anyone ever raised the sides of a v-hull?

[answer3]

Hi
Has anyone ever tried to raise the sides of a V-Hull aluminum boat? I am thinking to get a 14ft deep V like Lund WC14 or Starcraft sf14 but would feel safer to have the sides higher when I want to go fishing at sea. I don't plan to go very far from shore but would probably feel safer in case a big wave come by or if a guy with a big boat drives close to me. I was thinking it should be possible to remove the gunnels and add a sheet of aluminum (something like 10 inches wide) and rivet back the gunnels on the top of the added sheet.
Do you guys think that it is something feasible?

 

[Johnny]

of course it is possible.

If you can get a good photo of the boat you like, you can play around
with it in Photo Shop to see how it will look.

 

[NautiBuoys]

I know a guy that took a sheet of 1/4" plywood and ripped it lengthwise to add gunnel height to his 14' for sea ducking. He thru bolted each side so he could take it off in the summer. He used 1/4" so it would bend and to not add too much weight in the bow, throwing off hull stability. It seemed to work ok-it added height for hiding from the ducks and the once in a while rogue wave.

 

[DaleH]

.... and a big wave will still come in through the transom and swamp the boat in seconds ...

FWIW my brothers and I have tallied far more rescues of small skiffs at sea than anybody should ever have to deal with, all in the waters off Cape Ann - Glostah, Mass areas. No loss of life so far ... but if we weren't there on at least 3 occasions there'd be dead bodies all over.

Yes I went sea ducking for YEARS in a Lund 14' and we always made it home. I'd be afraid your higher sides would give you a false sense of security - that could lead to a tragedy. In a small boat you need to do everything you can to prevent from being swamped and a wave thru the stern is deadly.

The Owner/Editor of a popular fly fishing in salt waters website was out cod fishing in a 20' frp CC and in one moment of inattention, a rogue wave walked right up the stern and put the boat under "in less than 10-seconds" - his words.

Add the sides to hide from ducks? Sure. Maybe even to help knock down oncoming waves? Sure.

But does it mean THAT boat is inherently safer to be in? ... no freaking way IMHO!!!

 

[answer3]

isn't the foam supposed to keep the boat afloat in case it is swamped?

 

[bcbouy]

i may keep it from sinking but forget about pumping water out.you might as well be sunk.

 

[rscottp]

My biggest fear is taking a wave over the transom or burying the bow in following seas. I suppose you could make bow higher but I really don't think raising the sides will make the boat that much safer. Also removing the gunnels will weaken the structure of the boat, I am not convinced riveted extensions with the gunnels attached to that will be as strong as the original. I would leave the boat as it is and only go out when conditions are safe.

 

[bobberboy]

It may be my inexperience speaking - or maybe it's cowardice, but why would you knowingly want to take a boat that is apparently too small for the job and put it and yourself into a situation that will sink one and drown the other? It's my opinion that you have really only have two choices. One, get a boat that's going to allow you to do what you want or two, use the boat you've got in conditions it was designed for.

Just last night I watched a documentary on Nova about modern cruise ships and the Costa Concordia which ran aground in Italy in 2012. The new cruise ships can be as high as a 22 story building above the water. They build up to get more passengers on board and the taller ships rock more slowly giving the passengers a smoother experience. Their high sides however make them lean farther and are more subject to winds. There was film taken by the passengers of a cruise ship off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula showing it being blown into another cruise ship. They could not control it with whatever those transverse propellers are called used to dock the ship. The two ships collided no doubt scaring the hell out of the passengers. There are a hundred reasons you could never get me on a cruise ship - now it's 101.

You're not proposing to build a cruise ship but I say for yourself, and for those who care about you, don't do it.

 

[ggoldy]

Hi
Has anyone ever tried to raise the sides of a V-Hull aluminum boat? I am thinking to get a 14ft deep V like Lund WC14 or Starcraft sf14 but would feel safer to have the sides higher when I want to go fishing at sea. I don't plan to go very far from shore but would probably feel safer in case a big wave come by or if a guy with a big boat drives close to me. I was thinking it should be possible to remove the gunnels and add a sheet of aluminum (something like 10 inches wide) and rivet back the gunnels on the top of the added sheet.
Do you guys think that it is something feasible?

I don't think I'd want to alter a new boat like that, but an old one...sure! As far as safety goes, answer3 stated he/she would not be far from shore. Carry the boat across the beach, put it in and paddle out . I wouldn't want to go out through a busy pass like Destin's east pass but people paddle out on inflatables/paddle boards from the beach all the time. And I would certainly be wearing my life jacket.

 

[DaleH]

My biggest fear is taking a wave over the transom or burying the bow in following seas.

That's precisely what happened to 4 guys in a small tin boat - the winds and seas came up against each other that day. I was out in my 24' cuddy cabin boat and it was like someone flipped a switch, going from a nice fishing morning to a wind-blown confused sea in seconds! We gave up immediately, even though in a good boat.

On our way in we spotted a guy waving a life preserver, from the water! He pointed to 3 others too. They had headed back in when they stuffed the bow, which didn't ship any water in ... but it stopped the boat ... where the next following sea wave marched right through the boat, swamping it in seconds. One second afloat - and scared - the next second - in the water and VERY scared!

The sea temp was 56-degrees and none had life jackets on. When I went to pull one out of the water, he let go of the cooler he was holding onto and SUNK! He went under my boat, banging on the bottom of my boat w/ his bloody fists! As he came out the other side he was a good 5' down. I had a big spinning rod w/ heavy metal jig and snagged his coat w/ the jig and pulled him to the surface. We rescued all 4 men, started CPR on one which brought him back, wrapped them in blankets & beach towels - and whatever else we had.

NONE of them could swim or keep themselves afloat after 10-minutes in the water and due to shock! Days later my chest still hurt and when I went to the Doctor it was found I had cracked a few ribs, from the stress of pulling them up into my boat between the OB and the hull, through the transom cutout.

To this day ... I don't know how we pulled these guys, each big men at 250-lbs+, into my boat.

To this day ... I can still hear the sound of that man knocking on the bottom on my boat as he thought he was drowning and done for ...

 

[rscottp]

Very scary! They were very lucky you were out there that day. Congrats to you for saving them! You can't be too careful when you are on the water. Always listen to the little voice in your head, don't ignore it! Be safe!

 

[Clifford_Akov]

As for transom height, I have thought of adding these to help prevent the occasional swamping attempts. https://www.whitecapmfg.com/applications.html

just a thought.

 

[Snowshoe]

I'd be checking with the U.S.C.G. or local law enforcement for this to start with and than your insurance company. I wouldn't do it.

 

[Bob E]

Hi
Has anyone ever tried to raise the sides of a V-Hull aluminum boat? ... I was thinking it should be possible to remove the gunnels and add a sheet of aluminum (something like 10 inches wide) and rivet back the gunnels on the top of the added sheet...

I've had that idea before too, but I was thinking of ways to raise the oars for more comfortable rowing on small lakes. I definitely wouldn't want to find out it was a bad idea in the middle of a rough sea...