Bottoms Up

[blockislandguy]

Just got back from a trip to downeast Me. I checked out center console hull designs as I headed up Rt. 1 and found it interesting. Like lots of people on Cape Cod and further south, recreational fishermen in Southern Me like a sharp entry (55 degrees) and a Carolina flare in the bow. At the stern they like either a 20-24 degree deep vee (e.g., Sea Craft, Mako, etc.) or a 15-18 degree modified vee (e.g., Eastern, Parker, SeaOx) in their hulls. People can argue the pros and cons of a deep vee vs. a modified all day long (cutting through chop vs. stability while drifting; the ability of a modified vee to carry some weight aft; getting away with a single engine vs. the need for twins in a deep vee, lower cost shallower vee vs. a deep vee , etc.), but everyone likes some vee at the stern.

But once you get into mid-coast Maine which runs from Bath to Bar Harbor things change. The number of recreational fisherman start to fall off and hulls with maybe only a 5 degree angle at the bow and a relatively flat bottom at the stern begin to take over. Hulls like SeaWay, Aylward, etc. as well as all the local builders use an almost flat bottom, omit the Carolina flare and a sharp entry.

Further down east, the number of center consoles really falls off and almost all boats from 20-26' have a Novi bow and flat aft sections. I noticed also that lots of Maine built boats carry little beam. For example, even the Eastern 27 is well under the road legal max of 8'6". Is the Novi style center console just an imitation of the lines of traditional, larger, non planing lobster boats? Is the skinny beam simply a gas saving, epoxy saving measure?

What gives? This whole thing is the opposite of what I would expect because the further down east you go in Maine the rougher the water. Wouldn't the classic deep vee of the SeaCraft be ideal in these waters and the straight sided, 5 degree entry, 5 degree angle at the transom a wet and slow anachronism?

[ScottM]

First off, the Maine commercial fisherman is extremely conservative and difficult to change. It took a long time for them to embrace fiberglass, but they stick with the Downeast design due to its advantages in the waters they fish. A deep V requiring greater power, therefore more fuel, would increase operating expense and decrease profit but wouldn't really gain them any efficiencies in hauling their catch.

Second, I'd suggest reading "Maine Lobster Boats: Builders and Lobsterman Speak of Their Craft" by Virginia L. Thorndike. It gives a great explanation of the Downeast design, which is different than a Novi design (Maine vs. Nova Scotia). These boats were born from sailboat hulls that were converted to power, hence their round chine, deep forefoot, and tumblehome. They are full displacement hulls, which means the full water line rides in the water, therefore little to no transom deadrise but lots of entry at the bow.