Monaco

[PeteFruh]

Good day all, I am about to finally put mahogany on the band saw and I am having second thoughts about the freeboard on my Monaco. At six foot four inches tall I think I need the extra leg room and less water in the boat would not be bad either. Awhile back I read a fellows thread where he had increased the height of his Monaco by 3 inches but I can't seem to find it again. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance, Peter

[sands35]

It is a protected waters boat. Smaller lakes and such. It really depends on where you live and what you intend to do with it. Many ski type boats have a 2-3 foot freeboard and are successful with the design.

[Dave Grason]

Send a PM to Bruce Dow. He is the moderator of this forum and his boat is a Monaco. He should be able to answer a lot of questions from first hand experience.

[DrBryanJ]

Check out Bunman's build. I believe he built a Monaco. You can see how he increased the freeboard.

[BruceDow]

Hi Peter.

If your concern is legroom, that is more of a "front-back" issue than an "up and down" issue. Your legs are pretty much horizontal when you are driving the boat. (much like driving a sports car) There is plenty of room under the deck for your legs.

If your concern is about water coming over, I would recommend a different hull design with a deeper vee. As noted, the Monaco is a "flat bottom" and as such, is not going to be comfortable in any sort of big water.

In over seven years with the boat, I have only "nose dived" the boat into a wave once.... It was crossing a steep and close four foot wake at low speed. I got a lap full of water, but nothing dangerous. An extra 3" of freeboard at the bow might have kept me a little dryer in that one instance.

But the beauty of these designs is that you can make personal style choices above the designed sheer. The front frames should be relatively easy to raise by a few inches, but you would need to give some serious thought to how you raise the freeboard in the aft frames that have "tumblehome" (curve inwards at the top). Getting the right lines along the sheer to the transom would take some serious design thinking.

Have fun with it, and let us know what you choose.

[Rich Coey]

Peter,

That was John Gondek who added 3" to the height of his Monaco. I don't know about the thread on the forum, but his boat is in the photo archives.
http://www.glen-l.com/picboards/picboard9/pic516a.html

Rich