13ft runabout?

[BoatFisho]

How seaworthy is FG?

 

[BoatFisho]

re

re

sorry im refering to glass over ply here

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: 13ft runabout?

Small limited HP lake should be fine

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: 13ft runabout?

No way to answer. Glass over plywood is strong and waterproof.

But that's not what makes a boat of any size "seaworthy." That's driven by 100 factors, including design, load, operator, propulsion, as to the "worthy" part, and wind, wave, swell, chop, spray, current, fetch and direction of travel relative to same for the "sea" part.

Length has very little to do with anything; look at the small kayaks running big whitewater. And "runabout" has too many meanings for different people. With small boats, sometimes what appears to be an insignificant detail can be the determining factor of "seaworthiness" for certain conditions--the shape of the rails, slant of the sides, stern deadrise, bow flare, etc.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 13ft runabout?

If you are referring to the actual construction: Styrene monomer resin does not stick really well to wood but it was all we had back then to adhere the fiberglass cloth. It is adequate in strength. MUCH better (but more expensive) is fiberglass cloth adhered to wood with an epoxy resin, and strongest of all (but even more expensive) is Carbon or Kevlar cloth and epoxy.

If you do not intend to use the boat in extreme conditions, regular styrene resin and fiberglass cloth will supply all the strength you need.

 

[Ned L]

Re: 13ft runabout?

It has the ability to be as capable as any other construction technique.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 13ft runabout?

do you have a particular one in mind/own it? POst a pic or at least more particulars.

 

[matt167]

Re: 13ft runabout?

Bayliner made a 1300 Capri for a few years ( which was a bowrider ).. Glen L has plans to a 10' runabout called the Squirt, and even being majorly impractical, it is a popular design, and another couple designs between 11-13'. The Bingo and both Dyno's..

Depends on what your using one for, but anything more than a protected lake would make me nervous

 

[Ned L]

Re: 13ft runabout?

As I posted above, sheet plywood construction can make for just as capable boat as any other construction method. What you can do with it depends on the knowledge and experience of the operator. To say that it is 'ok' for a small lake may be a bit conservative for some.
My parents first boat back in 1955 was a 12 foot sheet plywood (Trojan) runabout with a 15hp Evinrude, and they took that boat fluke fishing on Shrewsbury Rocks off the Jersey shore. That required a seven mile run around the tip of Sandy Hook and then about a six mile run heading south out in the Atlantic. As a 15 year old kid I used to take a 14ft sheet plywood garvey out in the Atlantic & a couple of miles south along the shore to go fishing.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 13ft runabout?

I used to fish out of Gulfport, MS. Had a 13' Taylor craft and a 22 hp Scott Attwater. I'd fish the lee side of Cat island which was 10 miles off shore. Never had a problem. Obviously didn't go out on bad days and the wind was always from the South with the island being due S of GP. Going out in the mornings wind was usually calm and slow rolling ground swells were it. In the afternoon, on the way home, wind was usually up pretty good, was to my back, and I used the full flared bow when diving into the next wave. Never even got wet.

Like others said it all depends on a lot of things. Remembering years ago, like the '50's most of the glass over wood home construction/renovated boats I saw had adherence problems probably, as stated, due to lack of adequate materials.

Mark