On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:25:12 -0400, "Jerry"
wrote:

Right now I am using a 16' Lowe aluminum with a Yamaha 15HP 4-stroke and
pretty much restrict my activity to bays and inshore waters. It handles
quite well providing its not too choppy but can still bang around pretty
good. On ocassion when the wind picks up it can get a little rough out
there and my concern is to have something that will always get me home
safely.

Jerry


I think that you have to refine your requirements a boat. You want a
"small" boat that handles "rough" water. How small is "small" and how
rough is "rough"?

If, for example, you reckon that 16 ft. is a normal length of a boat
then "rough" is going to seem mill pond smooth to, say, a 100 footer.

To carry this to an extreme, fully enclosed life boats will survive
weather that a boat many time larger will not, but this is a totally
enclosed boat; inboard engine; locked ports, etc.

I suspect that what you want is a sort of deep vee hull with
considerable flair to the bow section. This will go to windward pretty
well in moderate waves.

When you talk about self bailing, as another reply explained, you will
need to have the decks/cockpit floor above the waterline. To do this
on a 16 ft. waterline is going to result in a boat that is unduly high
for its length, less stability in other words.

I would suggest that you have a look at what hull forms are available
and talk to some of the people that own the ones you like the best.

Boats have been built since the days of hollowed out logs and just
about anything you can think of has already been tried. What you want
is out there, you just have to find it.

Once you find a design that you like you can probably find the same
basic design in a build it yourself set of plans.


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)