Hickman style hull any good for low powered outboard Houseboat?

A question about towing weights in Australia. In North America, the legal towing weight is base of gross vehicle weight, not actual weight.

 

Hi Gonzo,
Each vehicle has there own trailer towing weight in the owners manual.Any trailer over 750 kg gross weight has to have brakes. A general rule for towing with older vehicles before 1992 when they never had to note towing weights is not to tow any trailer that’s over 1.5 times the gross weight of the vehicle unloaded.
Hope that helps mate.

 

Thanks DC
I had looked at this boat before but now with better eyes. Is it true that at designed draught of 120mm the boat can carry 565kg ? Also as the hull sides are flared out if draught increased to 240 mm the boat with carry more than 1130kg. I’ve never read many favourable comments about adding foam below sealed decks, is there or just pack with 2 litre plastic milk bottles? There’s no mention about putting a lower hp outboard say 25 on the TX-18 how would that handle the boat with 1100 kg above its dry weight.

 

Haha just noticed I’m draft.

 

Hi @Stofferaus , there were many tx18's built. Enough that they really couldn't get away with inaccuracies on their listed attributes. I think we can expect that a boat built properly will perform as described.

As far as low power goes, baeckmo reports that the half dozen or so he built had no planing resistance hump to speak of. If he is correct -and he's an extremely experienced and respected NA, considered "top drawer " by at least one seriously heavy hitter in the industry - then the boat should do just fine with a low power installation. Slower, but not wallowing miserably. And much much faster than a comparable displacement hull at the same power to weight ratio.

They have some listed speed/power information. In the condition you describe, it looks like almost 20 knots. Much better than the 5 tops you'd get with a displacement boat.

 

Thanks DC,
Great reply and I did see a YouTube clip of a girl standing on the port bow with almost no deflection. Was I correct about the weights and waterline and should I search up the best options using foam. I’ll have to check out baeckmo seeing he’s built so many TX 18’s.

 

@baeckmo is a member of the forum. He has built a bunch of sea sleds of his own design.

I don't think he's likely to build a Tx18, or any boat designed by someone else. I'm just referring to his first hand experience with the sea sled hull form, and that he has the depth of knowledge and experience to be objective about that experience.

 

Ok DC I’m with you now, thanks for taking time out from your building to help us starters.

 

Short comment here, since my name has come up, without reading through the length of this thread. The inverted V-designs are planing hulls, they show their ability at higher speeds. A low-power houseboat is not a good option for a high speed hull, whatever shape. At low displacement speeds, there are barge-shapes developed for low resistance and good manouverability, that are far better suited for the task than the planing Hickmans. The one-for-all hull is an illusion; start with a realistic SOR, then go for a suitable shape, not the other way round.

 

does this shatter any of your weight doesn't matter wishes DC?

just a conversation; nothing more

 

No, not at all. And while baeckmo is correct, he is correct within limits. The given sor is achievable by many means. It's not at all demanding. But if a hull is chosen that is able to go faster, it will go faster than one that can barely manage a slow crawl. And since the OP was kind enough to provide a realistic load expectation, speed at that load with a given power is not mysterious. My numbers are correct.

 

Realistically, how fast would you want to go on a houseboat? There are loose lawn chairs, dishes, toys, knickknacks, TVs, glasses full of booze, etc.

 

sorry could not resist

 

Well, that is my experience on houseboats. The only fast speed was someone going for fresh drinks.

 

Haha! Word