flat bottom boat and beating the crap out of everything and everyone on board.

Take a look at your Farallon and you should notice that just behind the cabin windshield is the lowest point in the hull and the farthest distance between the rub rail and keel.
That lowest spot is were you want to keep her nose down in the water for a nice ride.

[Helmar]

The Farallon length to beam ratio is a bit less than 2.6 to 1, so it is not surprising that it rides bow high. Lengthening the hull 24" ala the Snohomosh River Farallon would bring the bow down.

Yes it would but you can also accomplish that with trim tabs and trimming the motor.
That extra space in the rear of those would be nice as most of that boat is cabin.

[John Nelson]

Trim tabs cause drag. They are more for combating passengers that will take their lawn chairs and go directly to the lowest point, usually right rear. The bow is going to come up with speed and power no matter what. You want to have it bow heavy enough so when you get in some chop You can back off the throttle a little and put more boat in the water. Making the boat longer is a nice trick, I don't want to be the one to talk you through it. Making a new mold for the last three feet of the boat and making new stringers that extend thru the void that was the transom.

[Skagit Hideaway]

Some good info: http://www.soundingsonline.com/featu...ull-efficiency

Trim tabs in the neutral position add no more drag than an extension of the hull, and serve as such. IMO, trim tabs should have a set, neutral angle and be adjustable in length. There is something to invent.