On Dec 12, 6:28 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:40:27 -0800 (PST),

wrote:
I am trying to figure out what possible advantage an LT boat offers.
Why wouldn't they include an engine well, it can't be that expensive.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

When you are trying to arrange 15-25 square feet in a under twenty
foot boat, a couple of feet makes a huge difference...

Wouldn't a 20 ft boat with maybe a 5 or 6 ft beam have something like
70 or 80 sq ft of working area ?

Not really. The ratio of internal structure is much higher in a
smaller boat. Yaimkool, http://www.yaimkool.com my 16 foot by 6 1/2
foot flat bottom skiff is built around a fiberglass and plywood
laminated transom connected to two 2 x 6 floor stringers. Inside the
hull this is all tied into rear seat boxes that reach 52 inches
forward of the transom inside the hull. I might have been able to make
the seats a little shorter, but I need room for triangulation in the
seat framework, and room for flotation too. There is also a thwart
midships which is more for lateral structure (and flotation) than it
is for seating. Lot's of folks ask why I did not leave it out for more
floor space, but that thwart is critical to the boats structural
integerity, as are the thwarts in most smaller boats, say under 20
feet. Likewise the front seat adds crossmembers and another good
triangle in the hull, and provides stiffness to the bow. Triangles are
good, you will see them all over the inside of most smaller wooden
boats.
Anyway, after all that, and remembering that I probably went a little
overboard as the intended owner was going to put a huge engine on the
rear end, I end up with a little over 21 square feet of floor space.
My seating however is big enough to use as casting decks.