How much trouble am I asking for if I want to cut the front of this out and make it a bow rider?
http://home.pacbell.net/gsibert/boat/boatprofile.jpg
I dont know what it would take but I think what makes those boats neat is the room you have inside. You can stash stuff for the trip and get out of the rain if it does. Plus it its just too windy for the gals or kids they can hide inside. If I owned it I wouldnt change a thing. Its a classic. But thats just my two cents.
RandyH
I think it would not only be a major pain, but it would also make the structure weak.
I'm not an engineer or anything, but I agree with RH. It's a classic.. leave it.
you supply the wine, i'll bring the sawz-all.....j/k
i tried to do a search on it but couldn't find anything... i think someone on the boards has done it before...you would probably have to leave the bulkhead and do a crawl through to the front.
you've got that step thing going on.....too much workie.... buy an open bow instead
I was on Havasu a few years ago and saw an old Cambell day cruiser similar to the one pictured. The front was cut out as you are wanting, and was upolstered as a standard club seating. As Randy say's, the extra space is nice, espeically in a pinch out rain
Originally posted by RandyH
I dont know what it would take but I think what makes those boats neat is the room you have inside. You can stash stuff for the trip and get out of the rain if it does. Plus it its just too windy for the gals or kids they can hide inside. If I owned it I wouldnt change a thing. Its a classic. But thats just my two cents.
RandyH
I'm not sure what it takes either, but it can be done. My boat was cut into an openbow by Wilkes Marine somewhere around 1986. It's a 1975 Tahiti 19'. This was done before I bought it so I'm not much help there. The space you lose by opening the bow does make storage a bit slim, but the trade off to me is worth it. The kids and the dog love the open bow and so do I. As far as the classic part I have the best of both worlds, a classic boat and an open bow.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...gi_461-med.jpg http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...gi_962-med.jpg http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...gi_541-med.jpg http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...gi_459-med.jpg
The double step deck on your boat would make a walk thru more difficult, but a "playpen" type area up front with a crawl thru might work.
If you did the crawl thru, I would bet you would'nt need to do too much with extra bulkheads.
Check this site for better info: www.havasubarney.com/forums/
The extra weight up front may throw off your handling a bit as well.
I know a guy that does it all the time. Cutting out that deck can make it stronger, if done correctly. Making a new walk-thru can add strength. Beef up the bulkheads, something that old boat might need anyway. You wind up with a beacutiful new boat with that classic twist. Put a sun top on and you're good to go. I'm not much for boating in the rain anyway, so I don't know how much of an issue that is. Think about it hard, but no, it's not a problem.
I live in NorCal so our boating season is dry (unlike the thunderstorms of the desert). The storage loss would be an issue but my 3 kids are always wanting to ride on the bow and with a couple of their friends the back of the boat can get crowded.
Picklefork, who and where is this sawzall master?
Sawzall, Heck. I've seen him do it with a chainsaw!! ? And then, what do you do with the deck? I bet there are a lot of people out there with some very interesting bar tops and coffee tables.
Storage can be remedied, cushions can all have storage under them, kinda like a window seat, ya know? Side panels can all have nice storage, you can put a ski locker in the floor, sky"s the limit. Organizing can be much better than before.
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