GV11, 20HP, 6/2020, Andrew

[acadams]

I built it over three months, so I don't know exactly how many hours. I didn't rush, and I followed the instructions carefully. I had an assistant for applying the cloth inside and out. Counting that person's hours, and six hours in the truck getting the kit from a shipping warehouse and the engine from a distant dealer who was willing to sell me all the stuff without rigging it themselves, and moving it around the shop and painting it, maybe 120? I could build a second one in half that - I learned so much.

That doesn't count the hour or two I need to spend scraping epoxy off the concrete floor!

[Evan_Gatehouse]

Please sit down when operating it! You don't want the center of gravity up in the air. Other than that, glad you like it.

[fallguy1000]

The boat is NOT stern heavy. That is a planing hull and meant to have her weight aft. It may require a bit of work to trim better when underpower, but that is not an issue of static trim.

I wrote my comment and see Matt Gent and I agree.

Do not add weight forward; planing hulls are to be stern heavy.

To get the bow down underway; you need the engine to be angled more. This can be done by changing the holes or adding wedges or sometimes both. Or can also be achieved with whale tail.

In this picture, the transom and engine angles look odd to me. What is the transom angle? With the bow up so high; the angle should be pronounced, but here it looks square. The boat would be unsafe to ride bows high with a transom error, but something looks off to me.

Sorry if picture has me confused, but I don't think you built the transom or mounted the engine at 12 degrees.

[fallguy1000]

This picture shows some angle of the transom, but am wondering the effect of the clamping boards and whether you are at 12 degrees. I do not know the Tohat rigging requirement either and am assuming 12...

It is also possible the turning picture is simply in the hole..

[acadams]

Thanks very much for weighing in on safety and transom angle issues. We will work to resist the temptation to stand up, as the boat feels quite stable under power and it's fun to drive fast - with a 20 it kind of feels like you're on a jetski. We should also attach the deadman switch cable to our wrist.

With regard to the transom angle "looking strange," I don't know what the angle is and I didn't measure it when building, because I bought the precut wood kit and built it according to the instructions. I figured it must be right if it was cut by BoatBuilderCentral. But, the kit came with one error that I know about (two middle-seat strengtheners and no aft-seat strengthener), so it's certainly possible that the transom angle is wrong. When I put the engine back on in the spring, I'll measure it more carefully and update this thread. I can certainly add a wedge if necessary.

Again, thanks!

Andrew

[fallguy1000]

The Tohat has 5 or 6 pins. You can check now to see where you were. Needs to be lowest. Motor up is bow up. I realize the design may look bows high a bit, but this one seems more than expected

Take some pictures in the spring. If you know the design waterline; you can measure the transom angle against it easily using a batten.