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 Post subject: Boat Length
PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:13 pm 
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:18 pm
Posts: 1
Location: Jackson Lake, GA
What is the maxium possible length of a boat
with an 8 ft beam, to be used in small to medium sized
lakes in the southeast. ??

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 Post subject: Re: Boat Length
PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:54 am 
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Joined: Tue May 26, 2009 12:47 pm
Posts: 1169
Location: Winter Haven, Fl
That would depend on the design of the boat and should be asked of the designer. Its not easy to just changes some things like the hull on boats.

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 Post subject: Re: Boat Length
PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:14 am 
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Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:45 am
Posts: 5995
Location: Birmingham, AL, USA
boneyfingers

How big do you want to go? The Miss Chris is 28 feet with a 7'-0" beam. :wink:

Most of these boats are under 8' beam. When they were designed legal trailer width was 8 feet. Now most states have gone to 8'-6".

Bill

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 Post subject: Re: Boat Length
PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:12 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:37 am
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Location: Inverary, Ontario - Cuddy Sport (modified)
A "narrow" boat might have a 4:1 length/beam ratio, so at 8 feet wide, 32 feet long would be considered a narrow boat. But if you think of a canoe, you can see ratio's upwards of 9:1 on an 18 footer and it's still seaworthy and viable. Most "modern" factory produced boats rarely exceed 28 feet with a 8' 6" beam (3.3:1)

As suggested, a designer or marine engineer may be able to explain if there is a practical length for an 8 foot beam which may have to do with the "usability" of the boat combined with safety and handling issues.

Narrow boats are more "tippy" because they are more sensitive to weight distribution about their center of gravity and bouyancy than a wider boat (all else being equal). Again, think of a canoe - if you stand up in an 18 footer you are likely to go for a swim unless you keep your balance perfect but you could easily stand in a 12 foot rowboat that had a 4 1/2 foot beam even though both may be very close if you measured the total "wetted" surface.

Because of that, while you may get away with putting a dual console on a 25 footer with a 7 foot beam, it probably wouldn't be wise to install a flybridge - the beam just wouldn't support the balance required for the verticle construction - so it probably depends on how you intend to use the boat and what kind of layout you are looking for..

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 Post subject: Re: Boat Length
PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:07 pm
Posts: 533
Location: Marissa, IL
Phil Bolger designed the Wyoming which has an 8'3" beam and is 51'8" long. Is that long enough? :mrgreen:

His Sneakeasy is 26' x 4'

http://www.hallman.org/bolger/Wyoming/

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