Opinions? (flatbottom skiff)

Trouty,

I don't see anything really outlandish in Bradley's flat bottom skiff. As you should know by now, I'm not a fan of flat bottoms but they do have their uses. There is no apparent rocker in the after planing portion of his hull and he does say that he avoided rocker in that area. Some of the rest of his characterization of his boat may just be a failure to comunicate just what he is actually doing so that we can understand it.

Some people have a much higher tolerance level for banging around on the water than others. How else to explain all the interest in wave jumping in PWC's and the like. Heck, in my salad days, I used to do this crazy stuff too. Nowadays I like a boat that treats my body with more respect, thus my favor for easier riding hulls than the flat bottom can afford.

As for the aircraft structural thing, almost all my boats have been built in the monoque "aircraft" fashion so it's certainly not new. When strength to weight ratio is important, that is the best way to build a boat. Of course, flat panels do not benefit from monoque methods very well and he misses the "boat" there.

Some people have the ability to visualize physical phenomena without understanding any of the math or accepted theory behind it. Maybe he is one of these. I am about half way between these extremes. I use the math and theory when I can absorb it but also try to think like a water molecule as it runs into the hull of a boat I'm designing.

 

Thinking I could continue this debate, I spent much time trying to dig up some support for my ideas. Instead I found stuff like this.

“There is a joke about the three most-often-told lies. To them I can add a fourth: that a flat-bottomed skiff will ride softly if its bottom is very narrow, or is turned up in front, or is built this way or that way. In any discussion of how boats ride, you must remember that external factors, such as speed of the boat, the height of the waves and their direction, and how heavily the boat is loaded, are at least as important as hull design. Since some of these factors can be controlled by the boat’s operator, evaluating a boat’s ride is complicated and subjective, and no aspect of boat design is more controversial. Perhaps I can say a vee-bottomed Tolman Skiff rides reasonably well if speed is reduced in rough seas. I can say with more assurance that its ride is a vast improvement over that of any skiff with a flat bottom.” ( Renn Tolman, A Skiff For All Seasons)

Renn has built both and he uses what he builds. With him and Tom agreeing, I would be foolish not to listen. I’m still learning, I hope others are also. Why else would I be here?
Gary

 

Gary,

I've read Tolman's book and agree that he relates a lot of common sense in it. His method of construction is a little off-beat to me, but that means nothing if it works for him and his customers in the difficult areas where they are used.