Boot top thickness

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  • brett price
    Member
    • Jun 2008
    • 59

    Boot top thickness

    I am in the process of rescribing a boot top. The boat is 30 ft on deck with a 24 ft waterline at it's lowest point the freeboard is 19 inches. I used the directions in woodenboat issue 198 that Jay Parris wrote. In it he describes how Sparkman and Steven drafted and calculated boot tops. Using their formula the boot top should be 3.25 inches at it's thinest. This afternoon I used a laser level to tape off a 2 inch boot top with the proper upturned curves at the bow and stern. I can t tell if i should go up to the 3 inch thickness. Any thoughts on boot top thickness for a 30 foot sailboat?
  • rbgarr
    43.50.918 N, 69.38.583 W
    • Apr 1999
    • 25479

    #2
    Re: Boot top thickness

    It sounds like your boat has short ends, so assuming that, my 30' boat (with longer ends and a 20' waterline and about the same freeboard as yours amidships) had a boot top that's two inches amidships but considerably wider fore and aft (especially aft: four and a half inches) under the counter. White hull and bottom, dark blue stripe. I changed colors to a darker topsides and no boot top at all and prefer it. (It needs a cove stripe now though.)

    The colors of the boat have an effect on the appearance also, as well as the height and color of any toe or rub rails, whether there's a cove stripe, the sheer plank is a different color, even whether the water is dirty where you are. A light colored hull with dark boot top? Dark hull with lighter boot top? A darker hull looks better to me with a lighter, wider boot top, and that's purely personal choice, but I wouldn't want that for somewhere the water would stain the light color over a season.

    Can you try taping off up to the two and three inch measurements (one on one side one on the other) and decide that way? It may be cleaner and easier to rescribe a higher line next time if you go with the two inch width....

    Good luck!
    Last edited by rbgarr; 09-07-2011, 10:32 PM.
    For the most part experience is making the same mistakes over and over again, only with greater confidence.

    Comment

    • Tom Robb
      Senior Member
      • May 2004
      • 2959

      #3
      Re: Boot top thickness

      It's an esthetic decision and it's your boat, but 3.25? Only to 2 decimal places? Crude.

      Comment

      • ramillett
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2007
        • 1623

        #4
        Re: Boot top thickness

        When we repainted , we changed the boot stripe



        We changed from yellow to red , and added a white stripe , we thought too much bottom paint showed .



        you can see how it get wider at the ends



        side shot

        Comment

        • brett price
          Member
          • Jun 2008
          • 59

          #5
          Re: Boot top thickness

          Funny thing is the chart in the article in woodenboat uses three decimal places. 3 inches seemed way too thick. I guess it does come down to personal taste.

          Comment

          • brett price
            Member
            • Jun 2008
            • 59

            #6
            Re: Boot top thickness



            Comment

            • ramillett
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2007
              • 1623

              #7
              Re: Boot top thickness

              Your line looks good to me

              Comment

              • Bob Cleek
                Senior Member
                • Feb 2000
                • 11970

                #8
                Re: Boot top thickness

                Remember that the "thickness" has to be measured square to the perpendicular, not on the flat of the hull, which runs at an angle, particulary sharp at the stern. A three inch "thick" stripe measured perpendicularly is going to be considerably wider when measured on the angled face of the hull. Use a square with a level taped onto it's lower arm and measure your perpendicular "thickness" from the upper arm. But you probably know that.

                Comment

                • rbgarr
                  43.50.918 N, 69.38.583 W
                  • Apr 1999
                  • 25479

                  #9
                  Re: Boot top thickness

                  That looks nice, especially with the cove stripe. Personally I don't care for the 'dried-blood red' bottom color. I saw a boat the shape of yours with a blue bottom and pretty medium green boot and cove that looked great.

                  Nice job!
                  For the most part experience is making the same mistakes over and over again, only with greater confidence.

                  Comment

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