Worth changing the stern?

[SV Aquavit]

Did any of the folks in this thread see this project on Facebook? He added a huge "caboose" to an existing vessel. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1427...00000160014922

[Scubaseas]

Originally Posted by SV Aquavit

Did any of the folks in this thread see this project on Facebook? He added a huge "caboose" to an existing vessel. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1427...00000160014922

Florida Man or Flyin’ Hawaiian school of naval architecture?

[SV Aquavit]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Florida Man or Flyin’ Hawaiian school of naval architecture?

FloridaMan...

[Paul Howard]

Play around with some sticks, string and cardboard and you might find a pleasing shape that does what you want.
As long as the addition makes the boat better for your use it will likely suit others, too.
If you like the boat otherwise, why not make an addition?
Boat come in all shapes an sizes and if you think you can improve it for your use, go for it.
I have made additions to the transoms of three boats I have owned and all were better for it and all were found desirable on the second hand market.

[denverd0n]

I'm going to pile on and agree with all of the people who are saying, if you don't like the configuration of your boat you should sell it and buy one that you like.

Done the right way, the kind of project that you are talking about will be MASSIVELY expensive, and will make the boat worth less than what it is worth right now. Done the wrong way, it will turn the boat into a pile of scrap that you will have to PAY someone to get rid of!

[PirateGuy]

I dunno about the rest of you, but I like the OP’s idea. But wait, why stop at the stern? I’d humbly suggest cutting off the bow too, and change it to a vertical prow to modernize it. Get rid of the mast and rigging and go for an unstayed, carbon free standing mast. And dump the ICE, add an acre or so of solar panels, and have a green electric drive.
Don’t forget adding a faux teak deck for the truly nautical look.
And enjoy the boat with your great-grandchildren.
(PS - why didn’t you just buy the boat in the style you actually wanted?)

[MicHughV]

why not ask this question....

Can I buy a truck and modify it to a Ferrarri by the addition of red paint ???

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

why not ask this question....

Can I buy a truck and modify it to a Ferrarri by the addition of red paint ???

A yellow Ferrari would be cooler.

[David B]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

Not meaning to be harsh, but if you did not want a double ended 'canoe' than you should have kept looking.

The entire sailboat was designed to work in its current configuration. Everything about the boat would be affected (and not for the better) by such a radical change. You are not talking just replacing the transom, to do what you suggest would require rebuilding the entire stern. Think what an insurance company would do if a boat lost its stern. Do you think they would spend the money to build a new one?

I'd recommend keeping it the way it is. You may learn to like it, and if not you can sell it in a few years having learned more about what you like and don't like in a boat.

The above reflects my thoughts also Jeremy, and while there are some harsh and unhelpful comments in this forum, most of us I am sure, just want you to enjoy your boating with your grandchildren etc.

Understanding that perhaps while some things 'grow on you', others do the opposite.
None of us here know whether that was the case with the stern on this boat, or whether you had the thought all along of changing it, but my suggestion is to proceed with the "big maintenance session", and get your new boat all organised. It sounds like as bought, she was fairly unloved, so you should be able to improve her - and her value, substantially.

Once she is back to being shipshape, then you will know whether that stern has grown on you any, or whether you still don't like it. If that was the case, your work could then be rewarded with selling her for a profit, and the proceeds used to buy a boat that better suits your needs and sense of aesthetic.

Either way, the outcome can be very positive, but I fear major surgery on the boat would not be so.

[MicHughV]

I built my first boat.....a steel Roberts 38.....I didn't really know what I was doing at the time...but just hammered away at it. It was built as a center cockpit, no particular reason for this at the time, other than I thought it looked "cool"...38' is a tad small for a CC, but I stuck with it. I didn't have the money to buy a boat....any boat...so building one was really my only option if I wanted to go and see the world.

Fast forward a few years.....that boat, now on it's 3rd owner, who decided (and rightly so) that the CC was a bad idea, and was in the process of transforming it into an aft cockpit. This required not only re-building the topsides, but also the entire interior. It would be quite the undertaking.

No telling...why this boat, but he had to have it.

To my way of thinking, if you want an aft cockpit boat, buy an aft cockpit boat.

But here's the thing about boats. Some boats just have that uncanny ability to call your name. There's no rhyme nor reason to it, and certainly nothing you could explain to anyone.

To illustrate, I have one more story. Some years back, from who knows where, this old wooden Danish fishing boat appeared at my marina. It was a vintage relic, no two ways about, it reeked of fish, diesel and oil and crying for help. It was powered by a massive vintage diesel of unknown heritage. How it got to be there, I have no idea. It was put up for sale.

I would not have given two bucks for this thing. Hell, I wouldn't have given 2c for this thing, but a friend of mine, happened to stop by one day and spied this relic and fell in love. To him, this boat was a thing of great beauty, he could see something here, that I couldn't.

He bought it, and moved it to another yard, and when I saw him again, some years, later, he had transformed this boat into a stunning beauty.

That's thing about boats, They call your name, not anybody else's...your name. Every part of your brain will scream no, but your heart will say...this is the one!!

Boats can inspire dreams like nothing else can !!!

[David B]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I built my first boat.....a steel Roberts 38.....I didn't really know what I was doing at the time...but just hammered away at it. It was built as a center cockpit, no particular reason for this at the time, other than I thought it looked "cool"...38' is a tad small for a CC, but I stuck with it. I didn't have the money to buy a boat....any boat...so building one was really my only option if I wanted to go and see the world.

Fast forward a few years.....that boat, now on it's 3rd owner, who decided (and rightly so) that the CC was a bad idea, and was in the process of transforming it into an aft cockpit. This required not only re-building the topsides, but also the entire interior. It would be quite the undertaking.

No telling...why this boat, but he had to have it.

To my way of thinking, if you want an aft cockpit boat, buy an aft cockpit boat.

But here's the thing about boats. Some boats just have that uncanny ability to call your name. There's no rhyme nor reason to it, and certainly nothing you could explain to anyone.

To illustrate, I have one more story. Some years back, from who knows where, this old wooden Danish fishing boat appeared at my marina. It was a vintage relic, no two ways about, it reeked of fish, diesel and oil and crying for help. It was powered by a massive vintage diesel of unknown heritage. How it got to be there, I have no idea. It was put up for sale.

I would not have given two bucks for this thing. Hell, I wouldn't have given 2c for this thing, but a friend of mine, happened to stop by one day and spied this relic and fell in love. To him, this boat was a thing of great beauty, he could see something here, that I couldn't.

He bought it, and moved it to another yard, and when I saw him again, some years, later, he had transformed this boat into a stunning beauty.

That's thing about boats, They call your name, not anybody else's...your name. Every part of your brain will scream no, but your heart will say...this is the one!!

Boats can inspire dreams like nothing else can !!!

Nice!
Obviously a person with soul, and who understands the emotion of boat ownership.

Thank you.

[JeremyFowler]

Wow! Thanks for the responses. Muchly appreciated. Have been too busy trying to finish, including painting before the rain rusts the beams, the cradle that we need for holding the Cavalier39 when we bring it back home.
(Please excuse, still learning the etiquette on this forum, if I should respond individually please let me know.)
Spot, yes, ours is a Mk1, with a tiller. The stern looks just like that one in your photo.
GordMay and mitiempo thanks for Peter Smith’s details, will certainly ask his advice, also about other questions too.
Hlev00 thanks for the idea of the swim platform. Don’t think I like the extra length though, just for the swim platform.
Scubaseas thanks for the DIY swim platform idea. This could possibly be an option.
Cheechako, thanks for your advice. (Now I know what a lazarette is ;-)
Clivevon Interesting links, thanks. I couldn’t open the uk.topboats one though.
Joelhemington, no, selling and rebuying isn’t an option – for reasons that I won’t embark on now. Yes, mine is just like Kiwa. As for the comments about cheap Kiwis, or immoral Aussies, I won’t take the bait. (I’m ex S African anyway…:-)
Kd9truck, thanks for your take on it. In our little trailer-sailer the waves that caused the hassles came from quarter astern and broke into the cockpit. That was when we were glad of the hole for the outboard – it rapidly drains. The 4 little drain points in this boat would take ages to let it all out.
Paul Howard Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement.
PirateGuy, thanks for the thought of the vertical prow, good idea! Your other ideas are possibly not… 😉
David B, sigh, yes, probably good sense. But not as exciting…
MicHughV Yes, that is why some idiots climb Everest. Something to do that’s not easy…

But everyone, thanks for a great start to this great forum! I have heaps more questions that will need the wisdom that comes with experience.
Cheers!

[MicHughV]

aha.....ex-South African....I should have known...I could write a dissertation about South Africans and their love affair with boats....

All my boats were name " Trekker"...I'll say no more......

[Bill_Giles]

A sugar scoop stern is great as you say for a quick drain cockpit and for boarding the dinghy, it is also handy if the pontoon dock is handy for step ashore. My only reservation is recovering a MOB. In any sort of seaway, the most likely MOB scenario, the stern of the boat goes up and down vigorously. I would definitely not attempt to get on the boarding ladder which is only useful for swimming in calm waters.

The other downside is that it a couple of feet of wasted space one has to pay for when the marina works out your LOA for your charges.

[vic008]

Well I wonder where the double ender, canoe stern came from? She has a transom, the same as all Cavalliers. A very good boat.