There is nothing more essential to the way a boat performs than the shape of its hull. Yet so many buyers are fixated on what they can see above the water line. If we all picked our spouses that way, we would be one unhappy group of people.
TrawlerFest-Baltimore has two seminars that help you get beyond a boat’s pretty face. TrawlerFest Seminars are Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 25-27 at the Harborview Marine Center in Baltimore. (It’s also an in-water boat show.)
Naval architect Lou Codega has designed trawlers and sportfishing boats. He’s designed ships for the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy. In Why Hull Form Matters, Codega explains the differences in performance with full-displacement, semi-displacement, planing and catamaran, and why some may suit your cruising style better than others. Hull form is perhaps the very first concept a boat buyer should understand.
The second is understanding how boats are built because that enables boat owners and buyers to make informed decisions about maintenance, repairs, and boat condition. Participants in Steve Zimmerman’s seminar Ten Things Every Boat Owner Or Buyer Should Know About How Boats Are Built will learn about the following critical topics:
Gelcoat – Its purpose, and maintenance and repair considerations.
Core materials – Why they are used and how to avoid expensive repairs by following simple procedures when installing hardware.
Resins and laminates – What you need to know before repairing or allowing someone else to repair your boat’s structure.
Aging – Data about how well composite structures fair over the years.
Blisters – Structural implications, value considerations, how to prevent and how to remedy.
Best practices – How to interpret builder’s literature about how a boat is built so that you can make informed decisions when searching for a boat.
