[rapacity]

For those here that are using a boat lift for their pontoon boat with two steel I beams spanned by lumber beds/bunks: more

[Giovanny]

Also, what size is your boat, two or three pontoons?

[whitewillows55]

For those here that are using a boat lift for their pontoon boat with two steel I beams spanned by lumber beds/bunks:

[AyKarsi]

Also, what size is your boat, two or three pontoons. more

[Psychoactive]

Due to the complexities involved, we may attempt to apply generalities to the problem, however such generalities are necessarily prone to oversimplification and error, and will therefore nearly always be misleading if applied too broadly. or too blindly.

[haselton37]

Increased beam definitely does not provide increased comfort. Increased beam also does not provide increased safety, or what we would call "seakeeping" ability. Consider the following. A relatively light weight vessel with a wide waterplane will naturally have a very active roll behavior on the water. In other words, such a vessel will react to the shape of the water's surface very readily. This describes the majority of semi-displacement vessels and virtually all planing vessels. Adding ballast or making the water plane wider will only result in a more "harsh" roll motion, meaning greater roll accelerations. While fairly wide beam is generally beneficial to a true planing vessel, with displacement or semi-displacement types adding excessive beam or ballast will only serve to degrade performance due to increased displacement and wave making. Roll accelerations are well documented as being the primary culprit inducing seasickness. In general we observe that while greater beam will provide less roll angle, greater beam will also provide much more harsh, rapid, aggressive roll accelerations. Other factors being equal, stiffness (initial stability) varies as the cube of the beam. In other words, small changes in beam have a dramatic effect. We conclude from this that widening the water plane (increasing beam) will increase stiffness, but will at the same time reduce comfort and degrade seakindliness.

[iamronaldlpierson]

With regard to seakindliness and seaworthiness there are no absolutes, only tendencies.

[hannahsmith]

Ultimate stability, i.e. the ability to resist or to recover from a large angle roll, ordinarily is enhanced by the addition of ballast. However, whether adding ballast will provide an improvement in ultimate safety for any given vessel is a question that only a detailed analysis can answer. On the one hand, in a 'static' sense, more ballast lowers the center of gravity, and should therefore be beneficial. For example it is obvious that for sail carrying, more ballast is beneficial. For comfort though, it is not, because for resistance to being rolled in actual dynamic conditions, added ballast will only increase the harshness of the roll. Without question, a balance must be struck. A light weight vessel having a large concentration of ballast will have greater stiffness (initial stability), but will have a much lesser Roll Moment of Inertia, will be much more easily put in motion, and will be more likely to experience large roll angles due to wave action. In other words, the light weight vessel with a high ballast ratio is more likely to be capsized. While the 'ballast ratio' may have some utility as a measure of seakindliness (i.e. more equals less), it is in fact quite meaningless as a measure of either stability or seakeeping ability. Why? We know nothing about a vessel's true stability picture without considering the distribution of weights, the vessel's center of gravity, and the shape of the boat. In other words, dynamic stability and large angle stability must be considered as equal partners with the vessel's static stability. more

[david345]

In any analysis of stability, we must also make rational assumptions with regard to flooding. The primary key to prevention of flooding is to have a strong superstructure and adequately strong openings that are actually capable of keeping the water out in the event of a capsize. In terms of ultimate stability, a vessel's potential 'downflooding' points are a primary consideration. On power vessels for example, the location of engine room ventilation openings are possibly the most common violations of common sense and of good practice in terms of downflooding, and therefore of ultimate stability. Sliding glass doors and picture windows come to mind as being a close second. Sailing vessels are ordinarily well fortified against downflooding. Still, dorades, hatches and companionways are possible sites for downflooding. A strategy aimed at "keeping the water out" and assuring that all the various possible openings can be quickly closed or covered will provide the most benefit in terms of ultimate or large angle stability for any vessel. Whether they are displacement types, semi-displacement types, or planing types, if given sufficiently strong superstructure with robust windows, with hatches and doors having adequate WT seals, most power boats will have an enormous range of positive stability. A large portion of those power boats will actually be fully self righting, which is much more than can be said for the majority of sail boats. The key is to keep the water out. here

[Johnsmiths]

As multiple characteristics of the boat can affect ride comfort and performance, the importance of sea trials is always worth mentioning. Getting out in the open water with a boat is the best way to compare how vessels in various conditions. Experienced boaters know that while specifications on each boat are important, assumptions based on such numbers can be mistaken once the boater gets a feel for the boat out on the water.

[peter]

The deadrise of a boat is the angle measurement between the boat bottom and a horizontal plane on either side of the center keel. The deadrise of a flat bottom boat is much lower (or zero) compared to a vessel with a deep-V hull. You'll often hear deeper, or sharper V-shaped hulls referred to as having a lot of deadrise. These boats that are built to run offshore might have a deadrise of 20 degrees at the transom and 30-50 degrees at the bow (more on different deadrise values at different locations along the hull later).

[marcelus23]

It's worth noting that deadrise isn't the only factor in stability and a soft ride. Beam width can also have an effect on both ride and stability. A wider boat, generally, will begin to "pound" on the water sooner than a more narrow boat with the same deadrise. Similarly, a wider beam boat will typically have more stability at rest.

[X0nic]

When shopping for boats, knowing the deadrise value is an important number to research. Some manufacturers may only note a single deadrise value and not make it clear at which portion of the hull this measurement was taken. Deadrise values will typically increase as you move forward toward the bow, so it’s important to know exactly where the deadrise was measured. Additionally, a deadrise value taken at a point on the bow that doesn't even meet the water isn't relevant to boat performance. more

[max-power]

The amount of deadrise is an important metric because it gives the boat owner an idea of how well the boat will run or cut through rougher seas. A larger deadrise value will cut through seas easier and generally provide a softer ride. here

[cdb000]

Boat hulls are quite important when it comes to boating performance, ride comfort, stability and fuel economy. Deadrise is one of the more important metrics with respect to hull design. Deadrise is commonly used to determine how well a boat can cut through seas or how a boat rides. To fully illustrate the importance of deadrise, we'll first look at the definition then look at why it matters in boating.

[romanoza]

A V chine vessel consist of two parts and basically forms a large 'V' shape at the bottom of the boat. While this shape is relatively easy to construct, that is about the only strong suit that it has. The V chin is one of the least stable shapes available, and for this reason alone it is very rarely seen. more

[vics5thor]

No matter what type of boat chine your boat happens to have you'll want to keep your hull clean with an instant boat hull cleaner! Make sure the rest of your boat is just as stunning as that newly cleaned hull with our marine metal polish. [links]

[Kristen8Fuller]

As with most things, it would behoove us to take a look at the history of boat chines. Obviously even the earliest boats had some sort of rudimentary chine, but it wasn't referred to as such. The first boats which were at least partially engineered were dugout canoes, which were built by hollowing out a log. These boats had rounded bottoms, likely due to the shape of the log that it came from. While this was serviceable, it left a lot to be desired so humans did what they do best and continued to engineer the boat chine.

[Axcella]

While it sounds like the hard chine has some distinct advantages, these hard angles will also concentrate most stress in a smaller area which can lead to some massive wear and tear on your boat. Soft chines are easier to manufacture and maintain which is probably why they are used so widely in the boating world. If you've read some of our past blogs you'll know that I'm not an adrenaline junkie, I take things nice and slow and I'm on the water to relax so a soft chine is just fine. Heh, that rhymes. If you really want to relax, try floating around with this waterproof Bluetooth speaker.