Tacked aluminum hull

[Silvercreek]

Well inspired by Andrew H's post about the Cope boat he built, I wonder if anyone would be interested in a tacked hull, or perhaps something where the bottom is welded out. Essentially I do all the hard work and then you take over, I supply the rest of the cnc cut pieces. Of course I could always provide just a kit aswell.

This is a hard top I started, but I could also do this for other builds aswell. Price wise on this one probably around 20k for the tacked hull up to the point its at right now( along with the rest of the pieces to go with it), I would put some big stitch welds all around so it doesn't fall apart while your trailering it back home. Realistically its probably better if I at least weld out the bottom (finish the critical part) the rest is easy peasy. I'm also looking for some idea what to do at the back of the boat, I'm thinking a fish box in the middle and open on each side.

Some info on the boat:
Length overall is 21'10" (19'10" to the pod)
Beam: 95"
Aluminum floors self bailing
3/16 5086 bottom
3/16 5086 sides

Also do you guys think the sides are too high at the back? This probably has the highest sides I've seen of any boat this size. The reason I did that is it makes the cab look more proportionate , and allowed me to raise the floor height up enough that it could be self bailing. The sides are about 39" tall and from the floor to the gunnels at the back is around 33". I'm thinking of stepping the side down a bit at the back, so its not too high above the water for fishing.


Just noticed the console didn't show up, on the 3d rendering, but there is one lol

 

[Sr SQ]

Personally I prefer the higher gunnels, on rough days it adds to my sense of security, plus a good self bailing deck is a necessity in any fishing boat IMO

 

[Buckethead905]

That’s a nice looking boat. Proportions are perfect.

 

[zurk]

problem with high gunnels is you will fail the transport canada flotation test.

Buoyancy Material

tc.canada.ca

fill it with water and it will sink instead of floating level.

 

[Stizzla]

problem with high gunnels is you will fail the transport canada flotation test.

Buoyancy Material

tc.canada.ca

fill it with water and it will sink instead of floating level.

DFO boarded me and did that test on my boat last year. I did surprisingly well.

 

[Rain City]

problem with high gunnels is you will fail the transport canada flotation test.

Buoyancy Material

tc.canada.ca

fill it with water and it will sink instead of floating level.

Interesting. I've always wondered what the point of added rails was. The more you know...

 

[Aquaholic]

DFO boarded me and did that test on my boat last year. I did surprisingly well.

What exactly did they check? Gunnel height?

 

[Silvercreek]

Level flotation is only required for boats under 6m

 

[Silvercreek]

DFO boarded me and did that test on my boat last year. I did surprisingly well.

they flooded your boat??? I think your thinking of something else lol

 

[Aquaholic]

Level flotation is only required for boats under 6m

it says so it’s in the link that Zurk himself posted.

 

[Silvercreek]

Reason I was asking about the high gunnels is I've heard some guys say they don't like them too high for netting a fish. Obviously higher gunnels = safer.
Even on a boat under 6m, high gunnels wouldn't make it fail a level flotation test. In fact, its pretty much has nothing to do with the level flotation test (other then its extra boat weight so you need more foam). What it could have an affect on is the stability test, which is another one that boats under 6m have to pass. I think that you could also add foam into the gunnels that would improve the outcome of the test though. My only personal experience with it is on a jon boat, which is hard to stuff enough foam into to make it work. When too much weight was added the boat wanted to flip over when doing the stability test. Foam on top in the gunnels or on the sides would add some buoyancy to counteract that though

 

[Stizzla]

they flooded your boat??? I think your thinking of something else lol

‘Twas a joke. I don’t see how that text can be performed.
I could see a formula for length x beam = maxim height, but how can they perform and enforce this “test”

 

[Silvercreek]

Lol. I was like ummm...
There's no way they can enforce that somebody's boat has level flotation and I'm not sure what year it came in but it wasn't always a requirement.
Even as a mfg transport canada doesn't come check a boat model, they basically take us on our word that it complies with all the rules. That being said as a mfg I'm going to do my damn best to make sure everything is how it needs to be because if there was an accident or a death I can Imagine your going to be in some serious trouble if you knowingly (or even not knowing) said a boat was compliant when it wasn't

 

[Silvercreek]

It's a test that is supposed to be performed by the manufacturer for every model produced and while simple enough to understand its a bit more complicated in reality. Just having enough foam doesn't mean it's going to pass it also has to be in the right places to balance the boat properly. There also the fact that you gotta take a boat and flood it full of water lol. It can also be done with software I think but again it's a little more complex then just figuring out the amount of foam that's needed to support the weight

 

[Alex_c]

Here’s a pretty good resource on how to calculate floatation amounts and placement:

https://safeafloat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/F-_-G-_-H-Flotation-Final-4-14.pdf