The Reduced Draft Option has been requested by customers especially in the Chesapeake Bay region, Long Island and the Cape Cod areas for years. I finally had a customer who wanted to build one. His boat’s home was “Up a creek on the Chesapeake”, so we built a boat with a reduced draft and it was a great option for him.

          The way we achieved the reduced draft was by adding a small “tunnel” to the bottom above the prop. We then cut a wedge out of the bottom of the keel 10 feet long. It was 9 inches high at the aft end of the keel and tapered to nothing as it went forward for 10 feet. We then lifted the skeg and the bottom of the keel up so it was parallel with the waterline. This was done after the hull was built but we only used a light skin layer of fiberglass in that area. After we made the shape modifications we went back inside the hull and finished the heavy fiberglass layup of the keel. Then it only required simple cosmetic repairs to the outside of the hull to finish the job. The modification worked out great and only causes a very modest decrease in propeller efficiency that the shallower shaft angle pretty much compensates for. A surprise for me with this option was the improved high speed turn stability. At 25kts you can cut the rudder hard down and she stays flat and just turns no problem with heeling over. Propeller Diameter goes from 22” to 18” and the draft is reduced by 10” total from 3 feet to 2’ 2”.

 This option can be used on any of our models.

MODELS

ENGINE CHOICES

CONSTRUCTION

FINISHES