hull types- pros and cons

P

PuckHog

Seaman
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Jun 26, 2005
Messages
68
I have a late 69 Glastron 15' tri-hull which is great on smooth water, and less great on chop. Are v-hulls significantly better? I'm a fan of old fiberglass boats and have noticed a lot of variation in the older v's (some are deeper, some flatten at the back, etc.). What's the trade-off? There are enough choppy days I would consider a different boat if it makes sense.
 
Silvertip

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,762
Re: hull types- pros and cons

Many years ago I had a Hi-Ryder tri-hull. Those designs were quite popular in because the wider bow gave a tad more room up front and they were very stable boats. The down side was that they were generally rough riders in a heavy chop. If most of my boating were on smaller lakes and rivers where chop is present only on very windy days and I still had a tri-hull I would not trade it for a V-hull just for that reason. However, if you boat frequently on larger water where a fair chop is present nearly every day, the V-hull is a better choice.
 
K

KCook

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
1,624
Re: hull types- pros and cons

Most of the old tri-hulls were really small. Which never helps with chop. For heavy chop I say you need at least a 20' boat, regardless of hull shape.<br /><br />Kelly
 
C

Chris1956

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Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,148
Re: hull types- pros and cons

Puck, Some older v-hulls were straight v shaped. These road higher in the water as the speed increased. Eventually the motor would ventilate. Also, it was hard to lift the bow in this design. More modern v-hulls are flattened at the stern. These work a bit better. Both are superior in ride to the tri-hulls, but require more power to achieve the performance.
 
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