Center Console Hull Design

Good Day all together!
I am currently trying to work out a Design for a center console boat which i plan to build next year as a strip plank composite construction. Main parameters should be smooth planing behaviour (intended use mostly in calm waters) and somewhat fuel efficiency.

After weeks of looking for suitable plans that would meet my design wishes, i finally ended up with a design development of my own, which i am going to build on a model scale to conduct some tests during the next weeks.

Nevertheless I would very much appreciate any constructive feedback concerning the shape of the hull. Not aiming to build a perfect one, but would be nice to know if i created any major pitfall when it comes to a planing hull.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

With any centre console, spray coming aboard has to be a consideration, your design is perhaps not ideal from that perspective. Just my opinion of course.

 

Build a decent size model and see how it works. The LCB/LCG is not shown but the boat could show some tendency to broach or bow steer in a following sea, particularly if trimmed near level or if any weight in the bow.

 

Thanks for a while. Spray is for sure a consideration with the convex shape of the entry and the straight bow. To a certain level i will accept it as a price of my design wish.

I guess to check this out together with the balance and steering characteristics it will be best to build a fully functional remote model and make some video analyses from that.

 

The bow would be ok and the fore foot coming long way back ! so could sit with the bow simular to the Wally boats ,Look fast even when they not moving !!
I would be inclined to take the rocker out of the keel at the back ,it will have a tendancy to suck the hull down and dig also raise the front the faster you go and could look rather strange at speed .
What power units you looking at big outboards or sterndrive ??

What size is the boat and what shape will your centre console be ?? .
I worked on a completely new designed fishing boat in Korea and looked good on paper but the gunnel dipped down to much at the bow !when the boat was built looked a little out of place !!,it also had a plumb bow and rode beautifuly at speed !!

Also remember the more flat the top sides are the more materials are needed to make them stiff so adds weight !!plus could look a little slab sided !! buts clever graphics could hide that fact !!dont make it shiney !!

 

Thanks for the comments - specially concerning the strength of the sides. I will care about that.

At the time being i have no final decision about powering. Certainly i'd prefer to marinize a good old 5.7 ltr V8 with stern drive in order to keep costs pretty down and get a nice trim same time. But i have to think about emission limitations and consider interior spacing as well before sorting out that issue.

Length will be 7.05 with a beam of 2.25m.

Concerning the layout of the CC i will take some credits from the Frauscher Lido - see picture.

The rocker at the transom results from the back wings to cover the platform and should be above waterline (hope we talk about the same )

One of my basic intentions is to build a nice boat for my diving activities. So preferences concerning the storage of equipment and proper space on deck to move with the tanks on the back will quite influence all the next steps ahead.

 

Frauscher builds elegant boats. Shame that they are so rare. Ive only ever seen one at a Boat Show.

For diving you need easy access to the sea. Outboard forward , cockpit sole to the sea might be worth exploring.

Small center console built in France uses this solution. Cant remember the builder. I walk by it everyday. I take photo

 

I disagree in that a diving platform needs a forward mounted outboard. The outdrive and small block is a logical, reliable choice, though an outboard on a bracket or the transom a much simpler setup and offers considerably more cockpit space too.

Dive boats generally are intended to offer a stable working platform, with the ability to handle the sea states they'll be expected to drive to and from. If this boat operates in fairly deep water, it's going to pound a bit. The entry is fine, but quickly flattens out and the chine placement is odd as well, which is a key element in a near shore craft.

Is there a hull you've patterned this after or just a good guess? I ask, because I don't think she's going to float anywhere close to the shown LWL's, with that volume distribution and suggested accommodations/drive.

 

food for thought !

The centre console is always a place thats under utilised and almost wasted space .
The young lady boat designer i worked with in South Korea was a brilliant designer and the clever idea she came up with for the console i have never seen anything like it before or since .
Had a lift up front like a vw bonnet you were able to step down into and onto a flat floor there was enough space for a chemical toilet in one corner and a hand basin with hot and cold water diagonally in the other corner ,total access to all and everything at the back of the dash panel ,was enough room to hang wetweather gear had automatic timed lighting ,shelves and draws etc !! when the door was shut was lockable I could stand up inside with my head down ! From outside its size did not look out of proportion , the boats were 24 feet long fitted with the Hyundai seasall stern drive units .
The boat building company was working closely with Hyundai and we built 2 boats for the 2009 boat show one boat had the 250 hp vee 6 the other had the 170 hp 4 cylinder Hyundai Seasall , both were really quite and smooth running !!,the only way to tell when the motor was idleing was to look at the tacho ! the 250 was brilliant and had real get up and go and handling was great .!!

 

Many of the newer center consoles have a head inside and are outboard powered to conserve space.

 

I remember seeing the first head with shower integrated under the console back in 2006-2007, at the Genoa Boat Show... Back then it looked pretty weird, but now I think it is a smart solution.

 

Design. Form and Function. A toilet.

Why did it take so long for designers to grasp the obvious ?

Its the same with the WALLY open to the sea transom detailing. Such a brilliant idea for boats in the Med who dock stern too or for watersports access. . More and more I see designers pickup on this detail.

 

I find that De Antonio boat in your pic so beautiful in it's simplicity.
I agree, it is an example of a Med-optimized small boat, both in appearance and in function..

 

center consol ideas

I've done a couple of center consol boats - one was a 23' x 8.3' Cat (in 1985) where the center consol had a toilet and a double bunk. Since wind pressure and the possibility of "stuffing" were an issue if the access was on the front, the access was on the stbd.side. The front was fitted with a seat/deck lkr.
The open stern idea is okay perhaps but if it was my boat I would like some way of closing off the stern. Rough water and/or following seas could create a 'water on deck' and subsequent free surface moment leading to some possible stability issues. note: The photo indicates some water has hit the deck and the boat is in calm water.

 

It seems to me that only areas around cleats are wet in that photo, so it is probably due to mooring lines being hauled on board.

But yes, I agree that open transom can create problems in following choppy seas. However, everything has to be pun into right context, and the context of that boat is the Med-style boating. It means day-trips at planing cruise speed to nearby beaches or bays on a calm sunny summer day. For the rest of the time the boat will be either hauled out or will be moored in the marina, waiting for the owner to show up for the next picnic trip.

Cheers