Forward deckbeam on Chesapeake 17 light Kit

When I measure 24 inches from the bow for the placement of the forward deckbeam, there is a lot of play in the fit. Is this normal, or is the bow supposed to have been narrower? Also on the location of the main deckbeam. I set the aft bulkhead a little further aft. Should I be settling the deckbeam the same extra distance from the bow to maintain the same relationship to the cockpit opening?

 


2 replies:

« Previous Post       List of Posts       Next Post »

RE: Forward deckbeam on Chesapeake 17 light Kit

great questions.

on your first question,  the forward deckbeam,  there may be some play and its exact location can have some play (an inch or so on either side of its design location) without any consequence.  the forward deck beam is just there to preserve the rounded shape of the deck as you move forward on the hull.    if you are concerned about width of the hull, i believe the plans have a measurement station closer to the center of the boat where they tell you exactly how wide the boat is supposed to be....and that is the only one i would really pay any attention to.  each chesapeake will have a little bit of variation and its not a problem.

on your second question, bulkhead/main deckbeam, this is the one you need to be very careful about.   in a nutshell, you want the cockpit (inside perimeter of the coaming) to be in its design location and you don't want to end up cutting into the main deckbeam when you do cut the deck back to its inside the coaming perimeter. ...you also don't want the this same activity to cause you to cut into your rear  bulkhead.  that said, many people move their rear bulkhead back a bit to create a little storage space behind the seat/backband.    and that is fine....but it should not, as mentioned before result in changing the cockpit opening location. (so to be clear, when the rear bulkhead is moved back, it creates space under the coaming in the rear of the cockpit...but the coaming location is not changed).

so basically, you need to put the main deck beam right where it is supposed to be.  you can move the rear bulkhead back (rearword) from its design location a couple inches if you want the space.  and you need to put the coaming in its design location.

the reason you don't want to move the cockpit opening from its desgin location is that it effects the balance of the boat.....so they set that carefully to ensure the boat rides properly when paddled.

the chesapeakes are a bit tricky in this respect with all the pieces that interact with the cockpit (deckbeam, coaming, deckpieces and rear bulkhead)...so take it slow to ensure you have the relationship of all of them correct.

h

 

RE: Forward deckbeam on Chesapeake 17 light Kit

   Thanks for the help. I have already gone ahead and put the main deckbeam in the exact location as per instructions for the Chesapeake 17 LT . 89.5 " from the bow.

Your explanation was very helpful 

 Thanks

« Previous Post     List of Posts     Next Post »


Please login or register to post a reply.