Building Surface Tension

[Greg Guimond]

I want to put recessed soda bottle holders in my hull. I like the 16oz size as it doubles as a handy 2 stroke oil holder in a pinch. It looks like it might be a tight fit though.

[Greg Guimond]

It turns out that the deck tub narrows to where it almost meets the hull sides at the floor level. To make a Livorsi LED drink holder work you need 5" min at the base. That can't happen so we have to start raising the cut out UP the hull tub side which then interferes with the shifter. Have to think it over a bit as I'd like to put the same drink holder on the Port side in the exact same location. On the Port side there will be a vertical hand hold as well, in the same location as the shifter on the starboard side. They will both have to be higher on the tub then I might have hoped. Not sure how that will look but if it looks like crap I could perhaps re-purpose them to either cell phone/key holders or maybe speakers? Do speakers even come that small??

[Greg Guimond]

I also have tried to get these guys to sell me something but no luck so far.

[mermademarine]

Maybe this is of some use.

[AndyDiSario]

Just catching back up. Here are some pointers I'd missed before.

Post #130. The 37-lb aluminum jackplate weight figure was as advertised, and also is the shipping weight. I did not have the opportunity to weigh the plate personally, though it is certainly believable to me.

Post #162. On storage space of the Classic 16 Baby. I guess everything is relative. Our OB Donzi offers tons of storage compartment space, especially as compared to the Personal Watercraft which we've stepped up from. The floor locker is small, however is complemented by so many additional areas. We store two anchors in the ski area under the bow, as well as four lifevests under the bow. There is generous space under the stern bench, but the stern lockers open to cavernous areas which just blow me away. Granted I had to bolt on drawstrings and tie them to drybags, but the space is generous for fenders and all sorts of gear. There is so much stuff we take boating!

Lately, I've taken to stashing ballast bags also to help keep the lightweight hull down from chinewalking, stowed in the more remote areas under and beyond these compartments.

I believe in "A place for everything and everything in its place" - Ben Franklin. Still, this is hard to follow as our guests seem to kick off shoes, leave towels, hats, sunglasses and all sorts of items strewn about the cockpit, often on the seats or floor. I have places to secure all these items, though they're not often used. This simply gives me more concern about items flying out of the boat at speed, but so be it. Regardless of warnings, once guests see items actually fly away and me circle around to hunt for them, they eventually figure it out and use a little more common sense. Funny thing is no one left these same items loose on the seats or floorboards of our PWC of the past! Oh well.

-Andy

[BUIZILLA]

was the chine walk worse or better with the jackplate?

[AndyDiSario]

I took the easy way out. I added several marine cup holders from West Marine to our Donzi. They are made of a crushable vinyl and do not get in the way. Obviously, cup holders were not commonplace in vehicles (if invented at all) in 1972.

One cup holder is used for a rechargable Eco-friendly marine air-horn which is powered by simple compressed air, refillable with a Shraeder valve exactly the same as a road-vehicle tire. I guess once in a great while, the environmentalists influence the market towards our direction (bang-for-the-buck performance motorheads) instead of away from it (such as choking 1970s car performance with premature emissions controls, or taking away R12 Freon).

Back to cup holders. I like to joke about these designed- and molded-in to our other boat, a Stingray 181RS, as the "world's-best." No one so far has disputed this tongue-in-cheek claim. These six are positively huge, holding all sorts of large cups or items. Also, they are self-draining in that each has a factory-drilled hole in its base which drains into the bilge. Pretty neat, and even the auto industry has not yet come up with cup holders this clever or useful.

-Andy

[AndyDiSario]

I now view the jackplate, as well as the right SS prop as indispensible to this boat setup. Lower the motor for best hook-up and least noise also. Middle height works well for general use. Raise the motor to delay the onset of the dreaded chine walk, to approach maximum speed or simply to carefully idle out of shallow water.

Some of this varies with prop choice, of which I remain well on the learning curve.

In short, chine walk is delayed with motor up. Raising the motor obviously minimizes drag, but also seems to help push the keel down. Prop choice can be significant. At least for myself, most significant so far is simply the weight the boat carries. I've noticed so far by experience more weight holds the hull down, thus delaying the walk. Still more experimentation remains to be done.

More than ever, I believe one crosses through several orders of magnitude in doing what we've done to these little boats -- adding so much additional power and performance potential. Key word: "potential." The water is a far-different medium than the road when it comes to adding power and speed to high-performance vehicles. With the cars and motorcycles of which I am still-more accustomed, performance resulting from increasing power is relatively linear.

-Andy

[Greg Guimond]

Maybe this is of some use.

Thanks, that deck weight of 343lbs is very interesting. What year is your 16 OB hull again and how did the core look on your deck when you removed it?

[mermademarine]

1972 hull and only two small sections of bad core, both under the bench seat at drain holes. I added two foam filled boxes at the transom, outboard of the stringers for additional transom strength as well as flat storage shelves under the hatches. I have also added an additional hatch under the port side of the bench seat with a battery tray underneath. There will be a few gallons of additional gel coat weight as well. I intend to weigh the boat once it is reassembled before installation of the engine.

[Greg Guimond]

Nice that you caught good core for the most part. We are almost done with all the little hull tweaks that are needed. Struggled a little bit with proper fab for a forward battery holder should it be needed. The tweaks do seem to keep popping up here and there. The last one to be added are little chart holders just forward of the opening below the dash. Even if the opening is only a few inches, there really is no place to store charts and papers so these will really come in handy. There is just enough recess to make the holders look factory

[Greg Guimond]

We may also have to change direction on the recessed drink holder concept. The clearance is super tight down low, so the cuts would have to be moved up the tub wall. As they move up they may look odd and obstruct the shift lever.

I am thinking that it might be cleaner to "add" them to the chart holders in some fashion. You might then still be able to LED the base and integrate it into the chart holder. Then glass it all to the hull side and you are set.

Hmmmmmmmmm.........forgive my art work!

[yeller]

What about recessing them as much as you can, then build out to accommodate? I think that would still look nice.

[Greg Guimond]

Yeller, forgive my artwork, but something like this pic? Maybe use a piece of 3" or 4" PVC pipe to form the sleeve?

[Greg Guimond]

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, and the pad replaced the mouse!!