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Author Topic:   Keel Pad

jimh posted 04-08-2007 12:22 PM ET (US)
Winter is lingering here in Michigan, and to pass away a dreary frigid-cold April Saturday during a snow storm, I got out the very nice DVD presentation from EDGEWATER BOATS which I picked up in February at the local boat show. Back then was poking around a new Edgewater 22-footer, and the local dealer, who has just recently picked up the line, insisted that I take home the DVD and check out Edgewater boats.
So there I sat, in the living room like a couch potato, watching the really nice presentation on Edgewater boats. As you probably know, Edgewater Boats takes its name from the town of Edgewater, Florida, which is also the home of Boston Whaler. And, again, as you probably already know, Edgewater Boats is an outgrowth of a company founded by Bob Dougherty, who left Boston Whaler when he was its chief designer to start out on his own in boat building. As the DVD was playing all sorts of thoughts were going through my head, from a scary imagination of just how cold winter might be if we had adopted the Kyoto Protocol to why I didn't have a Boston Whaler DVD to watch--but these are really rhetorical questions and I digress from my main point.
I was snapped out of my Spring stupor when the DVD got to the section on Design & Performance. The naval architect of Edgewater appeared on screen to tell me that Edgewater hulls have a keel pad. A keel pad? Really?
A keel pad is a flat spot on what is otherwise not a flat-bottom hull. For those of you who did not get an Edgewater DVD at the boat show, they have more or less the same information on their website. See:
http://ewboats.com/design_performance.cfm
And, by the way, to digress again with another rhetorical question, isn't that Edgewater website a dandy? It has a wealth of technical information and terrific presentation. I found the link I posted above in about two clicks. But, darn, there I go, digressing again. Back to the topic, keel pads.
To quote Edgewater:
"A clean, flattened keel area at the stern of the boat improves running at higher speeds by letting the boat sit back on the pad, providing a comfortable bow angle and not locking the boat into an undersireable, low running angle."
I had not noticed if the Edgewater 22-footer I saw at the show had a keel pad. My quick assessment of it was it looked more like a classic Boston Whaler hull. But perhaps the pad was there and I missed it. But, to finally get to the point, I am left wondering if a keel pad is a great idea. Is it something to long for and covet?
And finally--and again this comes from the idle thinking of spending the afternoon on the couch watching boating company DVD's--could you add a keel pad to a classic Boston Whaler v-hull? Would it ruin the hull's strength and integrity? Would it add anything to the performance? Would it suppress porpoising?
runpasthefence posted 04-09-2007 12:28 AM ET (US)
I've longed for and coveted.
Now, I'm officially letting the cat out of the bag...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_2008.jpg
jimh posted 04-09-2007 09:31 AM ET (US)
Now there, my friends, is a modification to a classic Boston Whaler hull!
HAPPYJIM posted 04-09-2007 09:40 AM ET (US)
This is going to be a whole lot more exciting to read than what finish to use on wood.
fishgutz posted 04-09-2007 11:14 AM ET (US)
Edgewater's website is one of the best I've seen. Someday when (if) I'm rich I'd love the 205EX. It is so classic, almost retro looking. I'd say, along with some of the new Chris-craft boats one of the most beautiful.
ConB posted 04-09-2007 09:00 PM ET (US)
"A clean, flattened keel area at the stern of the boat improves running at higher speeds by letting the boat sit back on the pad, providing a comfortable bow angle and not locking the boat into an undersireable, low running angle."
Okay, there is still snow on the ground here and I'm a sailor.
What does the the above Edgewater quote mean?
Con
Erik 88Montauk posted 04-10-2007 07:24 AM ET (US)
I am very intersted in finding out how you determined the dimensions of your keel pad. I have seen a few on various hulls and from the picture your modification seems to be a little longer then I would have expected for a 17 foot hull, about the right width but still a little long.
I am certainly far from an expert in hydrodynamics or hull design but I have reviewed these pads with some interest and would like to know how you determined dimensions.
I might be concerned if the pad was a little too big as the boat would tend to ride very "high" on the pad. This would mean that very lttle of the pads "chines" would be available to aid in control. I am thinking about the handling characteristics of a flat bottom semi-dory or skiff with no keels at high speed. Have you thought about this?
runpasthefence posted 04-10-2007 07:54 AM ET (US)
I determined the dimensions mainly by finding the dimensions of similarly sized padded v-bottom high performance boats, namely the Hydrostream Viper and the smaller Allison hulls. The weight and LOA of the Viper is quite comparable to a 15' Boston Whaler.
I eventually decided to make the pad a bit wider due to the fact that I will be carrying more weight.
The pad height is a concern of mine. At this point I do think the pad is too tall and will cause the boat to ride very high. Keep in mind I have not shaped the pad yet at all. The picture provided was taken immediately after layup. The pad will now have to be straightened, flattened, and sharpened. I'm hoping a little height will come off during this process, but I don't want to sacrifice structural integrity.
My next steps will be to shape and fair the pad, in addition to extending the lifting strakes to the transom.
Roswell posted 04-10-2007 12:33 PM ET (US)
runpasthefence,
When do you think you'll give this a test? What engine are you running on your 15'?
I hope you can retain the boats' stability. I'm curious to see how that works out for you. Did you consider doing two pads parallel to eachother?
Looks like a nice job though. What is the core of the pad made from?
Roz
My 15' sport is getting a 75 Evinrude E-Tech installed tomorrow.
blkmtrfan posted 04-10-2007 04:45 PM ET (US)
Very interesting project runpasthefence!
Definately keep us posted on your results
runpasthefence posted 04-10-2007 04:49 PM ET (US)
The engine will be a Yamaha 115 turned 130hp. If the boat can handle the 130, I'm going to see if I can squeeze about 150hp out of the motor.
Stability is the goal. Hopefully the pad setup, an extremely custom fuel tank, and top notch rigging will result in a boat stable up to WOT. I have a speculated top speed, but I'm not going to jinx myself by stating it here.
I'm no naval architect, nor do I have any formal hydrodynamics training. Parallel pads would be an entirely different animal, and would probably achieve nothing in my application. I'm sure you could fill an entire thread with hydrodynamic design ideas that I could have followed. What I'm doing is the most fool-proof and most reversible...never mind, I don't want to think about that.
The coring is a double layer of structural marine foam coring.
Good luck with your E-TEC. Did you consider the 90hp E-TEC? It shares the same design and weight as the 75hp.

runpasthefence posted 04-10-2007 04:53 PM ET (US)
Sorry, I'm hoping for a launch date sometime in June, May if I'm lucky.
blkmtrfan posted 04-10-2007 07:04 PM ET (US)
You mentioned that your model for the pad was the Hydrostream, do you plan to make the pad flat of concave like the Hydrostream?
runpasthefence posted 04-10-2007 08:06 PM ET (US)
Although some Viper owners opt to fill in the concavity of their pads, I've found an equal amount of people who have had much success with the concave design as well.
A concave design would have (or would) only complicated things in the layup process. Flat is a great starting point, especially for troubleshooting. A concave pad would have me second guessing probably 4 times the measurements if I have any problems.
I thought about taking a mold off of a Viper or similar boat. I actually have a "pad" separated from a 16' Allison. I believe it was created for a purpose similar to mine, but I found it to be impractical for my uses.
Roswell posted 04-11-2007 05:51 PM ET (US)
I did consider the 90HP E-Tech, and would have loved to go that route, but I am replacing a mercury 70HP which performed very well for me.
My concern was liability if something were to happen to someone else (this boat is mostly used for waterskiing.) I heard insurance would likely not cover any damages that may occur.
Also, on rare occasion other people might use my boat. I'm sure you can see where problems might arise there, the way I see it even 45 MPH is too fast for someone else driving my boat.
Lastly, my personal 15' has a lot of "show" as well as go.. I'll get some pictures posted once its finished, its looking great so far. It outperforms many other boats as it is, and today someone who works at the boatyard asked me if my boat was new... its a 1976.
130HP?! good luck my friend. keep us posted. My guess is you'll have the fastest whaler on this forum.
crabby posted 04-11-2007 10:24 PM ET (US)
That looks like a lot more than just a pad; watch out for chop! But in flat water that thing should just lift and go!
Very cool! Good luck!
(can't stop with all the !!!'s!
Binkie posted 04-11-2007 11:26 PM ET (US)
Wow, I love a guy thats got the balls to do something like that. I think you know what your doing, and I hope you don`t have to do any reshaping later. I see a lot of experimenting with the motor too. Your going to have to run a 27" prop, and maybe add a nose cone also, and a low water pickup. Also think about an adjustable bracket. I don`t have to tell you, you`ll need dual cable steering. I also think your going to have to learn to redrive that boat, chine walking will probably be a problem, but once you get over 70mph, you should be ok.
Is that what they call a Whaler Bassboat.
Rich
runpasthefence posted 04-12-2007 12:46 AM ET (US)
Roswell, I know what you mean about liability. When I previously had a Yamaha 90 on my 15', I would cringe when my buddies would ask if they could take it for a spin.
My 15' was definitely not a show pony. She had been abused and was in need of some serious TLC. If I had one in as good of shape as yours, I would have gone the same route as you (then find a junk one to put a pad on!).
Let's see some pictures of that thing.
Crabby, Yeah, rough water should be interesting with this thing. I could see some serious launches off of what used to be minor to moderate chop. Oh well, I just finished a restore of a 1985 Outrage for my Dad. If the wind picks up, there's always the Outrage at the dock.
Binkie, I'm keeping my fingers crossed about reshaping. I'll be sending off the lower unit off for a nose cone as soon as I come up with some cash. Other than that, I'm way ahead of you. I've got Seastar Pro steering, Bob's Machine hydraulic jack plate, and solid motor mounts all ready to get bolted in and strapped on. I've got all of my rigging equipment, I just need to get the bottom finished up so she can go to paint.
Binkie posted 04-12-2007 07:28 AM ET (US)
Runpast, looks like you`ve got your ducks in a row. Looking forward to the end results and pics.
Back to the Edgewater. I don`t see how a pad can help on a boat like this. In my opinion it would take a tremendous amount of power for a boat like this to run on a pad. I wonder if this idea was designed on the computer, or if they modified an existing boat to test the idea. If they did, they didn`t publish the results.
Rich
jimh posted 04-12-2007 07:37 AM ET (US)
If you look at the stern view of a new Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 320 in a photograph I published in
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/cetaceaPage78.html#78-06
you will see that the modern Boston Whaler v-hull has a keel pad.
runpasthefence posted 04-12-2007 07:54 AM ET (US)
I know that on smaller boats (such as mine) a flattened keel running surface greatly affects how the boat performs in rough water. Boats with keel pads are known to "pound" on initial entry.
However, I believe in larger boats such as the Edgewater and the previously posted Outrage, the keel pads are narrow enough to prevent such pounding. However, a keel pad that is too narrow will not carry the weight needed to actually get the boat to ride at an elevated level on the pad. It's about sacrificing and finding a happy medium.
I'm sure both Boston Whaler and and Edgewater's naval architects crunched some hard numbers and did extensive testing while designing these hulls.
an86carrera posted 04-14-2007 08:26 PM ET (US)
RPTF,
I put a nose cone on my 70 Merc it was not that hard to do. I can run in about 12" of water now which was my goal.
Raising the engine as high as I can now has virtually eliminated the chine walking I had before above 42mph.
The boat will now do 47mph on a good day. And the rooster tail looks cool. I run a 22" Laser II at about 5250rpms.
My next mod will be (I think) extending the two existing steps all the way to the transom. which may get me up on plane in less than the 18" or so required now.
Can't wait to here how your monster turns out.
Len
contender posted 04-14-2007 08:45 PM ET (US)
Nice job, I have to give you credit I hate fiberglass work. great job, How long is the pad? I would think for top speed you would just need the last two or three feet. Once the hull leaves the water this is he part that the hull is riding on. the flat part will for sure take out the walk at high speed. would like to see the finish product. you the man
Binkie posted 04-15-2007 08:26 AM ET (US)
Len, did you just put a nose cone on your gearcase, or are you running one with a low water pickup? What engine are you using? I assume this is on your 15 footer.
Rich
runpasthefence posted 06-15-2007 10:57 PM ET (US)
I just thought I'd update this my project as promised.
She received 4 coats of Flag Blue Awl Grip last night. I really love this color. The different camera angles really show off how it changes from black to a vivid blue in different lights. She looks even better today, as this picture was taken only 45 minutes after the spraying commenced. The Awl Grip really levels out as it starts to cure. Monday we're going to flip her and start prepping the interior for paint. The interior will be Cream with Cream non-skid. More updates to follow in the coming weeks.
Enjoy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0629.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0631.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0630.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0634.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0632.jpg
brisboats posted 06-16-2007 08:39 AM ET (US)
Very nice and thanks for the update on this hotrod . Keep them coming.
Brian
Binkie posted 06-16-2007 07:09 PM ET (US)
Great looking color and job. I waited two weeks to flip my 13 footer, to make sure the paint had cured, but I had to pull it up on the trailer after I flipped it. I guess you have help to lift the boat onto the trailer. I would have loved to be able to spray inside, but I have to do it in a 10x20 screen room with plastic tarps on the ground and plywood laid over the plastic. I had to wait 2 weeks for the wind to subside. What kind of ventilation system do you have? Do you think its better to do the exterior first and then the interior? I did just the opposite, interior first, that way I didn`t have to cover up the exterior when I painted the interior. Keep us posted on your fine job, and can`t wait to read about performance testing.

Rich
runpasthefence posted 06-18-2007 05:55 PM ET (US)
Yes, I'll use a chainfall and a forklift to flip her back over. Spraying inside is nice, but it's an old building with lots of wandering dust. This job came out great the first time with no dust. We did the exterior first simply because the boat was already upside down to glass the pad in.
BQUICK posted 06-19-2007 11:13 AM ET (US)
Should be interesting to see the difference.....
I have a 16 ft AllisonCraft and when it gets on the pad it's a beautiful thing.......

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Author	Topic: Keel Pad
jimh	posted 04-08-2007 12:22 PM ET (US) Winter is lingering here in Michigan, and to pass away a dreary frigid-cold April Saturday during a snow storm, I got out the very nice DVD presentation from EDGEWATER BOATS which I picked up in February at the local boat show. Back then was poking around a new Edgewater 22-footer, and the local dealer, who has just recently picked up the line, insisted that I take home the DVD and check out Edgewater boats. So there I sat, in the living room like a couch potato, watching the really nice presentation on Edgewater boats. As you probably know, Edgewater Boats takes its name from the town of Edgewater, Florida, which is also the home of Boston Whaler. And, again, as you probably already know, Edgewater Boats is an outgrowth of a company founded by Bob Dougherty, who left Boston Whaler when he was its chief designer to start out on his own in boat building. As the DVD was playing all sorts of thoughts were going through my head, from a scary imagination of just how cold winter might be if we had adopted the Kyoto Protocol to why I didn't have a Boston Whaler DVD to watch--but these are really rhetorical questions and I digress from my main point. I was snapped out of my Spring stupor when the DVD got to the section on Design & Performance. The naval architect of Edgewater appeared on screen to tell me that Edgewater hulls have a keel pad. A keel pad? Really? A keel pad is a flat spot on what is otherwise not a flat-bottom hull. For those of you who did not get an Edgewater DVD at the boat show, they have more or less the same information on their website. See: http://ewboats.com/design_performance.cfm And, by the way, to digress again with another rhetorical question, isn't that Edgewater website a dandy? It has a wealth of technical information and terrific presentation. I found the link I posted above in about two clicks. But, darn, there I go, digressing again. Back to the topic, keel pads. To quote Edgewater: "A clean, flattened keel area at the stern of the boat improves running at higher speeds by letting the boat sit back on the pad, providing a comfortable bow angle and not locking the boat into an undersireable, low running angle." I had not noticed if the Edgewater 22-footer I saw at the show had a keel pad. My quick assessment of it was it looked more like a classic Boston Whaler hull. But perhaps the pad was there and I missed it. But, to finally get to the point, I am left wondering if a keel pad is a great idea. Is it something to long for and covet? And finally--and again this comes from the idle thinking of spending the afternoon on the couch watching boating company DVD's--could you add a keel pad to a classic Boston Whaler v-hull? Would it ruin the hull's strength and integrity? Would it add anything to the performance? Would it suppress porpoising?
runpasthefence	posted 04-09-2007 12:28 AM ET (US) I've longed for and coveted. Now, I'm officially letting the cat out of the bag... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_2008.jpg
jimh	posted 04-09-2007 09:31 AM ET (US) Now there, my friends, is a modification to a classic Boston Whaler hull!
HAPPYJIM	posted 04-09-2007 09:40 AM ET (US) This is going to be a whole lot more exciting to read than what finish to use on wood.
fishgutz	posted 04-09-2007 11:14 AM ET (US) Edgewater's website is one of the best I've seen. Someday when (if) I'm rich I'd love the 205EX. It is so classic, almost retro looking. I'd say, along with some of the new Chris-craft boats one of the most beautiful.
ConB	posted 04-09-2007 09:00 PM ET (US) "A clean, flattened keel area at the stern of the boat improves running at higher speeds by letting the boat sit back on the pad, providing a comfortable bow angle and not locking the boat into an undersireable, low running angle." Okay, there is still snow on the ground here and I'm a sailor. What does the the above Edgewater quote mean? Con
Erik 88Montauk	posted 04-10-2007 07:24 AM ET (US) I am very intersted in finding out how you determined the dimensions of your keel pad. I have seen a few on various hulls and from the picture your modification seems to be a little longer then I would have expected for a 17 foot hull, about the right width but still a little long. I am certainly far from an expert in hydrodynamics or hull design but I have reviewed these pads with some interest and would like to know how you determined dimensions. I might be concerned if the pad was a little too big as the boat would tend to ride very "high" on the pad. This would mean that very lttle of the pads "chines" would be available to aid in control. I am thinking about the handling characteristics of a flat bottom semi-dory or skiff with no keels at high speed. Have you thought about this?
runpasthefence	posted 04-10-2007 07:54 AM ET (US) I determined the dimensions mainly by finding the dimensions of similarly sized padded v-bottom high performance boats, namely the Hydrostream Viper and the smaller Allison hulls. The weight and LOA of the Viper is quite comparable to a 15' Boston Whaler. I eventually decided to make the pad a bit wider due to the fact that I will be carrying more weight. The pad height is a concern of mine. At this point I do think the pad is too tall and will cause the boat to ride very high. Keep in mind I have not shaped the pad yet at all. The picture provided was taken immediately after layup. The pad will now have to be straightened, flattened, and sharpened. I'm hoping a little height will come off during this process, but I don't want to sacrifice structural integrity. My next steps will be to shape and fair the pad, in addition to extending the lifting strakes to the transom.
Roswell	posted 04-10-2007 12:33 PM ET (US) runpasthefence, When do you think you'll give this a test? What engine are you running on your 15'? I hope you can retain the boats' stability. I'm curious to see how that works out for you. Did you consider doing two pads parallel to eachother? Looks like a nice job though. What is the core of the pad made from? Roz My 15' sport is getting a 75 Evinrude E-Tech installed tomorrow.
blkmtrfan	posted 04-10-2007 04:45 PM ET (US) Very interesting project runpasthefence! Definately keep us posted on your results
runpasthefence	posted 04-10-2007 04:49 PM ET (US) The engine will be a Yamaha 115 turned 130hp. If the boat can handle the 130, I'm going to see if I can squeeze about 150hp out of the motor. Stability is the goal. Hopefully the pad setup, an extremely custom fuel tank, and top notch rigging will result in a boat stable up to WOT. I have a speculated top speed, but I'm not going to jinx myself by stating it here. I'm no naval architect, nor do I have any formal hydrodynamics training. Parallel pads would be an entirely different animal, and would probably achieve nothing in my application. I'm sure you could fill an entire thread with hydrodynamic design ideas that I could have followed. What I'm doing is the most fool-proof and most reversible...never mind, I don't want to think about that. The coring is a double layer of structural marine foam coring. Good luck with your E-TEC. Did you consider the 90hp E-TEC? It shares the same design and weight as the 75hp.
runpasthefence	posted 04-10-2007 04:53 PM ET (US) Sorry, I'm hoping for a launch date sometime in June, May if I'm lucky.
blkmtrfan	posted 04-10-2007 07:04 PM ET (US) You mentioned that your model for the pad was the Hydrostream, do you plan to make the pad flat of concave like the Hydrostream?
runpasthefence	posted 04-10-2007 08:06 PM ET (US) Although some Viper owners opt to fill in the concavity of their pads, I've found an equal amount of people who have had much success with the concave design as well. A concave design would have (or would) only complicated things in the layup process. Flat is a great starting point, especially for troubleshooting. A concave pad would have me second guessing probably 4 times the measurements if I have any problems. I thought about taking a mold off of a Viper or similar boat. I actually have a "pad" separated from a 16' Allison. I believe it was created for a purpose similar to mine, but I found it to be impractical for my uses.
Roswell	posted 04-11-2007 05:51 PM ET (US) I did consider the 90HP E-Tech, and would have loved to go that route, but I am replacing a mercury 70HP which performed very well for me. My concern was liability if something were to happen to someone else (this boat is mostly used for waterskiing.) I heard insurance would likely not cover any damages that may occur. Also, on rare occasion other people might use my boat. I'm sure you can see where problems might arise there, the way I see it even 45 MPH is too fast for someone else driving my boat. Lastly, my personal 15' has a lot of "show" as well as go.. I'll get some pictures posted once its finished, its looking great so far. It outperforms many other boats as it is, and today someone who works at the boatyard asked me if my boat was new... its a 1976. 130HP?! good luck my friend. keep us posted. My guess is you'll have the fastest whaler on this forum.
crabby	posted 04-11-2007 10:24 PM ET (US) That looks like a lot more than just a pad; watch out for chop! But in flat water that thing should just lift and go! Very cool! Good luck! (can't stop with all the !!!'s!
Binkie	posted 04-11-2007 11:26 PM ET (US) Wow, I love a guy thats got the balls to do something like that. I think you know what your doing, and I hope you don`t have to do any reshaping later. I see a lot of experimenting with the motor too. Your going to have to run a 27" prop, and maybe add a nose cone also, and a low water pickup. Also think about an adjustable bracket. I don`t have to tell you, you`ll need dual cable steering. I also think your going to have to learn to redrive that boat, chine walking will probably be a problem, but once you get over 70mph, you should be ok. Is that what they call a Whaler Bassboat. Rich
runpasthefence	posted 04-12-2007 12:46 AM ET (US) Roswell, I know what you mean about liability. When I previously had a Yamaha 90 on my 15', I would cringe when my buddies would ask if they could take it for a spin. My 15' was definitely not a show pony. She had been abused and was in need of some serious TLC. If I had one in as good of shape as yours, I would have gone the same route as you (then find a junk one to put a pad on!). Let's see some pictures of that thing. Crabby, Yeah, rough water should be interesting with this thing. I could see some serious launches off of what used to be minor to moderate chop. Oh well, I just finished a restore of a 1985 Outrage for my Dad. If the wind picks up, there's always the Outrage at the dock. Binkie, I'm keeping my fingers crossed about reshaping. I'll be sending off the lower unit off for a nose cone as soon as I come up with some cash. Other than that, I'm way ahead of you. I've got Seastar Pro steering, Bob's Machine hydraulic jack plate, and solid motor mounts all ready to get bolted in and strapped on. I've got all of my rigging equipment, I just need to get the bottom finished up so she can go to paint.
Binkie	posted 04-12-2007 07:28 AM ET (US) Runpast, looks like you`ve got your ducks in a row. Looking forward to the end results and pics. Back to the Edgewater. I don`t see how a pad can help on a boat like this. In my opinion it would take a tremendous amount of power for a boat like this to run on a pad. I wonder if this idea was designed on the computer, or if they modified an existing boat to test the idea. If they did, they didn`t publish the results. Rich
jimh	posted 04-12-2007 07:37 AM ET (US) If you look at the stern view of a new Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 320 in a photograph I published in http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/cetaceaPage78.html#78-06 you will see that the modern Boston Whaler v-hull has a keel pad.
runpasthefence	posted 04-12-2007 07:54 AM ET (US) I know that on smaller boats (such as mine) a flattened keel running surface greatly affects how the boat performs in rough water. Boats with keel pads are known to "pound" on initial entry. However, I believe in larger boats such as the Edgewater and the previously posted Outrage, the keel pads are narrow enough to prevent such pounding. However, a keel pad that is too narrow will not carry the weight needed to actually get the boat to ride at an elevated level on the pad. It's about sacrificing and finding a happy medium. I'm sure both Boston Whaler and and Edgewater's naval architects crunched some hard numbers and did extensive testing while designing these hulls.
an86carrera	posted 04-14-2007 08:26 PM ET (US) RPTF, I put a nose cone on my 70 Merc it was not that hard to do. I can run in about 12" of water now which was my goal. Raising the engine as high as I can now has virtually eliminated the chine walking I had before above 42mph. The boat will now do 47mph on a good day. And the rooster tail looks cool. I run a 22" Laser II at about 5250rpms. My next mod will be (I think) extending the two existing steps all the way to the transom. which may get me up on plane in less than the 18" or so required now. Can't wait to here how your monster turns out. Len
contender	posted 04-14-2007 08:45 PM ET (US) Nice job, I have to give you credit I hate fiberglass work. great job, How long is the pad? I would think for top speed you would just need the last two or three feet. Once the hull leaves the water this is he part that the hull is riding on. the flat part will for sure take out the walk at high speed. would like to see the finish product. you the man
Binkie	posted 04-15-2007 08:26 AM ET (US) Len, did you just put a nose cone on your gearcase, or are you running one with a low water pickup? What engine are you using? I assume this is on your 15 footer. Rich
runpasthefence	posted 06-15-2007 10:57 PM ET (US) I just thought I'd update this my project as promised. She received 4 coats of Flag Blue Awl Grip last night. I really love this color. The different camera angles really show off how it changes from black to a vivid blue in different lights. She looks even better today, as this picture was taken only 45 minutes after the spraying commenced. The Awl Grip really levels out as it starts to cure. Monday we're going to flip her and start prepping the interior for paint. The interior will be Cream with Cream non-skid. More updates to follow in the coming weeks. Enjoy. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0629.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0631.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0630.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0634.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/yeahtoast02/project%20Ambelina/ Reconstruction/IMG_0632.jpg
brisboats	posted 06-16-2007 08:39 AM ET (US) Very nice and thanks for the update on this hotrod . Keep them coming. Brian
Binkie	posted 06-16-2007 07:09 PM ET (US) Great looking color and job. I waited two weeks to flip my 13 footer, to make sure the paint had cured, but I had to pull it up on the trailer after I flipped it. I guess you have help to lift the boat onto the trailer. I would have loved to be able to spray inside, but I have to do it in a 10x20 screen room with plastic tarps on the ground and plywood laid over the plastic. I had to wait 2 weeks for the wind to subside. What kind of ventilation system do you have? Do you think its better to do the exterior first and then the interior? I did just the opposite, interior first, that way I didn`t have to cover up the exterior when I painted the interior. Keep us posted on your fine job, and can`t wait to read about performance testing. Rich
runpasthefence	posted 06-18-2007 05:55 PM ET (US) Yes, I'll use a chainfall and a forklift to flip her back over. Spraying inside is nice, but it's an old building with lots of wandering dust. This job came out great the first time with no dust. We did the exterior first simply because the boat was already upside down to glass the pad in.
BQUICK	posted 06-19-2007 11:13 AM ET (US) Should be interesting to see the difference..... I have a 16 ft AllisonCraft and when it gets on the pad it's a beautiful thing.......