On Jul 4, 7:52*am, wrote:
...
Well, at the risk of being simple. I still suggest it's the wrong boat
for the job. He just needs to start with the right boat. He can
justify, defend, and make any excuses he wants.. Still water,
whatever.. But once you leave the dock, things can change quickly to
something you have never seen before.
Anyway. Have a great fourth, go out in your boats for me Scotty

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find that the boat was
originally sold in several configurations (eg. bow rider, 1/3 decked,
cuddy cruiser, etc.). So, if the guy wants to convert from one to the
other and enjoys doing the work the hull might well be adequate.
Since we've only got a pic of the deck it is a little hard to tell
what the hull form is, but given the bluff bow I'm guessing it's a
Whaler style. If so, he's got oodles of stability. In Hawaii many
small fishing boats have home built hard dodgers very like lobster
boat style cabins. They put them on to get some cover when operating
at sea and stability isn't typically an issue at all. If I were
making this kind of conversion I'd put a little cuddy over the
foredeck, build a hard dodger and run some rails off of that aft to
use as supports for a Bimini, surfboard racks and tent. I'd probably
also put a proper transom on the boat and build an external rack for
the outboard. The cuddy and the transom will make the boat much less
susceptible to swamping the result may be more seaworthy than the
original. Sure he can do some testing to see if stability is going to
be an issue. I like Roger's method and if he can secure the table and
weights he can even go out and do some dynamic testing. But, in the
end, I'd be amazed if a well constructed cuddy cabin would make the
boat dangerously unstable.

Happy 4th!

-- Tom.