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More head room

4K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Barquito 
#1 ·
My 1st season with my rebuilt 1977 Luger Tradewinds was a great success. Now that she's on the hard for the winter I'm thinking more about something I was going to do last year but ran out of time. The boat originally had a camper top that gave my main cabin an extra 18 inches or so. It didnt come with the boat so I was thinking about adding to the boat where the canvas would have been. I have all the materials set aside and was planning on making the forward facing "bulkhead" bump up from 3/8" lexon. The sides would be made from 1/2" thick vinyl sheeting on the exterior and 3/4" plywood on the inside covered with carpet matching the rest of the ceilings in the boat. I would also add fixed windows to the side pannels made of 1/4" lexon. I already planned on making a new main hatch so making it a little taller wont be a problem. Just wondering if anyone has any reasons why I shouldnt do this. the only negatives I can see is it will add about 100 pounds of weight to the top of my boat. It will also make it a little harder to see directly in front of the boat but otherwise it dosnt seem like a bad Idea.
 

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#3 ·
Are you planning a fold-down top of the panels you described, (like a homemade pop-top) or a fixed "doghouse"? The former would be pretty cool. The latter might be a big disappointment unless it's put together solidly enough to withstand a few hundred pounds of water splashing on it if a wave hits it. The aesthetics are another issue. Someone recently posted a boat that had its cabintop "rainproofed" with 3-tab asphalt shingles... You don't want your boat to look like that one if you can help it.
 
#4 ·
A curious and unbidden thought just occurred......
WHat if ya measure the top and find a fiberglass PU truck camper shell that fits close enuff to fair it to the cabin? Reverse the shell if the fwd part is canted and get yer Lexan fitted to where the rear hatch/door usta be.
:shrugs: Might do it faster, lighter and more similar material to wed to the overhead.
 
#5 ·
I've yet to see one of these homemade doghouse type arrangements that didn't look utterly, utterly crap, but it's your boat so fill your boots. If it were mine, I would make a new canvas one.
The alternative would be to cut a section of your shins out and reduce your height by 12" or so, that would give you more headroom everywhere :)
 
#6 ·
Aside from Paul's observation about how such things ultimately end up looking, if you have or want to add a vang (as you should) such a structure will likely interfere.

I'd stick to the original plan too.
 
#7 ·
Just wondering if anyone has any reasons why I shouldnt do this...
Playing devil's advocate: because the deck and cabintop are important structural elements in the overall strength of the boat as designed. Assume nothing is superfluous and respect the designer of your boat; leave it as designed. It is one thing to replace or repair a defect, it is another thing to alter the basic design of the boat.

If your boat does not suit your purposes, sell it and buy another boat designed to have a doghouse/raised cabintop. The transaction costs are not that great.
 
#8 ·
Gotta disagree with you here. Adding a more or less permanent, hard pop-top (or doghouse, or whatever you want to call it) could not interfere at all with the structural integrity of the boat. It might add a small amount of weight up high, and certainly will add windage, but won't make the boat weaker (unless he is cutting holes in the companionway to make it bigger haha). Besides, plenty of people modify and strengthen their boats, and guides such as the ISAF offshore rules discuss minimum strength requirements, including the minimum number of transverse frames/bulkheads, etc. Besides, it's not like most of these production boats were built anywhere more than the bare minimum strength wise, and digging around your old boat you have a good chance to find at least a couple detatched bulkheads already...

As for the addition proposed, I am in a very similar situation. Just a few more inches headroom under that companionway hatch and I would be able to stand while cooking/changing/etc, even with the hatch closed. However I realized that by raising the companionway hatch say 6 inches, I lose ALOT of visibility from the cockpit, something very important where I sail because there are a ton of ship moorings and other blockades in the water everywhere, and it is difficult to see at night especially. One possible solution I have considered is a clear acrylic dome/bubble, which could fit over the companionway hatch. It blocks less of the view forward, and would allow me to sail the boat from inside the cabin theoretically. At least keep watch while the autopilot does the hard work in the rain.

I really like the homemade pop top idea though. It might be a little difficult to make this work, would you use pistons to lift the hatch straight up? (I've never operated a pop top myself so not too sure how this works) Does the hatch still slide forward to allow the boards to lift up? Or do you always pop it up vertically?
 
#11 ·
I exclusively sail on lake Erie in nothing bigger than 3 footers so I dont really need to worry about a wave washing it overboard. The top would stay the same just be raised by 8 to 12 inches (havent decided yet). The old set up raised the top 16 inches on 4-3/8" hollow aluminum rods and I couldnt make out how they would have locked in place. I assume the old pop top wasnt ment to be used underway. As far as how it will look. It will look original to the boat. Last year I got this boat as a project boat and did a complete overhaul on it. Stripped the boat back to just the fiberglass hull. Then replaced all structural components before installing all new interior. It is significantly stronger than the original build. The attachment to the boat and the top shouldnt be a problem as there is a 3" vertical flat surface to attach to on both components. The concerns I have are about the boat getting top heavy and overall performance. Also keep in mind that I dont race. I mostly do day sailing although next summer I plan to do a weekend trip or 2 but still within 5 miles of shore on lake Erie.
 
#13 ·
What you really should do is make some line drawings of what you are planning. Then we could get into a healthy asthetics argument.:D

I guess, I don't really see that it would add that much weight. May be missing something.

I have a pretty tall dog house. It is a bit of a PITA to see around. However, I have standing headroom in the cabin in a 27' boat, so I shouldn't complain. John Vigor thinks it is unsightly.
 
#17 ·
Ya might want to give consideration to foam core FRP construction. Much lighter than alternatives, easier to shape curves and angles and is buoyant, to boot! :) Large, flat areas from sheet; curves, rounded joints from lams or blocks.

HTH,
Paul
 
#19 · (Edited)
Don;t know where you sourced yer foam but there's 2 part liquid available that will produce quite a bit of pourable for one helluva lot less than $200/sheet.

http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

In 2#, 3#, 4# and 8#/cu.ft. densities available for varying degrees of structural use . The 4# is recommended for boat decks and moderate loads while the 8# is useful for structural infill. Ya could buy enuff 2# to cast a block large enuff to damm'd near sculpt a boat for $200 ;)

I've used box-store urethane sheet for slab work. Never saw any that exceeded $22/sheet unless it was very much thicker than 1". I've molded over common construction foam; both pourable and sheet .

It works better to have a mold to build in; but outer lams are entirely possible; given that you need to undersize and work out to finished dimensions. Look fwd to lotsa fill and fairing :D

Might be my solution to rotten cored decks! Section out and remove rot. Clean and fill/inject. Pop section back on and clamp. Bingo! new foam core deck! :D

HTH
 
#20 ·
I got home early enough to snap a few quick pictures. The exterior is complete with the exception of adding a large piece of lexon to the back hatch.
 

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