Re: LT 17 beam measuremen

Posted by Ken Leffert on Feb 22, 2005

I'm liable to start an argument here, but here's my $.02 worth anyway.

The bulkheads on an LT17 should NOT under any circumstances be used as a guide to the shape of the boat. The boat's shape should be established by the shapes of the panels being assembled, and the natural curve resulting from spreading the sheers the desired amount. If you want to alter the shape of the boat, and feel confident in doing so, do so with by altering those parameters and those only.

THEN, when the shape of the boat is what you want (and there's absolutely no reason to modify the shape that you'll get with correctly fabricated hull and side panels, kit or plans, unless you fancy yourself an engineer), place the bulkheads where you want them, and if they fit ... GREAT!. If they don't quite fit but you can plane them down or live with the resulting fillet, or move them around a little for a better fit, GREAT! ..... that's where I ended up (as, I think, do most other 17LT builders). If they don't fit where you want them, you can't plane them down and you can't live with the resulting fillet, toss them out and cut new ones.

There would be no way on earth that anyone could design a bulkhead that would fit at the correct location on every 17LT, too many variables ....

In Response to: LT 17 beam measurement by Jon Loraine on Feb 21, 2005

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