Our exterior is utility personified. Our 8' 6" cockpit with the leak-free hatches and aluminum oxide gritted
walking surfaces provides space for the many activities you may engage in. We have substantial lifting, towing, tying and stepping
off hardware on bow and stern. We have 360 degree access around the boat via the gritted walkways and UHMW rubstrip-toerail.
Our standard rack has space for various antennas and navigation lights. An addition to this rack can extend over the cockpit
for a tarp, skiff, fish poles, etc. We actually have handrails that are designed to hang onto and get you around the boat
or off the boat and onto a dock or other vessel. We usually mount our anchors in the bow anchor holder roller. We use a 20#
anchor with 20' of 3/8" chain and 300' of 1/2" or larger line. This retrieves by hand and holds the boat
in unbelievable situations. In fact it has held two ALLWEATHERs in unbelievable situations.
We carry
a complete extra ground tackle setup on the stern. With a severely hung anchor it is easy to bring the anchor line around
to the stern, tie it to the shackle and 20 horses breaks them loose. The anchor well doubles as a lookout and additional fishing
station. Our main cockpit hatch accesses the rear of the engine, the gear, prop shaft, stuffing box, etc, plus quite a bit
of storage. The smaller hatch at the doorway is about 4 cubic feet of FRP molded to be used as one sees fit. Like extra fuel
or water, refrigeration, etc. The boat in itself is very easy to work around and needs little maintenance.
Excerpt
from Ted Brewer, N.A. (Naval Architect) speaking about the ALLWEATHER 8 Meter named "BOB":
"In
any case, ALLWEATHER 8 Meter is about the safest little motor boat that I can imagine and will bob upright again in conditions
where the average motor boat will capsize. Very few of them have a capsize angle of much over 90 degrees compared to BOB's
120 plus. The righting moment at 50-70 degrees might be higher due to wide beam, hard chines and a wide transom, but it will
fall off rapidly after it reaches its maximum.
"I would not worry about being pooped either as the lines
show decent bouyancy both fore and aft. The main problem for most power boats is broaching in heavy following seas or breakers
and, with BOB's double ended hull shape that should not be a problem. Indeed, broaching is the usual cause of a motor
boat capsizing as it gets sideways to the seas when it broaches and then the next sea rolls it on over. Of course, it takes
something like breakers over a bar to do it.
"Displacement: add two people and a good load of food to
the boat and I think we'll find that any difference between the computer model and the actual boat is insignificant. What
I said about the stability was that her capsize angle seemed very high for a motor yacht. The reason for this is her low vertical
center of gravity (VGC) due to the tanks being so low in the hull, plus the ballast, her low freeboard and other factors."
You will note Mr. Brewer mentions a good load. A slightly overloaded planing hull (The deeper the V the worse they R) plows
instead of planes which massively increases fuel consumption, decreases speed, makes steering difficult and stresses running
gear. The ALLWEATHER 8 Meter admeasures 5 net tons which additional weight would slow the ALLWEATHER 8 Meter and increase
fuel useage but would not slightly compare to what 10,000 extra pounds would do to a 26' deep V planing hull. Our sleek
hull with long straight keel, large rudder and prop make for continuity of speed, fuel consumption and control. ALLWEATHER
8 Meter's have always been noted as exceptionally versatile boats that function in the sea's variety of conditions.
