I have been working intermittently on a new 16ft design for awhile, the start of a range of small powerboats for protected water use. The design is still a way off being complete but the prototype is already being built by Kevin Agee in Hampton, Virginia and is progressing well.
I am using a garvey-type hull that can be easily built from either plywood or aluminium. It has Veed sections forward to soften the ride in a bit of a chop, with twisted bottom panels that run out to a shallow V at the transom for easy planing.
The version that Kevin is building has a self-draining wet deck with swivel seats on bases bolted to the deck. It has integral floodable tanks under the deck to hold bait and catch.There will also be a "sit-inside" version with bench seats, with the tanks under the seats.
Kevin is building from okoume plywood, cut from full-size paper patterns that we have supplied. When the design is complete then we will also offer plywood kits, cut by CNC machine. The photos below show the basics of construction as far as it has gone to date.
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| Bottom panels with slots for bulkhead tabs |
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| Glass-taping joints in panels. |
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| Bottom panels stitched together & bulkheads set up |
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| Sides added and stitched to bottom |
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Foredeck added and stitched in.
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| Turned over and laid flat, ready to epoxy seams. |
Now Kevin is doing the epoxy bonding of the chines and centreline joint with filled epoxy, prior to removing the copper wire ties, then glass-taping.
This design will be added to our design list in a few months when the plans are complete. See our current design list at http://dixdesign.com/priceabr.htm.
