Zoom- lowering gunnels

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 5:24 pm

Howdy!
I'm contemplating lowering the gunnels on my Zoom and wanted to get advice on the process. I'm 5'6" btw, and it feels a bit deep to me. So, my specific questions are, whats the recommended amount to cut it down, what size/length are the rivets? Any advice/input would be great!

Got my roll back, putting four 1.5" and one 2" plastic pipes through the saddle really helped.

-p.s. the search function wasnt productive-

EDIT- added wood gunnel size question

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:32 pm

You got me on that one? Andrew Westwood or someone at the factory would be the best scource of information for that>

Wouldn't it be eaiser to raise the seat, what a couple extra inches of height goin to hurt, it ain't like it is an unstable boat.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:43 pm

Hahaha... yeah Louie, so stable I could fish from it. (maybe with bait in my mouth)

Guess I'll just hack away and see whats left when I'm done..

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:54 pm

LIKED THAT WITH BAIT IN MY MOUTH.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:37 am

What sizes are recommended for homemade wood gunnels? (inwales/outwales) Ive got this thing nakid and she is saying she'd be lighter and sexier with wood.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:25 pm

Don't get started on that. she will for sure be sexier and lighter, Now how light is the question. Durin the old days when your Ocoee was your race, rodeo and your creek boat I think we would get 3/4" ash gunnels and then people would roter them down to almost nuthin ( personaly I would knock off the edge with a piece of sand paper). Great for race and rodeo suxed for creekin look at Cumknock video that has deep creek on it and see what happen to them when you pin with the supper small gunnels. Bailey was able to break all four of them with one hand.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:55 am

Thanks for the advice Louie, I guess age DOES equal wisdom in your case

I cut it down 3/4 " and just put the factory gunnels back on. Left the bow normal height and just tapered it into the new gunnel height pretty quick. Looks less like a bathtub, rolls a bit snappier and the best part- no bruised knuckles today. My saddle height is about 6.5" and in this boat that feels right to me. When the seat was highter and my knees narrower, I coulda rented out the bottom for advertisement space. Now, notsomuch

Post by **sbroam** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:35 am

One advantage of cutting down your boat like that is that it will hold less water.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:08 am

Oh my pump isn't bitchen.

OC1again · Post by **OC1again** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 2:02 am

I cut 11/16 square stock from Ash and then routered the edges, sanded a smooth, etc. Iinside/outside both the same size: stout and light.

I think easily, I could have gone with 5/8 each and then routered. All those I paddle with use that size, give or take.

They are on a Viper 11.

Steve

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:26 pm

Thanks Steve, can you elaborate on how you attached them? (screw size/depth of countersink/spacing of screws). Any tips would be apprieciated.

Big Al · Post by **Big Al** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 2:34 pm

My WOOZ gunnels are under re-construction.

Can you WOOZ owners with wood gunnels tell/show me what you've done for bow and stern deck plates (if any?).

I ripped the factory installed plastic off (that were rivetted on?).

Thanks!

Big Al

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:30 pm

THIS THREAD IS COOL. Takes me back to the old days. 5/8" are light but not very strong, if you race and don't pin and have too pull and tug on the boat they are fine. If you do much creekin or river runnin and every now and again get in a pin where you have to put a rope on your boat to get it our or even just the force of the water again them you might want to live with the extra weight to get the strenght. End deck plate, Walnut looks good but if it more of a work boat than a show craft flat sheet of PE cut out and screwed down into the gunnels from the top will do fine and you can have a little deck area, put a foam or plastic bummer at the back edge of the deck plate help divert a lot of water out of your boat.

Post by **sbroam** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:36 pm

I've thought about putting a rather small outwale on so there is less to catch on rocks, tcs. Then couple that with a much beefier inwale to provide strength and have more material to hang thwarts from. It would make it harder to dump dry, though, so you might cut some slots for draining. Phil posted (or e-mailed?) his method for attaching thwarts that was interesting, too.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:36 pm

Not a bad ideal the thick and thin thing. Now of days with the smaller boat we tend to turn the boat totally upside down to dump so the inter gunnel doesn't really matter.