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Microtrawler was
completed in the late Spring of 2000 and proved to be everything Phil
Bolger said it was in terms of performance, utility and fun.
I logged about 75 hours aboard MT and took a wide variety of age
group folks for cruises. The
younger kids were all over that boat with no hesitation or difficulty,
but the older folks (those older than myself) had trouble getting aboard
and departing. The changes
gave me more deck level walking space.
There are two doors on MT, one on the starboard side that
accesses the pilothouse and the rear door that accesses the berth
compartment. In either case
the step down and up is over two feet.
Another problem I encountered was the placement of the fuel tank
vent, which in my ignorance I placed right under a cowl vent and the
fumes naturally filled the berth compartment and one whole nights sleep
was lost. I also mounted
the fuel filler cap on the top of the starboard, aft deck box and had to
climb aboard the boat to fill it. Any
forward thinking person would have caught that, but not me.
So, this winter I decided to fix those three problems and after
one sea trial this Spring, they paid off and all is well aboard MT.
This first photo shows
the portside cutout and reduction of the deck box, leaving 12 inches.
It also shows the relocation of the fuel filler hose and cap.
Much easier to fuel from the trailer.
I have no photo of the relocation of the fuel tank vent, but it
is just under the rub rail on the port side aft.
This shot shows the
original berth compartment view of the underside of the port deck box.
This is the same shot
as above with the modification. Still
room for a 6 foot person to get in, out and turn over for sleeping.
Here is a full stern
shot and the placement of the fuel filler cap just under the starboard
side cowl vent.
This photo is a full
side view with the original side view of the deck boxes.
The last shot is the full side view with the modified side
view. Takes a little
getting used to since I had time to get used to the original view. |
