Re: wherry outwales.

Posted by David Warren on May 10, 2006

On my Sass' 16, which has a similar bow profile, I tapered them down to about 50% in height, starting about 4' from the bow, and tapered away about 1/3 of the stock's width, starting about 2 1/2 feet from the bow. This latter dimension was decided on the basis that the deck, inwale and bulkhead are responsible for the majority of any structural strength (and fairness) compromised due to the thinner outwale section. In a couple of possibly significant respects, the Wherry is slightly different from the sass' - the deck isn't 'flush' with the gunwale, but sits a strake or two lower, and there are no inwales to share the load.

Under those circs, I'd be inclined to keep perhaps 2/3 of the height, and 3/4 of the width. At the end of the day, while aesthetics are important, safety must always remain paramount.

In Response to: wherry outwales. by Bob B. on May 10, 2006

Replies:

• Re: wherry outwales. by Bob B. on May 10, 2006