show that we don’t need to. It’s just a good practice.”
The keel void is capped over entirely with a heavy
lamination schedule so that if you ever ground hard
and cause a hole in the keel, this boat should not
sink. Portions of the keel are foam filled for weight
optimization and improved safety, with approximately
8 feet filled in the forward section designed to act as an
impact zone, as well as the last 3 to 4 feet back by the
propeller. In the center of the boat and underneath the
engine, the cap has a watertight inspection port.
“When we achieve the engineered thicknesses, we
bond in a molded stringer system and follow with
overlaps of fiberglass where required,” Schoppert said.
“We keep the panel sizes small between the stringer
reinforcement for extra strength, with four heavy-
duty transverse stringers and approximately a dozen
transverse webs to support tanks and equipment
platforms. There are two additional longitudinal
stringers on each side.”
Fiberglass-encapsulated plywood bulkheads are
installed next, landing on top of the stringers rather
than the hull. Locally manufactured, twin 200-gallon
baffled wing tanks of aluminum, welded and pressure
tested, all with inspection ports, come to the builder
with fuel gauges and sight gauges installed. The single
150-gallon freshwater tank mounted on the centerline
is also welded aluminum, pressure tested like fuel tanks,
and fitted with a sight tube and an inspection port.
Because of potential calcification and chlorine issues,
Tomco specifies filters on the inlet side.
