Small Boat Ownership - Choosing a Top Moulding
While hulls usually come as standard for a particular manufacturer, with top mouldings, there is a great of opportunity to be innovative and creative while at the same time producing something that is functional. And a lot of innovative flair both has and continues to be shown. This said, the first question you need to ask yourself is do you want your boat to have some measure of protective shelter from the elements. Open boats are rarely seen these days, though they are still produced, Orkney being a good example. To me, the lack of demand for open boats tells it's own story. It's fine to be sat out in the open when the weather is glorious. But if you are a year round angler, you are going to suffer if you don’t have either a fixed cuddy, or a folding dodger on the front of your boat. Not only that, life can get unbearable in other ways too, not the least of which is protecting camera's, spare clothing and tackle from spray and the elements.
At face value, you might think there isn’t much in the way of innovative top moulding design that can take place to the rear of the cuddy. In fact a great deal can be done to make life more comfortable, and more to the point, safer. How the rear splash well is designed can affect outboard choice. You may for example want to fit twin engines but the transom will only allow a single. On the other hand, the splash well may be so wide that its difficult to fit an auxiliary pad. Positioning of the inner wall of the splash well is another factor. Is it far enough forward of the transom to allow the engine to tilt fully. I know of engine cowls that have been cracked because there was insufficient forward tilt room. And is the inner splash well wall high enough not only for that feeling of security, but to give real security. Some manufacturers mould live bait wells into the rear of the upper moulding close to the splash well. Our Warrior 165 has them. Great if you fish in a live bait area, which we don’t. So ours are used as stowage for lead weights.
Most of the innovative thinking in relation to the upper moulding will be in and around the cuddy. I say cuddy, but it could be a full cabin, or one with a half bulk head. My preference is for an open cuddy with easy access, otherwise, it simply becomes a dumping ground for gear which effectively halves the working area available to you. But that’s a personal thing. In fact, Dave Devine and I have taken things one step further by having a folding cuddy extension fitted that is high enough and long enough for us to sit under on our pedestal swivel seats. Unless a breeze is coming in over the stern, we fish sheltered from the wind and rain in comfort all winter long. And in the summer it stays up as a sun shield. To be honest, it has only ever been folded away once to aid the filming of some big skate action (See Video Vault – Big Fish Small Boat). Obviously, extras like this are a taste thing. But for my money, you can’t beat an open cuddy that you can feel comfortable in.
If a cuddy is there to protect, then it should protect not only from the elements, but from risk of harm. Though not it's primary function, it will keep out water in rough conditions while underway. But there are circumstances when this might not be the case, with potentially dangerous repercussions. In particular I am thinking of front hatches which many boats these days have. Given the choice, I would prefer to have a boat without a hatch. At our request, our previous Warrior 165 was constructed without one, but this time Phil Byron and Paul Haynes put one in as part of their standard build package. I don’t like hatches for two reasons. The first is that you don’t need a hatch to anchor a boat successfully. We side anchor using a lazy line, something which is covered in a separate article. Standing up through a hatch can lead to unnecessary accidents, particularly in rough conditions. Hatches can also be a source of water getting into the boat when the door is open and the weight of the boat is displaced towards the front when retrieving the anchor in rough conditions.
But when you don’t incorporate an opening hatch into the upper moulding design, it isn’t automatically going to make the boat safer, unless you take other steps to accompany it. Bow rails not only add expense, they also encourage anglers to walk around to the front, which is more dangerous than hatch anchoring. In my opinion, bow rails should not be fitted to discourage this. In addition, designers should all follow the current Warrior 165 example of building a radius into the edge of the moulding making it impossible for anglers to walk around to the front. Grab rails on the other hand are vitally important. A couple on the front cuddy lip for standing passengers to hang on to, and one each side of the rear splash well for pulling yourself in over the stern when launching are recommended. As for security rails along the side to help keep you in the boat, my preference would be to find a boat with sufficient freeboard (side height) not to need these. One final piece of stainless steel tube that is seriously worth considering is a frame on the cuddy roof. Getting things like lights, and more importantly aerials, particularly the VHF as high as possible will improve their functions enormously.
Most fibre glass boat builders these days rivet or screw their cuddy windows in place as opposed to fitting them in rubber. Poorly fitted rubber mounted windows could either be pushed through in heavy conditions or by thieves in the case of a locked full cabin. But in recent times, Warrior Boats have again been experimenting with other ideas. Instead of the standard shatter proof polycarbonate perspex windows used in their other models, the ProAngler has toughened glass windows which are glued to the outside of the moulding. Having taken the boat out in some very heavy pounding bow on seas, gluing has proved an effective way of fixing these windows. I'm not sure I would have gone to the expense of fitting toughened glass all round. But for the drivers side front window it is useful as it allows a windscreen wiper to be fitted, which can make a world of difference on misty murky mornings and generally when visibility is low. It isn't only other boats you need to be aware of avoiding. Floating debris after storms can be a particular problem close to estuaries. Even something as big as a tree trunk will sit low enough in the water to be easily overlooked. Think of the mess that could make in a high speed collision.
The cuddy is the place where most locker stowage and buoyancy tanks are situated. In the old days, buoyancy tanks would also be sited along the length of the boat and across the back. Sometimes even under seats. Those days thankfully are gone. But the degree of necessary buoyancy remains as boat builders have to pass all sorts of rigorous safety tests before getting the thumbs up to go into production. As these are obligatory, there is no mileage in discussing them further here. In fact, what used to be in-cuddy buoyancy tanks are now regularly converted into lockers. Dry closed stowage is important for safety equipment. And it's amazing how many other bits and pieces of essential and non essential kit find their way into these containers too. On the other hand, too much locker space tends to encourage the accumulation of unnecessary baggage. Don't forget that weight in a boat can have many detrimental consequences, not the least of which are performance and fuel costs. But sheltered locker space used sensibly is important. Keeping everything you need in the boat allows you to balance the weight up properly both on the water, and on the trailer, in the knowledge that it will be right every time.
Steering consoles invariably offer stowage space too. This is a good location for the battery feeding the electronic instruments which, if it is well designed, can be clustered on the console top for viewing ease while the boat is under way. It's easier from a wiring point of view to have the instruments battery directly beneath them. It is also good policy to feed them from a separate power source that the outboard. That way if you do have outboard problems, the ability to read off your exact position and communicate it remains before disconnecting the instruments and trying to get the outboard going on what is essentially a backup battery. The one drawback here is that the instruments battery will need to be charged up periodically, whereas the outboard battery should receive some charge when the engine is running. As for the instruments themselves, under a cuddy, it doesn't matter if the they are waterproof, though many routinely are anyway these days. If they are to be situated out in the open you will need to ask that question before you buy.
Sticking with the steering console for a moment, the type of steering you buy can have an effect on how you operate. If you fish with a buddy, then it shouldn't make much different as one will driving the boat while the other gets the anchor in. But if you fish alone, you might want to consider an anti-wander steering system. Whatever course you set this steering up to take, that's the line it will track along leaving you free to get the anchor in yourself. In basic construction terms, this leaves only the seats and deck. Seats can be fixed, but most will swivel and come either on upright pedestals, or on some type of stowage locker. Again I ask the question, how much stowage do you need. Pedestal bucket seats are in my opinion much more comfortable than the rest as they are higher and you can actually sit with you feet beneath the seat if you want. Another plus point is that you can remove the seats from the pedestals and stow them under the cuddy to prevent them from soaking up rainwater when not in use. This leaves us with the deck. Make sure there is a floor well at the back to collect up water either for pumping or baling, and it must have an inspection bung in it to check for water ingress between the deck and the inner hull.
We haven't quite finished with the basic mouldings and fittings yet. There are still a few small items, which in fairness, many manufacturers fit as standard. Most boats are fitted with stern cleats which look as though they should be there, though to be honest, other than fixing the trailer strap to, or for hanging fenders from, are not much use out at sea. They might come in handy for towing another boat back, but should never be used to pull a stuck anchor, particularly in a swell, as the boat could get swamped over the stern. Always try to break an anchor free by pulling from the bow using a lazy line. That way, if it stays stuck, it just pulls the front of the boat around. With the exception of an obligatory winching eye, fittings at the front of the boat are pretty much irrelevant for most of what dinghy anglers do these days. One fitting I would keep, and do use from time to time is the bow mooring post. If you break down and are getting a tow back, it helps to have a central point to pull from to prevent the boat from wandering all over the place when under way. This is also useful for fixing a snatching rope to when you hit the shore to pull the boat up the beach away from soft wet sand to prevent your towing vehicles wheels going down, though the winching eye could serve the same purpose. The big thing about small upper moulding fittings is to go for quality; stainless steel if possible. Strength and durability are the key.
SEE THE VIDEO VAULT – Dinghy outfit & Dinghy second hand