Add keel to power boat

[Sea Dozer]

Hello to all and thanks for any help. I own a 22 foot aluminum 1983 Canadian Cost Guard power boat. Small cab on the front. It is an inboard\out board Volvo Penta 280 with Chevy 6 Cyl fresh water cool. It is a V hull but just the very front. Square at the back. It has two skegs running the length of the boat starting a few feet from the bow of 3" wide channel aluminum 2" tall tack welded on. I'd like to cut them off and reweld new 2" channel aluminum with open side down as to accept wood keels that I could change out and maybe experiment for best ride and or control. Also like to add one to the center to possible help brake seas that I may also be able to change out for trial and error. Added center keel may almost act as a bowl bus bow for braking seas. I love the boat and been fishing it for a season now. We use it for lobstering and scallop drag on Cape Cod Massachusetts. (Not many Scallops around). We also like to fish for stripers and blues. Next year I'd like to get out deeper for bigger game. The boat is more designed for working bays with the flatter back on the hull but doesn't do to bad in 3 to 4 foot seas if caught in it. I would like to make it universal and to cut the seas better by being able to change out the keels to what Im doing. Or maybe even end up happy somewhere in the middle. I can't be the first guy with this idea and would love to hear an info on how to go about this. Also while hiring a guy to weld it I was concidering adding two small section on each sides up by the bow to help deflect waves from the bow. Not sure if you call them chimes but something like chimes. Again using channel aluminum at 1 1\2" wide and I could also play with how big they would need to be by being able to bolt different width of wood or composit materials. Example I could use 1" x6" wood or a1" x10" piece of wood. What I would not be to sure about is the exact placement to weld the channel aluminum to. Im guessing a few inches above water line.
Thanks for reading my long post and thanks for any ideas. I can try and get some pics up to help explain my idea here. Also if any one knows someone who may be interested in helping me with this in my area I'd obviously willing to pay for their time.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

What is the problem that you think these appendages might help with ?

 

[PAR]

It sounds like you have a modest deadrise warped bottom hull form and which is would handle like a monohedron. No additional set of appendages will do this.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

I'll bet I wasn't the only one tricked by the "bowl bus bow" ! I thought that was some arcane science I was not privy to, till the light bulb came on !

 

[JSL]

can you post some photos - it might help. Also, why the keel(s)? Is the boat mishandling & in what way???? -broaching to, chine walking/progressive heeling, etc ????

 

[upchurchmr]

I never got the "bowl bus bow"
Someone clue me in?????

PAR - what is a monohedron and what would it handle like?

I must be getting older and more ignorant!

 

[PAR]

A monohedron is a common deadrise hull, from approximately midship aft. These have more speed potential, take rough water better, assuming sufficient deadrise, have less drag associated with them at speed, require more power to get up on plane and to maintain speed, tend to require more speed to get over the hump and several other considerations/attributes.

What I've taken from the OP's comments is, he has a semi protected waters, warped bottom boat and wishes he can take on sea state conditions, better suited for a deeper V, monohedron type of hull form. Unless he's willing to literally cut the aft bottom off the boat and build something more suitable for the conditions he anticipates, making the modest deadrise warped bottom better with appendages, isn't going to pan out well for him. His real problem is, he has a skiff hull and wants a deep V.

 

[philSweet]

Bulbous bow. I was about three sentences past it when the penny dropped.

I think if I wanted to play around, I'd bend some larger C or H channel and through-bolt it over the existing strakes. You can lag or bolt the wood to the channel, and bolt it up to the boat. Saves having to do anything radical to the boat. But make sure the strakes can take the prying load. You don't want to peel the hull off the frames.

 

[JSL]

As PAR mentioned, sounds like a warped bottom (some politically correct people call it modified V) but if you can post some photos - it might help. Putting a skeg (keel) on this type of hull can sometimes make handling/sea-keeping worse.

 

[PAR]

PC is difficult to identify, possibly this doesn't warrant more than "double wedge" consideration.

 

[Sea Dozer]

OK you guys are helping. I like the h channel idea from Phill. Atleast to try my idea out some.
I did get some pictures of the bottom of boat. Going to try and up load them here.
I sure would like to cut it up and make more of a V hull but not sure about going that far with it. I'm a back yard welder with some machinning skills.I now remodle homes and fish for fun mostly.
The boat tracks very bad it does have some dents in the bottom but not ridiculous or any thing. It does OK in rough water but if I could improve some that would be great. Also track a little better too would be nice.
The boat does OK for where I live and I could live with it the way it is. It just seems if there was a little more under the boat to brake water on the keel and give it a chance to track it couldn't hurt. I do have some clearance on the trailer to do a little something too and still fit trailer ok. I'm going to post some pictures to help clear up my explanations here. Thank you all I already feel helped here.
I'm pretty sure the skin on the bottom is minimum of 3\16 thick should be ok to weld to. Two tack welds on the open side up towards hull on the chines I'm considering cutting off had cracked and leak a little now so as it is I'm already going to have to do some work there.

 

[Sea Dozer]

Photos

I hope these photos attached. There is 7 photos.

 

[Sea Dozer]

Couple of the welds have checked and need attention as is. Good thing we have off seasons here on Cape Cod.
The other idea of putting some chine on the side close to bow to deflect waves while under way especially on windy days I feel would be great help too. Not sure how to figure out their placement. Except to maybe video the boat u der way and pick a spot that looks like the best.

 

[Sea Dozer]

Checked should cracked. Spell correction.

 

[Sea Dozer]

Also sorry about lack of proper terms. Yes it's the strakes I'd like to add to on bottom that I'm hoping may help boat track better. The bowl bus bow is what I see on large ships not boat small like mine. And I was thinking if I add something like one it would be small. I can understand it would take more power to propell the boat. I could maybe make out of wood that could bult on to the channel aluminum if the channel aluminum was welded to keel. The sides close to bow of boat where I'd like to add the channel aluminum above water line to deflect waves while under way may be my only practical idea I have. I see them on smaller boats everywhere. I worry if I did it incorrectly that if the bow was to dip into sea it may want to pull it down further or cause more problems than I already have if not placed properly. Any advice is appreciated.