Opinions needed. Deposit going on Weldcraft

[Trousertrout]

If I can pick your guys brains for anymore input. Been creeping on the site for years. Soon I will be putting a deposit on a 30' cuddy King. It's the 8'6" model because I'm towing quite often. Twin 300 Suzuki's. 9.9 kicker. Controls at both stations. Simrad or lowrance radar/plotter/ autopilot. iPads in cuddy and backside of cabin. Air ride driver and passenger with benches behind both. I need the benches to convert to bed for 2 people. Short cabin for 144" of deck space. No toilet (been crapping in buckets for years, rather have fishing room). Rub rails. Ladder to swim deck and uptop. Drum anchor winch. Insulated transom fish box. Larger gas tank. Aluminum floor in cabin. Torn on Yamaha engines. There will be times I will not have access to 89 octane.

[Trousertrout]

Also having at least 4 batteries with a place I can plug my generator in so I don't have to worry about them dying with night fishing with lights on or a/c running

[kmorin]

t'trout,
sounds like an interesting and well found boat. But w/O head- will the First Mate be willing to crew? Not sure of the family organization chart - but saying most female crew like the head w the running water and all that jazz?

you didn't mention- that I noticed the deadrise of the bottom, volume of tankage or the reason for 12' of fish deck? You working pots off the stern?

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK

[Trousertrout]

Wife will spend 6 hours on the boat at a time. She only likes perch fishing lake Erie. I like to do gulf of Mexico and Atlantic tuna fishing. Planning to trailer to Haines, AK and running a few hundred miles to a port I frequent for a month out of the year. When I'm trolling tuna or Wahoo I like everyone to be sitting on comfy folding chairs to prolong fishing time. I believe 175 gallon max. I have a 150 gallon fuel bladder for longer trips. Not working pots. 39 degrees now, 19 stern. Test drove the 28. It handled fine. More noise than glass but seaworthy. I like the capability to dig the bow in to soften the ride because the boat sheds water well. Salesman almost crapped his pants when I opened the tuna door and gunned it into reverse in 3-5's to see how fast it would bail

[kmorin]

t'Trout,
sounds like your wife is a discerning fisher woman; but I'd still go for the head- personal choice.

" Hey you gonna go out w T'Trout this weekend?" " Naw! I'm not squating over some bucket in the berth, my knees are killing me!"

Lawn chairs on deck! Sheesh.... unless they're paying clients I'd ask 'em to stand along the gunwale but that's me- not you. Butt fishing is good gravy if you can get it? (Now) I do understand the huge cockpit/deck area but now that I see the tankage it seems a little 'short legged' ?

If a 300 uses, what? 17-20 gph and hour cruise (not everyone defines that speed the same!) ? and 25-27gph WOT? I have no real idea just guessing here... but that seems like you'd have about 4 to 6 hours running at cruise? (17 gph? one tank)

You'd know much better than I will about your trips' duration and range.... I'm sort of conditioned to the 12 & 1400 Mile Yukon moose hunters who carry enough gas to act as a tanker and the Prince William Sound guys who won't leave home without 3-400 gallons onboard. So being biased by the guys I work with, going to bladder to get more than 200 onboard just sounds light, but you've run these trips in the past so I'm sure you've worked out the volumes vs engines vs speeds and timing?

I'd say it wasn't much design work to tuck 300 gallons under the deck, maybe a couple different cells? That way most of the range is built in, no bladder, no fuss and on deck tie downs? 30' LOA seems room to me to have the tanks? I'm doing a 34' x 10' now and we have 400 under the deck down by the keel in a single tank.

You don't have to top off a bigger tank- or a couple of built in tanks if you're doing shorter trips, but seems like it makes sense to add more built in volume to a 30'?

I've been recently shown a paint-on bilge coating for aluminum that deadens sound at a rate I would only describe as "un-describable"! This sort of peanut butter thick coating sure does deaden the sound a plate coated and hung in the air- then hit with a hammer!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OLGILW5OH0

So maybe this could be considered for the bilge areas forward where you want to quiet the hull to water interface?

How big are the freeing ports for the deck? There are some rough calculations somewhere online (I've used them a time or two) that give you the area of the port, the volume of water retained and the depth of that water as values to enter- then it gives the time to dry the deck off. Don't know the link but should be able to find?

We should be treated to pics of the 28' don't you think? Sounds like you have enough experience to design her the way you fish- but I'll still vote for the head.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK

[Trousertrout]

I'm an old-school phone guy. Just got a smart phone a few years ago. Not sure yet how to post pics. They are 2" scuppers I believe. 2) in back, 2) in side of deck just before cabin. They put the 2 upfront because guys were having issues with the boat leaning forward because of too heavy of cabins(design flaw). I am thinking I will not have any issues with the weight of the 300's and the short cabin. I will ask for any way possible to get more fuel under the floor. I hate toting around s fuel bladder. The longest run I will have to make is from Haines to elfin. I'm sure I should have enough for that. Worst case is probably around 1.3gph. that should get me 200miles. Wow, I just realized that i gamble my life with a lot of probablys and shoulds. I really appreciate your input and time out of your day to help

[gandrfab]

I like a wider hull if availble. Sure 8'6" is a limit.
I have towed friends 36' X 10'2" boats around Fl without any worries.
Think of it a speeding 55mph is a recommendation, most don't follow the limit.

[Trousertrout]

I wouldn't mind trailering a wider boat if it wasn't 3700 miles each way. I would love to go 9'6" but it would just be a matter of time before it caught up to me.

[gandrfab]

Highway travel is the easiest. Get the wide load permits as needed, small operations do it all the time.

[Trousertrout]

It would add up costs quickly. Ohio to Alaska (including Canada), Ohio to Louisiana, Ohio to Massachusetts. I'm guessing a few thousand per year. Plus less room for error.

[kmorin]

tTrout, another location for tanks that works fine, but isn't as commonly used - is under the gunwales along the topsides, above deck. These tanks can be 20-30 gal each and easily locating 4 tanks helps with roll, if they're full, adds to a use of under the guard deck/sheer clamp/walk around deck spaces and can be bench constructed, then welded in with corner tabs and add a bunch of volume that can also help trim the boat when loaded heavily.

Depending on their location (?) they can be a aid trim bow up or down as needed- does take some planning but they're very versatile and extremely useful and not often thought of by most designers. I've used them in lots of instances of a smaller boat to get added tankage without huge bilge spaces available and still avoid cluttering the deck space.

In a 30'er the under gunwale inside the topsides spaces may be rod lockers or gear stowage, but tanks 8" to 10" wide (xverse dim.) and as high as the sides and as long between other structural elements are something to ask your builder about.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK

[Trousertrout]

Fantastic ideas. Thanks

[kmorin]

t'Trout,
some images I've posted in the past to help discuss tanks along the sides of hull.



this is an example that you could show your builder- as a way to discuss the work/cost/effort and design of 'trip tanks' that were lined up along the gunwale/guardeck/ topsides.



clearly there a many ways to do this, and the sketches were from a skiff with pretty good topside flam- your 30'er probably won't lean out nearly this much? However, being bent to fit the sides and building them on the bench instead of inside the hull will make any builders' cost per gallon lower and your hull's deeper topsides compared to an open skiff- will mean that any tank would be greater volume for any given length for and aft.

Sure your builder will give you the option to have deck fill hardware- but... a simple outboard can twist top will work well and is less expensive than hose and deck fittings?

Still vote for the head!

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK

[welder]

Get the diesel heater and ask you can get a 2nd fuel tank below deck for at least 200gal total, better to have it and not need it that to need it and not have it. It would be nice to get a tank in the gunwale [3rd tank] just for the kicker motor and of course water separators all the way around.

[Trousertrout]

I am on the edge about the diesel heater. I also need air conditioning so I was thinking of an electric water source heat pump. When I need to run it, I can just fire up the generator. Any opinions on that?

[kmorin]

t'Trout,
my experience with cabin heat in the north is; that its GREAT!!! the new, high efficiency and extremely compact little oil fired, direct air HE heaters will even work in an open boat- to heat the dash area and can be forced onto the wind screen to knock down breathing condensate in chilled mornings.

I've built a bunch of tiny tanks in the last few years as guys in our area have gone to these micro sized heaters. The Yukon/Koyokuk hunters all seem to use them but the tanks are typically <10 gallons for a 10 day trip!

I completely agree that these diesel burning heaters are the ticket. As to AC? whole 'nother kettle of fish. Yep, you've got to tote a little gen. and run that to get AC, and both will take more volume/displacement than the diesel heater and a small tank to accommodate its use.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK