Boat design with no to little curves?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Xyberz, May 23, 2014.

  1. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and have absolutely no boat design knowledge and sadly very little experience even being on a boat. I've been doing a little research over the last few days and getting slightly frustrated and very overwhelmed when I happened to cross paths with this forum and information I've been searching for.

    Well anyway to the point. I've been trying to look for a boat design that has very little to no curves in it. My overall ultimate goal is to make a fishing boat around 14-16' long that can accommodate up to 4 grown male adults and supplies/gear. We'll be fishing in the ocean here in Hawaii and there's also a lake here I'd like to try bass fishing at. Shore line fishing can only get you so much, the rest is deeper sea fishing.

    I'm thinking very little to no curves will be much easier and quicker to build? I know I can buy a used boat for maybe the price it may cost to build what I'm looking for but I'd rather know that what I made is brand new and completely custom to how I like it. Also I don't have to deal with anyone else's "old" problems if you know what I mean.

    This may be a lot to ask for but an efficient design would be very nice for fuel economy. I'm thinking maybe an 8-9HP motor may be sufficient?

    Hopefully this is enough information to get this thread going. If not please let me know if there's any other information that I can provide to help my quest. :D
     
  2. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    A design with no to little curves will not be fuel economic or be able to handle ocean conditions. Also, you may not get someone else's "old" problems, but you will create much worse new ones. In conclusion, what you are asking for is contradictory. That means that you have to decide which of your requirements are really important and modify the rest to comply with the laws of physics.
     
  3. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Thanks for that info. That answered one issue right there immediately. Fuel efficiency won't be of the highest concern then. Let's just say it'll be a bonus if it's at all possible. Well let me prioritize everything I'm looking for and I'll let everyone else chime in on what's possible.

    1. Design with little to no curves. Maybe a sharper front section like an isosceles triangle and rectangle shape at the bottom? Basically sticking a rectangle the exact width at the bottom the the triangle. I'm assuming this will be easier to build since you won't have to worry about curving wood.

    2. Be safe in the ocean on calm to moderate days. Nothing severe.

    3. Able to hold maybe 4 adults but a minimum of 2 with a bunch of gear for a day on the water.

    4. Be lightweight as possible.

    5. Hold as much weight as possible.

    This will be using an outboard motor so the design won't have to call for anything super fancy. I'm thinking it's basically just a dingy an outboard motor?
     
  4. upchurchmr
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    upchurchmr Senior Member

    Wood is easy to curve.
    Smooth curvy shapes go thru the water easier, and don't get bounced, pounded, and slammed around in waves.

    Why don't you look at the Peeler Skiff. Easy curves, small motor, http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/powerboats/peeler-outboard-power-skiff.html
    Sorry I couldn't put up a picture.

    Everything you said you wanted is in the description except no curves.

    There are lots of other similar designs but I'm not the best guy to find them for you.

    You could probably find something with less curves if you search for Bolger designs.
     
  5. Ike
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    Ike Senior Member

    The type of boat you have described is basically a Jon boat. It meets most of your requirements with two crucial exceptions.

    Jon boats are meant for very calm waters. Inland lakes and bayous.

    If you want to go offshore, even on a very calm day you need something with higher freeboard (the height of the sides), a vee bottom, and a pointy end at the bow rather than a flat bow.

    I wouldn't go offshore on boat this small even on very calm day. Yes people do it, and the Coast Guard spends a lot of time and your tax dollars retrieving them.

    I second the motion that you would be better off looking at designs on line and building from a known, tested design. Try looking through some of the designs at http://www.bateau.com/ or Glen-L https://www.boatdesigns.com/Outboards/departments/10/
     
  6. NoahWannabe
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    NoahWannabe Junior Member

  7. tom28571
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    tom28571 Senior Member

    We get similar requests on the forum frequently. Someone wants to deviate from what has become accepted practice for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

    Your first "want" is the killer of a good design for what you want the boat to do. All flat panels do not make an acceptable boat and flat panels are far weaker than curved ones, not to say generally ugly. Its actually easier to make a strong boat with curved panels than straight ones. The Simmons Skiff, Tolman Skiff and Spira Skiffs as well as Some Glen L and many others are all relatively simple builds and very good boats for your area and do well in the Ocean for their size range.

    If you want to carry this thread further, your flat panel ideas must be dropped.
     
  8. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Thanks for the links guys. I checked them out and man there are so many options!
    I know that you may be against using smaller boats in the open ocean, but surprisingly it's done a lot here and even with smaller boats than the one I'm hoping to build. We also have a sand bar on the other side of the island too so there are many places to use a 14-16' safely here and I don't see lots of news of boats getting rescued here. I guess if you perform safe practices with common sense it should be alright.

    Also with the boat design, is having a "V" shaped hull better for chop?
     
  9. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    So boats in general are always curved all the way around the hull then? Please forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying to better understand basic boat design and how far you can bend those rules. Of course I don't want to waste time nor money building basically a box on the water, even though technically that'll float but obviously won't move in any direction well. I guess I'm looking to have it have the same basic shape as a boat with minimal curves then?

    I've been looking intensively at boat designs and I've passed by some that seem to be fairly flat at the bottom but tend to curve towards the bow of the boat.
     
  10. frank smith
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    frank smith Senior Member

    4 men and gear, in a 14' boat, fishing in the ocean. Be sure to take a video for the utube .
     
  11. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Apparently a lot of unbelievers that it's possible to do such things and that it does happen everyday here in Hawaii. Don't need Youtube, this is a professional local fishing show showing just that.

    http://lgfhawaii.com/episode-125/

    Ok, well not 4 guys but 3 guys with a bunch of fishing gears trolling in the open ocean around the island on a folding 14' Porta-Bote. We not only have guys on 14' boats fishing in open ocean but on even smaller boats and even inflatable ones. They sell their boats on CL here locally and one person is selling his 8' diving/fishing boat. Strange that it's so common here that no one thinks twice about this, but so many members here already doubting the safety and possibility of such an endeavor.

    In actuality, these islands hold annual and sometimes even more often than that, kayak fishing contests where people go out and bring in sometimes so HUGE fish. I'm talking maybe 100lbs or even more. Tons of pictures of these guys out on the middle of the ocean. Now that is something I've yet to build up the nerve to do.
     
  12. frank smith
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    frank smith Senior Member

    Xyberz, I am thinking back to the days of having 4 guys fishing on a 13' Whaler. It was a little crowded, but if that what you got, that what you use.
     
  13. Rurudyne
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    Rurudyne Senior Member

    Have you considered a power dory or auxiliary dory?

    This annual of The Rudder ( http://books.google.com/books?id=nS...Abe9IGgBQ&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false ) contains a number of designs for dorys, Fish Hawk and Bonito, that may be of interest. The file can be downloaded as in PDF form.

    Another dory design, the Grampas, is in this annual, again downloadable in PDF form: http://books.google.com/books?id=CC...T6YHwAg&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q&f=false .

    I don't kid anyone to suggest that any of these would be a small undertaking but they should be, based on what I've read, examples of good boats for the use you have in mind *** that have apparently given good service, that won't, as others have suggested some small boats may, need the Coast Guard on your speed dial.

    *** naturally I can't just link to a PDF of some current NA's design.

    EDIT: while I can't say the picture here, http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?163019-early-power-dory , is Bonito ... it looks like it should be very similar. Pretty boat.
     
  14. tom28571
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    tom28571 Senior Member

    Its not a matter of unbelievers. Its more the attempt to steer an apparently clueless beginner in a good direction toward boat design. Most here are well aware that many things are possible if not recommended to a beginner, especially one who is intent on building his own boat. Its also true that many of us have learned the hard way partly due to the lack of ready information like that available here when we became addicted. In the end you will do what you want and hopefully it will all turn out alright.
     

  15. kerosene
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    kerosene Senior Member

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