raising sole with tall cleats?

[BrianC]

I want to raise my sole by 1/2". Has anyone done this using a double wide tall cleat that straddles the stringers/frames? I was thinking something like this:

[silentneko]

Just build your stringers taller. Not a fan personally of adding extra points of failure.

[narfi]

I did. If you look in my fs17 build you can see I routed c channels out of 1x2s 1x4s to make wide cleats along the tops of my bulkheads and stringers. That raised my sole 1/4" or so.

[Fuzz]

I did that with my dory 8 years ago and it seems to be working just fine. Also it saves a ton of time by not having to mess with a ton of cleats. If I build another boat I would do it the same way. Richard "AA" did his last build that way and seemed to be happy with his choice.

[silentneko]

On my FS17, after hearing several guys complain about the boat not draining at rest well, I also tapered my stringers. If memory serves I thing they rise 1/8" every 2ft going forward.

[cape man]

It's the best way to do it without adding the height to the stringers and bulkheads themselves which would mess up the lofting on the plans. Wish I had done it on my dory. The one thing that irks me about the boat. Will not self bail at rest with anything extra in it, including just the bait well being full and running. I would go a full inch. Jacques doesn't like it for safety reasons (higher center of gravity, lower sides for falling out) but I think having a self bailing boat outweighs that big time. If you are the typical builder the hull will end up heavier than the plans, and you'll add all kinds of permanent "stuff" that is heavy. When I stripped everything off to repaint the stainless hardware alone was 30 lbs!

[silentneko]

To add onto Cape Man's notes, I also think most of the older designs were based on a weight average of 2-stroke motors. With the heavier 4-strokes and DI 2-strokes that are the standard these days some adjustments in the plans might be needed.

[Browndog]

Yes, I raised the sole of the FS 19 by routing out a channel in 2X4s and gluing them to the top of the stringers. Made it easier than gluing cleats on. Also made it easier to have a fuel tank under the sole.

In retrospect, because of the extra fiberglass and other weight added during the build, I should have raised the sole even more to make the cockpit drier. When loaded with people, full livewell and baitwell water comes in through the scuppers at rest. The cockpit is plenty deep enough to allow for it.

[Fuzz]

Most of Jacques designs are for simple, light, boats that will perform great with lower HP. Most of us then over build them and add a ton of features to them. My dory is at least 500 lbs over weight. That is like having two extra fat boys in it all the time. It is no wonder it will not self drain at times.

[cape man]

My Dory is 600 lbs fat!