Layout question

[Sal]

Havent really gotten too involved yet on the rebuild of the 72 20' I picked up a couple of weeks ago. But I'm going back and forth on what I want to do with the interior. I know I want to put a new tank below deck with fill and vent lines in cap. So I'm trying to decide on the liner. I like the look of the liner removed and sides cored. But was thinking it would be a lot faster and easier to just enclose the rod storage.

So has anybody done this? Was thinking if I closed the rod lockers and added coaming pads all the way around it would be a clean look.

Thanks
Sal

[Sal]

So I think I need the toe room, so cut out the liner I guess. As far as I can tell, I've got two options, core the sides or add vertical supports to strengthen the hull. I'm leaning toward the vertical supports, but have questions about placement. A lot of posts on here talk about 3 per side.

So, my question, if I closed in the bow above the fishbox as 1 support, ran another support at the edge of the casting deck and then left in the aft seating/bilge access/livewell, would this be enough support. The stretch between casting deck and the stern is the biggest concern. Is that stretch too far. I could add a horizontal support somewhere under the gunnel.

I think this placement might limit toe busting and still accomplish what I'm thinking about on the layout. But I want to hear from those more experienced than me. So, what do you think.

[Old'sCool]

I looked at a 20' recently being re-done by a boat dealer owners son in Georgetown, SC...like that's not a hint.....he removed the vertical liner panels. He is now in the process of adding supports from deck up under gunwales. All structure is Coosa, deck is one level, and it looks really nice. The absence of the vertical panels looks like a 3 piece boat with lots of cap overhang.

[Sal]

Thanks. Any thoughts on the spacing issue, one support near the bow, another at the casting deck and the last at the aft seats. Obvious concern is the span between the casting deck and the seats. But I think this layout would maybe prevent killing toes. I was thinking about running a horizontal brace between those two vertical posts, and run it up somewhat high so it is kind of hidden under the gunnel. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Bushwacker]

That inner liner adds a lot of torsional stiffness to the hull which will be lost when you remove the solid inner walls, but I think the best way to restore that is to core the hull. That will uniformly stiffen the entire hull without creating local hard spots and the resulting stress concentrations that you'll get with local ribs. Might cost a bit more in materials, and the ribs would probably work ok since the hulls are so overbuilt to begin with, but the cored hull would be structurally superior in terms of torsional stiffness and rigidity.