12ft V-hull mod help

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lifesaball18

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Hi there everyone,
First off let me say I think this is an amazing site that has some very nice and helpful people on it.
My question is, is that my Meyers 12 foot aluminum V-hull has a weight rating of 705lbs when fully loaded with people, gear, and motor. Now i don't have a motor yet, but its only rated for a 10horse or smaller. Id like to mod it like backpain did. here is his link, which nice job btw

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1319

Now my concern is that the weight of the deck will be too much for the boat if i want to take a couple of buddies out. I myself weight 245, and my buddies are no tiny people either. I was wondering if i put more foam in (it already has some in the benches), if that would increase the max weight allowed? Any help with modifying it or any ideas would be awesome

Any input?
 
Foam doesn't add flotation.It just keeps the boat from completely sinking if it's swamped.Foam also adds weight which cuts down your weight rating.
 
So do you think that the flooring and seats, etc would be too much if i wanted to go out on the lake with friends?
 
I guess i could only take one other person out with me if i were to mod it...
However If i were to make some parts, like the flooring removable then i might be able to take 3 people out...
 
lets do the math.
10hp motor =80 pounds
5 gallons of gas= 40 pounds
you= 245

total so far is 365 pounds.

buddy = 250 were up to 615 pounds and we dont have fishing gear, livewell, bait, oars, life jackets, trolling motor, battery, fishfinder, etc.

705-615= 90 pounds. You have room for 90 pounds of gear, bait, oars, lifejackets, if you have a livewell add 8 pounds per gallon of water plus weight of the fish you keep in it. Need a trolling motor? What about anchors? Battery, Fishfinder?

Plywood weighs roughly 25 pounds per 1/4" of thickness (4x8 sheet). However adding the wood could be mute. Some consider wood to be naturally boyant. If the boat is submerged the wood has float value. Most wood will float even if saturated in water.

Time to figure out what is important in that boat.

If you have bench seats you could remove them to pick up weight for something else. However there are some things you need to consider with the alteration of the boat. Is that bench seat a structural component of the boat hull? If so you will need to strengthen the hull another way?

The foam in the boat is designed to keep the boat afloat if fully filled with water, submerged. In other words you could sit in the seat while the boat is full of water and not sink. Exceed that weight and the boat will sink, thus leaving you with nothing to hold onto while waiting for rescue.

Will exceeding that weigh casue you to sink, no. The boat will float in the water until it exceeds the amount of water being displased by the hull. Will the extra weight make the boat more likely to sink, yes given the right circumstances. Could you and your buddies fish with 1000 pounds of gear in the boat, yep? However if you ahve an accident, that boat will not be able to support you and your buddies. You will have to float/swim until help arrives.
 
I do want to clarify one thing.
There is a difference between how much weight the boat will keep afloat (water displaced) and how much weight the boat will support while submerged. The max weight rating you are refering to is how much weight the boat will keep afloat while submerged. Adding foam/trapped air will increase that number.

This link is for a simple science project to demonstrate the concept.
https://www.nps.gov/miss/forteachers/upload/brjalumboat.pdf
No need to do the experiement, however read through it and you will get a formula to give you a rough idea how much water your boat displaces. Exceed that weight and the boat will sink. You will find that your boat will hold more weight then your hull can handle, however that doesn't make it safe.
 
I've had 2 adults and a small child in my 12ft. semi-v boat before, on a trolling lake with no gas motor and had no problems. When I slap my johnson 5 1/2 (insert joke here) on the transom, a buddie and me cruise just fine and we're big guys. Three people is definitley pushing the weight for a twelve footer with a 60-75 lb. gas motor and gear in my opinion, but hey -test it out with lifejackets on of course, and see how she goes. I modified my 12' v-hull last summer, it was my first boat ever and I had alot of fun doing it, hardest part was probably wiring in the 5 lights and 12volt outlet- alot of guys on this site helped me out big time. I'm getting ready to add a small front deck with a pedestal seat in the front for more room this winter. Here's a link of photos of my modification (hit on the slideshow) if you have any questions- let me know bro! D. 8) https://photobucket.com/Delmonte67
 

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