Height of Bottom of Cockpit Well From Hull

[Tim1376]

I'm doing a restoration of a 1975 '16 and I forgot to take this measurement.  Can anyone tell me the the height from the hull to the top of the underside of the cockpit well at a point centered between the stern side and the bow side of the well?  I would appreicate it.  Will make it a lot easier to put in the supports for the cockpit well BEFORE I put the lid back on.  Thanks.

Tim

[Salty19]

This is probably an impossible question to answer.  Look at the hull shape under the cockpit.  Curves galore, and the height of the ballast is probably not consistent from one boat to the next.  The length changes slightly as you move along the cockpit footwell due to the curves and ballast "shape".  Another issue is thermal expansion.  Fiberglass will expand slightly when heated.  Now, this change will be small--but enough to not fit correctly as you want close tolerances here, otherwise the cockpit will flex (if too short) or be under tension (if too tight).  Neither is good.

I say you're going to have to custom cut the supports once you get the deck back on, or cut them long and test fit/trim once you lower the deck onto the hull flange.

With that said, I'm not expert, just familiar with the boat.  Perhaps a more experienced restoration expert here can offer better advice.

[JTMeissner]

While I generally agree with Salty, what the heck...  Impossible is easy to throw 2¢ at.  My CP-16 is also from 1975.

From the stern of the boat, the front of the cockpit footwell is about 68 inches out (no good way to get a picture of it with me in the boat trying to measure and take the photo). The entire footwell measured approximately 52 inches from rear to front (along bottom).

I laid the tape measure against the transom at the scupper through-hulls, and the current support is about 41 inches forward (sorry about the lighting).  This is pretty close to center of the footwell:


It is approximately nine inches tall at that point:


In thinking of how to tackle this, perhaps the right idea is to purposely make the supports short (by <3/4") and then after you "dry fit" the deck, use dimensional lumber to shim the support as desired to fit the gap (plane as necessary), then fasten in the top piece(s) and finish with the deck.  Or, you could top the supports with closed cell foam padding (think pool noodle/seat cushion) which would compress to a point if it was too tall, but would also provide support over a not-quite-flat footwell.

HTH,
-Justin.