Barge/carolina skiff bottom, on a ocean going sailing vessel...is it practical?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by CaptJamesOBX, Jul 30, 2019.

  1. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    So here's the scoop. I was going to build a houseboat so myself and my dog could cruise the east coast. I looked at sailboats and power boats for months and just couldnt find anything that was just right. So although I wanted to cross oceans, I figured Id build a 40 ish houseboat with a flat bottom barge hull, with skegs so it could be beached, and a tunnel hull , and just stay on the coast till the dog passed then buy something and cross oceans. But I was thinking tonight, so a cat like a snowgoose, 37 feet long, 16 feet wide can cross oceans...I was thinking a 42 or so with a 16 foot beam for my houseboat. I was going to make it power, but I love a junk rig...
    So.....would a flat bottom, or slight inverted v ..maybe a 1 foot inverted deadrise (kinda a baby cat, just to keep a little more positive flotation on the outboard sides) with a 16 foot beam, do a junk rig, just for the ease of figuring and building it , keeping in mind it would mostly be for downwind sailing, the motors would be for anything else...instead of the bulky boxy houseboat cabin, I could streamline it to take some seas. ....
    Could it work? Would it be as stable as a cat..so the 1 foot deadrise would actually make it less stable, what if I did a inverted deadrise..one foot still..I could build in skegs underneath like the prouts..to act like keels.
    The reason I didnt like cats is because at that size they are essentially three tiny boats..but dont flow well for a older dog, or myself really.
    If I dont really care about speed only safety..and am completely willing to go with the flow so to speak..go where the wind takes me...with the twin inboards as emergency and docking engines...

    So out in a big sea, it wouldnt cut thru the waves, maybe I heave to often and quicker than most, how would I want to be positioned to the waves, would it be that much worse than a cat..or any other boat for that matter.
    I know there are some general ideas about this...but has anyone seen it tried..I know we used to tow barges thru some crazy seas...they didnt flip.
    Do tell..Im interested to hear peoples input..but dont just smack talk it because its simple please.
    Thanks!!!
     
  2. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    Could it work and cross an ocean? Possible depending on the conditions encountered. But the probability of it crossing an ocean without sinking and the occupants surviving is a different question.
     
  3. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    Why DCockey...I have towed barges all over the ocean and they havent sunk, do you have a particular reason to say this?
     
  4. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Not sure exactly what the plan is here, but Carolina skiff bottom, no, that won't do ! You want something with little or no transom "suck".
     
  5. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    The general idea is the easiest to build boat that could safely cross oceans. It started as a ICW cruiser idea...a barge hulled (Carolina skiff essentially) houseboat...but then I thought...if I made it beamy enough...say 16 feet like the snowgoose, and I kept the cabin low enough, and made everything watertight, or seaworthy, why couldnt it cross oceans. and even have sails for downwind. I mean it could have some rocker aft..but cats dont, so why wouldnt a inverse chine work like a cat...is that the right terminology. a 1 foot difference from the keel to the chine..with the chine being lower. the difference wouldnt be enough to cause slapping in the center, but enough to cause extra buoyancy on the ends of the beam..and help steerage. the idea is evolving...let me know where Im wrong.
     
  6. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Cats do have rocker, if they are intended to run efficiently at low speeds. Of course one sees canoe sterns, rarely on sail cats though. You seem to de describing something like a sea-sled, which is effectively a monohull, and not a cat.
     
  7. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    Ok, so I dig it...have some rocker. That makes sense, so me a little more gentle when doing the porpoising front to aft rocking..and just general hydrodynamics...so what about the inverse deadrise instead of a twin hull...why wouldn't it be as seaworthy as a cat I suppose is a good starting point.
     
  8. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    sorry it would be a little more gentle
     
  9. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    There seems no point having an inverted vee, that won't act to make the boat behave like a catamaran.
     
  10. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    Well sure it will , it will put more buoyancy at the chines, it will give the hull more directional stability...IE heading forward instead of slipping sideways..granted some keels would help as well..my thought is that a inverted V would be more comfortable in ever condition than a flat bottom boat...just as a cat is more comfortable than a flat bottom boat..this would be to a lesser extent..but also be so much easier to build...does that make sense...so its like you get 20% easier ride with a inverted V, with 2% more effort in building than a flat bottom...but you get 60% easier ride with a Cat hull , with 200% extra effort in building..and time and etc etc.. this is my thinking at the moment
     
  11. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    It wont act like a cat per sey...but it will have some good effect I think...I think...I mean its all a compromise..Im interested in your thoughts
     
  12. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    I also think the inverted v could..could be softer pounding than a flat bottom..because youll cause cavitation between the chines..even slight..which will cushion the pounding..it could be more effective than it seems just talking about it, I dont know
     
  13. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    You need freeboard offshore, as well as a shape that can ease into waves, rather than crash into them, your typical houseboat has neither. Of course barges are towed in offshore situations, but typically not with pleasure boat application. And don't forget "wet", that could become a big bug-bear as well.
     
  14. CaptJamesOBX
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    CaptJamesOBX Junior Member

    Lets forget that name houseboat...and just focus on a barge shaped hull with a reverse chine..and lets forget about freeboard and everything topsides for a moment...we can work our way up...
    so just the hull lets discuss that if we could.
    So crashing into the waves...yes, that sucks..but thats kinda a secondary issue of 100 figuring a boat out..lol.....the hull...the hull....whats wrong with the hull...for ocean going. with a 1 foot reverse deadrise..I say one foot because at that length and beam, two foot could actually be in the air in the center, then youve got a poor cat.,.with tons of slap and noise and problems..the deal with the 1 foot is it stays underwater most of the time so it has less violent torq from waves slapping against it out of the water. Why wouldn't tit work in a heavy sea..or to cross oceans..that type of hull.
     

  15. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    The inverse vee has no merit that I can see, it may slam as bad, or worse, than a flat bottom. Have a look at the design of the WW2 landing craft, there might be a decent clue there, but I don't think they were designed with the idea of working into a head-sea too much.
     
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