GV11

[anonymous]

Considering building a GV11 as a yacht tender.<BR><BR>How does it handle chop and can it be easily boarded from the water (after snorkelling for instance)

[JohnM]

i´m building a GV11, hull exterior finished through priming stage and rubrails on. the gv11 has a nice pretty-deep V bow, so that tells u about handling the chop. and the gv11 is relatively wide and beamy, which gives it stability. the designer evan gatehouse posted once that he safely stood in a rear corner of a gv11 and experienced the gv11´s stability that way. yes, i think one could easily board via ladder over side. i´m planning on doing just that after snorkeling or scuba diving. i am reinforcing the sides with fiberglass just to be on the safe side (possibly doesn´t need it, but i love building so much i´m making excuses to do modifications).

[anonymous]

Hi,<BR><BR>Sorry to take so long to answer your question -we´re on a cross Canada road trip with limited net access and JohnM did a good answering most of it anyway.<BR><BR>So I´ll add:<BR><BR>1. Handling chop. The boat has a 10 degree transom deadrise that is steeper at the bow. It won´t pound like a flat bottom skiff and will handle a moderate chop without too much bother. It´s pretty subjective how you describe choppy conditions do. If you describe a wave height I can give you a better idea. <BR><BR>However when you compare it to a Rigid inflatable, it might be a bit rougher riding (the inflatable tubes have a lot of "give" which softens the ride). It is much drier than any inflatable and you´ll get to shore with a dry pair of shorts or pants.<BR><BR>2. Use for swimming/scuba/snorkeling. You would need to add a folding swim ladder at the transom to board from the water, as the freeboard is fairly high. But it is massively stable for an 11´ boat and you won´t worry about putting the gunwhale under.<BR><BR>Evan Gatehouse (the designer)