Klamath 14 footer project

[Nobaddays443]

Hi all, starting a new thread with a new (old) boat! Im brand new to tin boats and decided that my first purchase (12 foot Sea King) wasn’t the right fit for the family. Although I got it at a great price with a trailer so no complaints here !!! The 12 footer wasn’t going to be safe enough to have my wife and 2 young kids in, in my opinion.

NEW PLAN!!!

14 foot Klamath with my 9.9 4 stroke Honda

Any other Klamath 14’ owners on here ??? I didn’t see any on the huge index of boats and aren’t really finding any through the search tab. Although I could be using that wrong.

 

[LDUBS]

My previous boat was a 15' Klamath. I liked it a lot. Light, easy to handle single-handed, fuel efficient. I currently have a Gregor.

BTW, about 45 years ago I joined a trap shoot tourney at the Newman Swamp Rats place. I didn't win anything but a guy did give me a Newman Swamp Rats hat.

 

[Nobaddays443]

Thanks for the reply; I’m excited to own a Klamath. Swamp Rats is still going strong ! Do you still have the hat? I’m sure it’s cool !

 

[Nobaddays443]

Sorry for the delay on progress pics, I’ve been working hard on my Sea King, getting her ready to be sold. That’s done so now I can focus on MY boat

QUESTION:

Let’s talk foam. My Klamath has foam (looks like styrofoam pieces) inside the drivers bench and in one of the boxes attached to the drivers bench.

1) how does one calculate how much foam is needed?
2) do I really need foam? All passengers will always have PFDs on. I’m not sure where a ton of foam would go on this boat. I’m not building a deck. The front two bench seats have storage...
3) IF it’s not a huge deal, can I remove foam from the left box behind drivers bench seat so I can use on box for a battery and the other for fuel tank?


THANK YOU ALL

 

[Nobaddays443]

Also, don’t mind that baby 3.0 on the back of the Klamath. It’s for my other boat but I needed to store it on the Klamath for a second lol

 

[Loganmike]

Howdy,
I have the SAME boat w a 25 hp on it.

Super fun and easy to fish out of. Gonna do some mods to it this year. Front casting platform
W foot mounted trolling motor and likely going to remove the middle seat, although, from my inspection the middle seat provides stability so have to figure that out. Finally going to add a flat floor w vinyl wrap to make it easier for my two boys and I to move.

It’s a great little boat and my 5 year old and 11 year old and I have fished a lot out of it. Biggest obstacle is that middle bench.

I also need to clean the bottom of my boat! Looking forward to following along and post some mods w you!

Mike

 

[LDUBS]

Sorry for the delay on progress pics, I’ve been working hard on my Sea King, getting her ready to be sold. That’s done so now I can focus on MY boat

QUESTION:

Let’s talk foam. My Klamath has foam (looks like styrofoam pieces) inside the drivers bench and in one of the boxes attached to the drivers bench.

1) how does one calculate how much foam is needed?
2) do I really need foam? All passengers will always have PFDs on. I’m not sure where a ton of foam would go on this boat. I’m not building a deck. The front two bench seats have storage...
3) IF it’s not a huge deal, can I remove foam from the left box behind drivers bench seat so I can use on box for a battery and the other for fuel tank?


THANK YOU ALL

You probably already are aware the USCG requires small outboard boats to have level floatation if swamped. All boat manufacturers must abide by this. I think it would be a best practice to adhere to the floatation guidelines. Personally, the way I'm wired, I would want to retain at least the minimum required floatation.

It is a good bet Klamath put at least the required amount foam in. So, if you remove one cubic foot of foam from under the seat, then you would be safe adding back one cubic foot of foam some place else. If by filling the seat compartment/boxes Klamath put more styrofoam in than was really needed for the level float requirement then you might be in a position to add back less than you removed.

The USCG provides the formula for how much foam is needed. There is a "sticky thread" in the "Boat House" forum that covers how much foam is needed. Another TinBoat member was kind enough to provide the following link to the USCG formula. I find it very confusing, but did not really spend any time to work through it methodically.

https://forum.tinboats.net/download/file.php?id=72170


BTW, one of the kids "adopted" the Swamp Rats hat many years ago. It is long gone!

 

[Nobaddays443]

Ldubs, thank you !! Good information and I’ll take a look at the link.

Mike, hell ya! Glad to find another boat like mine. I’m definitely planning on putting a flat deck on the bottom and then I’ll pretty much leave everything the way it is and fish out of it for a while until I figure out exactly how I want her. Front deck sounds like it would be cool, there’s a ton of room up there compared to my other 12 footer!

Do you have storage in the middle and front bench or did the previous owner take foam out and make them that way ?

 

[Nobaddays443]

Here she is on the trailer before i lengthen the tongue and make a few other mods this weekend...

 

[No One]

Hi all, starting a new thread with a new (old) boat! Im brand new to tin boats and decided that my first purchase (12 foot Sea King) wasn’t the right fit for the family. Although I got it at a great price with a trailer so no complaints here !!! The 12 footer wasn’t going to be safe enough to have my wife and 2 young kids in, in my opinion.

NEW PLAN!!!

14 foot Klamath with my 9.9 4 stroke Honda

Any other Klamath 14’ owners on here ??? I didn’t see any on the huge index of boats and aren’t really finding any through the search tab. Although I could be using that wrong.

Howdy
I have a 14' Klamath with a 15 hp on it, it seems real stable to me, but I 'm a solo fisherman and only throttle up for runs to and from fishing spots. The boat handles swells and wakes well on our high mountain reservoirs and I think it would do as well in the salt, maybe not the open ocean.
No One