I will be starting a rebuild on my first boat, 1981 15' Sea Sprite. I will probably be replacing my transom and when doing so I want to know if I need these "wheel wells" or not. I would like to get rid of them because they take up a lot of valuable room that could be used for fuel tanks and storage.
In the back of the boat under the rear deck there are 2 humps of amateur laid fiberglass, one on each side. If you have ever seen the wheel wells in the bed of a pick up truck then you have seen these. They start at the transom, are about 9" wide, and go towards the bow about 15 inches. The room under the rear deck is only 18" deep by 18" tall so these wheel wells take up almost all of the depth of the under the deck and most of the height. I only have about 40" width to fit a fuel tank and right in the center of this space is the bilge space. I am thinking that these wheel wells were put in to add stiffness at some point, possible due to a larger motor combined with fear of transom replacement. The boat is a tri-hull and the wheel wells look like they have nothing but empty space between them and the outer hull.
When/If I replace the transom and beef it up to match my motor mount (1" current to 3" needed) are these wheel wells needed. Assuming that when I cut them out there are not other signs of horrible rot or damage that would require them to be replaced. Since I have a deck on the back of the boat I would not think that more bracing would be needed to stiffen the transom/side junction like I sometimes see on the rear of row boats. It would be a great help if I could reclaim valuable real estate. I would really appreciate the experts' opinion on this since I am not even a novice yet.
Thanks
DJ
In the back of the boat under the rear deck there are 2 humps of amateur laid fiberglass, one on each side. If you have ever seen the wheel wells in the bed of a pick up truck then you have seen these. They start at the transom, are about 9" wide, and go towards the bow about 15 inches. The room under the rear deck is only 18" deep by 18" tall so these wheel wells take up almost all of the depth of the under the deck and most of the height. I only have about 40" width to fit a fuel tank and right in the center of this space is the bilge space. I am thinking that these wheel wells were put in to add stiffness at some point, possible due to a larger motor combined with fear of transom replacement. The boat is a tri-hull and the wheel wells look like they have nothing but empty space between them and the outer hull.
When/If I replace the transom and beef it up to match my motor mount (1" current to 3" needed) are these wheel wells needed. Assuming that when I cut them out there are not other signs of horrible rot or damage that would require them to be replaced. Since I have a deck on the back of the boat I would not think that more bracing would be needed to stiffen the transom/side junction like I sometimes see on the rear of row boats. It would be a great help if I could reclaim valuable real estate. I would really appreciate the experts' opinion on this since I am not even a novice yet.
Thanks
DJ
