When shopping for a boat it is critical that you make an educated buying decision. Part of your education should include understanding how a boat is built and how such design and construction techniques best meet your needs.
Here at Competition Boats our philosophy is to build a top-tier boat at an affordable price without sacrificing quality and durability. Of course, we’re also building one of the prettiest center consoles on the water today. We have an unwavering commitment to innovative construction techniques and best-of-breed components.
Competition Boats feature the battle-tested “Three Piece” construction technique, which consists of the following components:
- You have the hull of a boat, which is made from a mold
This is the hull after being painted.
- You then have another molded piece that is inserted inside of the hull, which forms interior of the boat including deck and inside of the gunnels
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Here you see the hull (1st piece) and liner (2nd piece) in one without the cap.
- The third piece is the gunnel cap.
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Hull Cap
Here is the cap ready to be placed onto the boat.
Here the cap has been installed to finish off the 3rd piece of the hull.
Some manufactures of “production” boats try to save cost stop at Step 2 and by using cheaper components and inferior techniques: they build the cap of the boat to include the floor, sides and tunnel – all in one piece. As the saying goes, “There are no shortcuts.” This design and construction philosophy makes for an uncomfortable position when fighting fish or just leaning against the gunnels as your feet have nowhere to go. Many anglers refer to fishing out of a Two-Piece hull as fishing in a “bathtub”.
At Competition Boats, we don’t build bathtubs. We build market-leading center console marine specimens. You can shop at your local Do It Yourself store for a bathtub.
Here is our 25′. You can clearly see the cap in this picture.
Three-Piece Benefits include:
- Foot space
- Gunnels you can lean/brace against when fighting a fish
- More comfortable when padding (“combing”) is installed
- Easily install rod holders, under-gunnel lighting and other accessories
- Room to store life jackets for easy access, etc.
- Structural Strength as the sides of the liner can be more fully bonded to the hull sides.
- Hull-Deck joint can be accessed from the inside allowing for enhanced structural integrity
Notice his knees up against the padding and his feet under the gunnels.
When deciding on the boat that best meets your needs, taking a checkout ride or sea trial is only the beginning. Make sure that you try out areas of the boat such as standing up and fighting a fish by leaning against the gunnels. Or simply taking a picture with your digital camera by bracing yourself up at the bow. You will quickly realize the benefits of a Three-Piece hull and why we are so committed to Three-Piece construction here at Competition Boats.
Here are some photos of our customer fighting tuna and showing how important a 3 piece construction boat is when getting leverage on fish and for safety.
