Phil Bolger has a way of creating quality sideways water craft that at first defy one’s intuitive ideas for the shapes of boats. Here is Watervan drawn in 1996 for a client’s use on the rivers and lakes of Australia. Watervan has a queen sized berth, private water closet, a good sized galley, a large seat & table area, plenty of storage and a comfortable forward helm station – seating area. Note the side doors and the pop-up platforms along the aft sides and transom. The broad flat windshield area has two off-road headlights for cruising at speed at night. Speed with a 90 Hp. Honda outboard is in the early 20’s with little wake.
The hull shape is a modified garvey using the Bolger cutwater – box keel. Bolger states in the magazine Messing About in Boats article : “A hull like this is very dry. The sharp-lined cutwater doesn’t make much spray, and what it does make is trapped under the flat hull. There are shallow skids along the outside edges of the bottom to retain some of the air that would otherwise be forced out at the sides. The boat rides on a cushion of foam trapped on each side of the box keel. There is actually some cushioning effect; in spite of the large flat areas, these hulls are less noisy and rough riding in choppy water, including many deep-vee hulls with big flat strakes and spray deflectors. This is not to claim they are (totally) quiet and smooth! That is not doable on these proportions at these speeds on a uneven surface like water…”
Design # 632 Watervan Particulars: 22.7’ LOA, Beam 8.07’. More information can be obtained from: Phil Bolger & Friends, Inc. Boat Designers, PO Box 1209, Gloucester, MA 01930. Fax # 973-282-1349.
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