Thinking on extending the boat

I grew up with a set of parents that taught us to do it yourself because people are out to rip you off. Especially contractors. Consequently we would take the boat out to the lake and work on it all week long till it was time to pack up and go home. How do you shake the things that were drove into you for years? When my wife and I bought our boats , first a 16' then this Sea Ray, I said we wernt going to be working on it and paid a lot for a boat that was in very good condition. But now I got the itch for another 10' and some more width. I day dream and scheme and day dream. I always come up with the vision of our vacation a couple years ago and seeing this large steel boat that was cut in half. Then I wake up and slap myself.
 
A stretched 420DA ...
9-25-17 Port Superiorstr.jpg
 
Let me tell you a story about a very well known boat manufacturer. This happened in the late 90's. They made a beautiful 26 foot sport fisherman. It was a very popular boat and sold well. But the one thing they heard from their customers was, it would be even better if it was a little longer.

So they added two feet to the stern of the boat. Soon people who bought these started reporting things coming loose, there were cracks in the hull and one even had the extension fall off. Fortunately it didn't happen at sea. To make a long story short they ending up having to recall and replace all those boats, 250 of them.

This was a major boat manufacturer, with a large engineer staff that made a mistake like that. It is not as simple as cutting the boat in half and adding a few feet or tacking a few feet on the stern. It requires a thorough engineering analysis, strengthening of the structure to withstand new stresses, an analysis of whether the current engines will need to be upgraded, analysis of the weights and balances (what happens to the Center of Gravity, center of buoyancy, wetted surface, planing surface and so on). In other words, hiring a Naval Architect to redesign the boat. Besides it will trash the warranty.

The best solution? If you need a bigger boat, sell the one you have and buy a bigger boat. All that stuff will have been worked out, plus there will be more room inside because with the added length it will also have added beam. And, it will be far cheaper in the long run.
 

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