OD16 fishing...and what boat next?

DrBones · Post by **DrBones** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:16 pm

Well folks, it's been several years now, and I continue to enjoy my "Inshallah" OD16. What I've found out though, is I actually like going after grouper..I really haven't fallen much in love w/the flats fishing thing.

So, as you can imagine...I've taken my lil' ol Inshallah our into 3' waves and beaten the heck out of it, myself, and whomever has been on board! Yes, it does get wet, especially after she's been airborne and plunges into the next coming wave..but has weathered it like the brave little boat she is.

Now, I happened to come across a great deal on a Johnson 48SPL that is now lying in my backyard. Initially, I thought of replacing the Johnson 40 HP I have on the Inshallah...but truth is...I go about 28mph on a calm surface...it gets on plane at 12mph...which, as it turns out isn't that great when you start having anything above 1' - 2' chop! Not good to go on plane when it's wavy so soon! After about 2 minutes of going airborne on occasion..you do tire out! That of course means..at displacement you HAVE to go less than that...makes it slow progress...a 5 mile ride can easily take an hour then!

So...no need for a bigger engine. What I DO need though is a hull that will fit the 48SPL I have, and one that will take a chop, about 17 to 18' and go steady in rougher seas. I've fallen in love with the Cape Horn 16' and the 17' - What a great boat. What I like especially is that the 16' didn't have quarter panel boxes at the transom....LOTS of space that way.

Now, I know Jacques' designs these in for structural integrity...but I wish he'd come out w/a 18' to 20' that didn't have them...and that has a hull weight that will allow for a 50HP engine on it..something like a C18 w/no quarter panel boxes at the transom! I pure utility no frills boat, like the OD16..only a bit bigger, lots of space, and the ability to ride fairly decently in rougher seas.

Suggestions welcome!

TomW · Post by **TomW** » Thu May 08, 2008 8:38 pm

Dr. Bones, Dr. Bones. I don't know what to say. It has always been a dillema about the motorwell and the boxes. Frame E which is what that frame is on most of the 17+ size boats is there for strength and to frame the motorwell. What hs been done by some is to cut down the boxes and make them bait wells on one side and mechanical storarge(oil, spare prop, etc) on the other. Also if you keep frame E in place under the sole and you know the tilt distance of your motor you can move the above sole protion back a little.

That is about the best I can offer you. You just can't unforunately get rid of Frame E and the supports that go between it and the transom. Even those boats that are large enough to have a motor bracket a 10-12" rear wall is kept.

As for boat selection I'm going after a modified C17.

Tom

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Fri May 09, 2008 7:59 am

GS 28

Post by **jacquesmm** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:53 am

You can build any of our boats lighter by keeping them simple but please do not remove the motorwell bulkhead.
How about the C17 or a Panga 22?

colonialc19 · Post by **colonialc19** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:03 am

C17, OB17/19

DrBones · Post by **DrBones** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:28 am

Hmm..would a C17 as a center console work..making the cuddy a fishing platform, i.e. taking the roof, etc. off?

As to the Panga...I've played with the idea...although (and I admire Jacques' designs..big fan here

) I don't like the lines of the Bateau pangas.

Now, let me ask you this: How did Cape Horn manage to make a 16' boat without any quarter panel boxes? What's the trick in their design? Just curious...

TomW · Post by **TomW** » Fri May 09, 2008 12:34 pm

DB a C17 with CC works very nicely. Take off every thing and make casting platform from frame A to B. Wide enough for 28-30" console.

I'm doing it. Send me your e-mail and I'll take a photo of my plans.

Tom

Jerry-rigged · Post by **Jerry-rigged** » Mon May 12, 2008 5:27 pm

DrBones wrote: Now, let me ask you this: How did Cape Horn manage to make a 16' boat without any quarter panel boxes? What's the trick in their design? Just curious...

A: Transom knees. They are "strong enough", but don't do anything to keep water from comming in the transom cutout.

Count me into the Want a CC17 crowd. But I've got mods planned that will make jac dis-own me...

(actually, on another thread, he just rubber-stamped one of them, lowering the sheer.

)

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Mon May 12, 2008 8:24 pm

How did Cape Horn manage to make a 16' boat without any quarter panel boxes?

Just because someone designed something, and someone built it, does not necessarily make it a good idea. Look at a Bayliner for instance

DrBones · Post by **DrBones** » Mon May 12, 2008 11:20 pm

Believe me...I've been on my buddy's 16' Cape Horn..before he sold it (could kill him for that!).

It did great, and I couldn't see any downside to it having no quarterpanel boxes. The interesting thing is, that it is a single hull design, i.e. not a Bayliner 1/4" hull w/a second hull providing the 'strength' pluncked into the inside.

It's apparently totally fiberglass and foam only, i.e. no wood transom or stringers. So, the strength, I think comes from some sort of hard foam filled stringers. It didn't even have a bilge. I really liked it..no hidden spaces you couldn't get at, the bottom filled out w/foam, self bailing...like Jacques' designs...only no wood . - A 8'8" beam, dual center console, a boarding ladder on the transom, and the battery strapped down at the transom in a black plastic battery box. AND it ran w/3 people w/a 40HP Johnson 27mph. Now..you can't really beat that!

Lots of space..and the center console had enough space for anything that I keep in my 16' OD in the quarter panel boxes. Really, really liked the design..and there's got to be a trick for the 'no quarter panel box design'... I INSIST!!!

Granted..it was a slightly wet ride (hey we're in Florida..big deal) in 4' to 6' waves, but it did run at about 15mph with a pound..but bearable...my lightweight OD16 goes airborne at 12mph..and the pound..well...it is excruciating at that point...hahahaha. I know..I know...it's not designed for that..what can I say...I like taking her out more than hunting in the flats.

I've had her out 18 miles..hehehe...but 18 miles at a chop..that would become like a 3 hour ride then...at around 5 to 8 mph with a challenge to keep it on course as it slides around on the waves! It does get tiring..you know!

..perhaps I should just build an HMD18 and put the 50HP on the back of that!

Truthfully though...I do like the C17 w/a center console if Jacques signs off on that..could be that the boat just won't work nicely like that..no idea...although it does look like an interesting possibility.

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