Need Advice About Raising Deck ( via Adding to Freeboard )

[witzgall]

This is the best advice you have been given here. We had the same issue, and the first boat is on the market now. We spent alot of $$$ to make our Westerly a great cruising boat, but with my lower back issues, and the headroom only allowing me to stand up in the companionway, like your situation, we finally came to the difficult decision to sell. And it was the right decision. I went through all of the mental exercises that you are going through right now, but I knew a different boat, or sticking with what we had, were the only two true options.

Chris

Originally Posted by roverhi

Don't do it. The Coronado 35 is based on the Columbia 34 hull which were two of the ugliest boats ever built because of their high freeboard. Adding to that freeboard will make it look even worse and decrease the value. You'll be putting a ton of effort and a bit of money into doing the modification and will be throwing the money and effort down a rat hole. That doesn't address the time involved the months it will take you to do such a major modification

You'd do much better to put the effort into making the boat look as cosmetically fit, as cheaply as you can, and selling the boat. Then go looking for a next boat with the necessary headroom, at least in the galley and head area where you can expect to spend your time standing. Believe the Pearson 365 has 6'5" headroom, looks decent, are way better built and are available fairly cheaply with some under $30K. If you can't find a boat with the desired altitude in your price range, look for a fixer upper that is feasible to lower the cabin sole to get the head room. At least that way, you'd have some hope of getting back some of your 'improvement' costs and not burning your equity.

[CarlF]

I'll ignore whether this is such a good idea -- you obviously want to try. It's not like you're messing with the shear line of a Hinckley B40 (and it will be fun to listen to dock walker try to figure out what it is)

I think your biggest challenge is that hull is pretty lightly built. The moment you cut off the deck (and flange) the topsides will spring into some interesting irregular wavy shape that won't resemble the deck. You'll never get it back in line. So I think you need to first build a new flange below where you will cut to keep everything in line while you put in your shim. This could be temporary (inside or outside) screwed every few inches or be permanently glassed on the inside (a bow to stern shelf?). Even with this, rig a half dozen 2x4" across the width of the hull just below the cut.

To disguise your handiwork and cut down on the fairing, you might consider applying a chunky (say 2" high) rub rail (painted wood would be fine) on one or both of the seams. This will make any funny bend in the topsides hard to see and might actually disguise some of the topside's vertical height. You could then pick a contrasting color for a "belly band" look. Not my favorite look but might be quite handsome here.

Carl


Carl

[frant]

IMHO this is an impossible project for an amateur to complete and if you were a professional boatbuilder you would not touch it with a barge pole. Technically far too difficult to achieve an acceptable result within an acceptable budget. If it were a steel or ferrocement vessel you may be able to oxycut through the hull. jack the deck up with builders props and extend and reweld the frames and add a filler plate in the gap. I have done exactly this only recently to raise the headroom inside a steel shed that I needed 14 foot instead of 12 foot headroom. The principle is exactly the same. Do you have the required technical expertise to do the job? If so then you would probably realise that the cost would be prohibitive. If not then you would not be able to do the job.
Probably a much better to take Witzgall advice.

[bangkaboat]

Sorry, but this is a really bad idea! The Coronado is not a good boat to begin with and, as you've been told, already has a very high freeboard. The amount of money you'll spend will be considerable. I humbly suggest enjoying the boat as is, and getting a more suitable boat when finances allow. I'm very surprised that a N.A. seemed positive about your plan. There are several N.A.s on both sides of the border in our area & I highly recommend that you consider a second opinion.

[blgklr]

Bob Perry would be a good choice to consult.