Bass Boats

[dougfrolich]

I am working on a 20' LOA x 8' max. Beam 1500lb. ( lightship w/o motor) Bass boat. I would like feedback on the general geometry and what makes a really good deck layout for this type of craft.

Thanks
Doug Frolich

[RealityBoatCo]

Great looking bass boat. Have you found any info on deck layout yet?

[dougfrolich]

Thanks.!!! No, I have not found any info re: deck/locker layout. So if you have any info you would like to share please do. If you would like more info/drawings, or whatever no problem, just let me know.

Doug Frolich
Marshall Yacht Design

[RealityBoatCo]

I would look through some brochures of other bass boats and pick out some things you like. Maybe make several decks for same hull, like dual console and side console. I won't be home until June, I can send you some of my scribblings so you can see some of the ideas I had.

Originally Posted by dougfrolich

I am working on a 20' LOA x 8' max. Beam 1500lb. ( lightship w/o motor) Bass boat. I would like feedback on the general geometry and what makes a really good deck layout for this type of craft.

Thanks
Doug Frolich

Hi Doug.. I was out looking for a new boat to go with my Merc Optimax motor I just got and ran acrossed your post. Not sure how long your post has been on here but, here are some ideas from a tournament fisherman. I have been keeping a log of these so, I have put quite a bit of thought into them. I will try and give my reasoning behind most of them as I post them.

1. Need to have a lot of room for moving from side to side without causing a lot of noise which happens from storage doors. Noise is a bad thing!

2. I would recommend having a storage spot in the middle part of the deck that has slots in it for storage box's for fisherman's baits. Find a good tackle box, such as the new Falcon FTO and make slots in it for those types of box's. It would be really nice if the slots were configurable kinda like the shelves on a hutch in your living room. Does that make sense?

3. An Ice Chest in the middle of the deck right between the two consoles is always a good thing.

4. Rod Lockers.. Rod Lockers are key.. very key... Getting rods in and out easily is the #1 asset to a rod locker.. Also make sure that it can hold up to an 8 foot rod which is the legal length for most tournaments. It would also be nice if it had a nice system sorta like the tacle box section in the middle of the boat that can hold the rods in place and keep them a little bit separated. I personally would love to see a rod locker with tubes for the top 1/2 of the it so that their is actually no access to the pole ends... But there are actually a few important things to keep in mind here..

1. The tubes need to be all the way to the front of the boat or there will be breakage of eyes on the rods.

2. The tubes need to be big enough to handle both Spinner style eyes and baitcaster style eyes.. Spinners being the difficult one's because they are bigger..

3, There will have to be butt end holders on the console side of the rod locker in order to keep the pole and reel weight from causing the pole to bend for those rods that are in the upper tubes. A C style cup about 3/4 of an inch or so would work great if it was attached to the console wall of the rod locker.

This will allow the poles to stay separated and therefore not tangle line etc... and will speed the changing of poles for an angler.

One last storage box that would be between the Tackle storage box and the front deck would be another tackle box or clothing box for jackets, gloves hats.. etc.. first aid kits.. Whatever you can think of.

There should be a depression on the front of the boat for the trolling motor pedal. This way an angler doesn't have to stand with one leg bent all day. (this can be hell on your back after a while). It would be nice if that depression was on a 30 degree angle or so sloped from nose of the boat back as to put a boater who sits or leans against the seat ( I assume you already have seat post holes right? ) all day in better position...

As for the back deck.. It obviously would have engine access lids and live well lids. I would also have a slot behind the back of the seat and the rear deck for a net. if the slot was about 1 1/2 inches from the back deck to the back of the seats this would be perfect. The seats would then not have as much support.. so in the middle of the back of the seat would be some supports... This would help the support and since a net only has one section that will be big the pole section of the net could ride over the top of that support.. Be sure to make it big enough for a 3 foot diam. net. as most Bass anglers who are allowed to use nets ( many more can use them than can't use them) always use big nets..

Not sure if you are still looking for this information.. but, if you are.. here you go.. If you make this boat let me know.. I am still on the hunt for a boat to go with my motor.

Since I actually design software and not boats.. I probably won't be back here on this site.. so if you have any info or want any better descriptions please contact me via email at info@taggedfish.com or call me at 909-319-8766.

Otherwise, Tight lines and good luck with your boat!

[RealityBoatCo]

That was some good info.

[mrbaseballny]

Here is a layout that might help