Extra weight on casting deck

[quadman]

Hey guys, this is my first time on a forum but I have read a lot of your postings and got some really great advice including wet sanding my boat and polishing it back to life (which turned out great)!!! I just put a deck extension and re-made the rod box door on my 95' Ranger 363V. I used 3/4" marine plywood and used a little less than 1/2 a sheet including the rod locker. also molded the rod locker door with fiberglass. I estimate adding about 55lbs extra weight. Now for the question; Will this amount of weight make a huge difference on the way my boat handles? Any input would be appreciated although it's a little to late; I have already installed new carpet. Thanks.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Extra weight on casting deck

HI quadman. Welcome to iboats. While the weight probably will make a difference it probably won't be too extreme considering the locker and deck were there before. If you were adding it on for the first time it would probably would have made more of a difference. You should be ok, but if it feels different/worse try adjusting the trim a bit to find the sweet spot again. Every boat is different, and any time you add, or subtract weight you'll have to do a bit of tweaking to get to perform at it's best, but I doubt you'll notice much of a difference. 55 lbs is only about as much as a 5-6 year old. Cheers!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Extra weight on casting deck

Bass boats are so heavy in the back you probably will make it run better if anything and it may sit a bit more level when fishing but I really doubt 55 lbs will even be noticable.

 

[quadman]

Re: Extra weight on casting deck

Thanks! Thats what I wanted to hear. I considered that when I started the project but wanted another opinion. This forum has been an absolute wealth of information and greatly appreciated. I have completely remodeled my boat with new seat upholstery and all, although it wasn't in real bad shape, but it needed freshend up. now I am ready to hit the water. Thanks for the info. quadman

 

[oops!]

Re: Extra weight on casting deck

55 lbs is the weight of a 7 year old kid....

when ever you are contemplating dong a project.......and are unsure of weight distribution.....grab a nephew or a neighbours kid and sit him in the spot.....then take the boat out for a little dig !

 

[quadman]

Re: Extra weight on casting deck

Good Advice. I was kinda excited about getting this started and didn't think about it until about halfway through. And the excitement had turned into (WHAT WAS I THINKING). But I'm glad I put the time in, cause it Looks like new again and the little amount of deck I added made a huge difference. The weather is pretty warm here so I plan on taking it out this weekend and breakin it in.