Which deck layout?

[Francis]

Hey guys,
Took advantage of the big boat being in the shop and worked a little on the small boat. I purchased this boat last summer as a future project boat. It's a 15' Whaler. I wanted a smaller boat and looked around and decided I wanted either a 16' Wahoo, a 16' Hobie Power Skiff or a 15' Whaler. All of these boats has the attributes I wanted. I found a 15' Whaler for the right price on Craigslist first so I purchased it.

I will use it as a creek and river boat- split between river fishing for bass and white perch, and a crabbing boat. I will also be able to tow it with a small vehicle (like my Ford Exploder) (which is why I wanted a sboat this small instead of like a 17' Whaler) and can wheel it easily by myself. I would probably never have more then two people on the boat. I can also run a a 40 or 50 4-stroke on it effectivly. (Another reason why I didn't want a 17' Whaler- I didn't want to have to run a 90 on it.)

Anyway, I bought some cheap particle board today and messed around with a few deck configurations. I came up with three, possibly four. Of course, these are SUPER rough lay outs. Obviously, when I really lay the deck out, it will be closer to perfect. . .

1. Deck the whole thing. This will allow for a very clean lay out and will allow the boat to self bail. I can also have some storage spaces under the deck and put the gas tank and batteries under the deck. The down side is that to make it comftorable, I would have to make the console high, and it looks kind of dopey. That's besides the fact that I would only have three inches of freeboard which could get sketchy running a trot line.





The end result would look something like this but without a cooler seat and a little more freeboard



2. Deck only the back. I would most likey have a seat pad made that snaps on to the back deck. I could still have the gas tank and batteries under the back deck. The down side is that I could not make the boat self bail this way.







3. Deck the front and back but leave the center open. This would look like most bass boats. I would have a big deck on the front, a big deck on the back and a little area in the middle. I could go with or without side decks leaving a larger area in the middle, like a conventional bass boat set up. Again, I could not make it self bail this way which is the biggest down side.





The end result would look something like this, but on a much smaller, less sleek looking cale.





What do you guys say?

Francis,
Can't put into words why,mainly because I don't know what struck me most about it, but I like the 3rd design better...maybe because I like the look of the finished product better, but if it were me I would go with design #3 (2 is sweet also but I also like the front deck to have someone casting from bow and stern at the same height and not be in each others way ...like it better without the side decks. Maybe because I see a little more storage area away from the waterline, etc but either one would be sweet. Good luck with it!
Mark

[mburrows]

I think option 3 is the best. Just put a pair of automatic bilge pumps and you'll be fine. You said it was more of a river boat so the self bailing isn't that big of a deal.

Mike