I want to cut the exisiting coach roof off my steel boat and replace it with a larger wooden structure, will t

Question

Will this undermine the structure of the boat, the boat is an inshore trawler which i'm trying to convert to live in?

Answer 1

Very difficult to tell how much damage you will do to the boat without getting a structural survey. If you are replacing the original strength in all planes with a different design there should not be a problem but you should put in temporary struts to keep the hull rigid whilst you do the conversion.

Answer 2

As you do not say how big your boat is or how the internal structure is constructed it is impossible to give a definitive answer. The simple answer is that if the boat is small, less that 20 ft than the hull is probably designed to be open, if greater that 40 it is possible that the deck-house is an integral part of the strength. However if the boat is to be moored in quiet water as a house boat this will probably never be a problem, but if you mean to go to sea in the boat I would have a boat yard look into the matter for you as you obviously have no training in nautical structures.

Answer 3

very few boats are monocoques, but who can say without looking at it.

It would not be worth the risk without getting someone to check it out.

It might not be that it would buckle, but maybe the sides might splay out over the years...who knows.

Answer 4

I`m no marine engineer, but would think that if you weld cross members in  position to maintain the stability of the cabin structure before removing the roof and leave them in situ once the new roof is on it should be ok.

After all the roof is mainly to keep the cabin weatherproof.