Tom SpencerWhile the first boat built to Dudley Dix’s Dedication 27 design is a no-compromise sportfishing machine, the hull lends itself to all sorts of adaptation.
Fitness for purpose: Building a boat with a single all-encompassing mission is free of the usual compromises involved in multiuse boats. Anything that doesn’t apply fully to the intended use can be ignored or eliminated.
The first boat built to Dudley Dix’s Dedication 27 design is finished out as a no-compromise sportfishing machine, and the drawings reflect this. But the extremely rugged hull structure could be completed for a variety of other uses. The Dedication could also be finished as a family cruiser/fisherman, for example, or an open-water commuter, and the changes would all be in the arrangement of such things as seating and systems. The main attraction of an owner-built boat is that it can be detailed exactly as you want it.
This is a smallish open boat fully capable of running a couple of hours offshore for open-ocean fishing. Should the weather deteriorate, the boat has the speed and seakeeping ability to get back to shelter without undue concern. Some factors increasing its seakeeping ability include moderate beam to avoid the snap-rolling of wider hulls, and a relatively low center of gravity achieved with a massive bottom structure and minimal superstructure. The aluminum-pipe mini-tower is a windage and weight concern on a hull this small, but judging from the operational photographs the boat seems to carry it well. I would not attempt having a tower on any boat with less beam than this.
Dudley DixThe boat’s broken sheerline is a classic sportfisherman feature, but the Dedication is conservative in its shape, avoiding the extreme of bow flare and tumblehome of the Carolina-type sportfisherman.
The Dedication is a very good-looking boat that I would call a conservative design. Dix has avoided the extremes of huge Carolina-type flare and tumblehome. Certainly this hull has plenty of flare below the rail forward, and a pleasing tumblehome at the transom edge aft, but the shape is constrained. This is the designer protecting his client’s investment. Just the purchase of materials and equipment that goes into a boat like this will cost many tens of thousands of dollars, let alone the investment of hundreds of hours of labor. A nicely finished conservative design will find a wider audience when the day comes for resale, and while a pure sportfishing boat might attract a smaller group of buyers, those buyers will be serious and willing to pay for premium features.
Dudley DixThe Dedication’s topsides are built of fiberglass-sheathed ¾″ cedar strips, which is an efficient way to achieve this boat’s sectional shape.
The broken sheerline with a tapered varnished toerail gives the boat a classic sportfisherman feel, and a small raised flush foredeck hides a tiny enclosed cuddy space with room for storage and a head. Lockable dry storage is highly desirable if the boat is to be left at a dock for any length of time. The cockpit sole is all one level, with its low point about 6″ above DWL at the transom and almost a foot above waterline at the forward end. This slope will be unnoticeable underfoot, but water from rain or spray will instantly disappear out the big transom scuppers. Rail height above the sole is a little low at its lowest point just at the sheer break. Most experienced fishermen say that 28″ is the ideal rail height for remaining safe while handling fishing gear with no hands free. The Dedication approaches this height aft and exceeds it forward, even though it’s a bit scant amidships. Rail height will affect VCG (vertical center of gravity) and since this is a small boat, rail height must be viewed in context.
Dudley DixThe layout includes a self-draining sole, lockable dry storage, and a cuddy that can accommodate a head.
Deadrise at the transom is 15 degrees, beam-to-length ratio of the planing surface (bottom inside the chine) is just over 3:1, and there is a single quarter-beam lifting strake on each side. The chine flats are narrower than I expect to see these days. This underwater hull form is a moderate compromise between the increased low-speed drag of higher deadrise, and the easier planing but harder ride of a low-deadrise hull.
The after half of the bottom is really a monohedron, with almost zero twist in the sections and no rise to the buttocks. The running bottom aspect ratio (length-to-beam ratio) is an important factor in how the hull performs through the speed transition from idle to full planing. Shorter and wider hulls exhibit greater changes in trim as the boat breaks through the resistance “hump” and the bow drops to plane nicely at 20+ knots. A bottom beam-to-length ratio over 4:1 will reduce or eliminate this resistance hump, but the loss of available interior volume and reduced stability at rest is usually too big a compromise. That single lifting strake creates dynamic stability as the boat is leaping across the tops of waves, when a lot of bottom area is in the air.
Dudley DixWhile the topsides are strip-planked, the bottom is built up of two layers of 9mm okoume marine plywood.
Note the outboard “pod,” sometimes referred to as a bracket, which allows mounting the motor (or motors) 28″ aft of the actual transom. This pod has a small amount of watertight volume that partially supports the engine weight, but notice how it’s stepped well back from the transom edges. This is so that at speed there is no wetted- surface drag from the pod, and the engine can be mounted higher, again reducing drag at speed. The first boat built to the Dedication 27 design is equipped with a single 300-hp Suzuki outboard and cruises at 26 knots with a 41-knot top speed. While 30+ knots is sometimes useful, the fuel burn will be daunting; I find 21–24 knots a reasonably comfortable speed to operate boats of this size and weight.
While a major portion of the Dedication’s structure is plywood, the topsides are built using fiberglass-sheathed ¾″ cedar strip planking. This is a straightforward way to achieve the desired sectional shape. Below the chine the hull bottom planking is all plywood in two layers, full sheets aft and progressively smaller pieces working toward the bow. Four deep ¾″ plywood longitudinal girders support transverse web frames of the same material. All inner structure below the sole is fiberglass sheathed. Cockpit sole and deck are designed to be plywood, though the first boat used lower-density Coosa Board in these areas.
The boat’s form strikes a nice balance between the low-speed drag of high-deadrise hulls, and the easy planing but hard ride of a low-deadrise hull.
The 110-gallon aluminum fuel tank is positioned under the sole amidships, extending fore and aft from station No. 5 aft to station No. 7. This is the ideal location. Batteries are in the bilge aft of the fuel tank, and small fresh- and black-water tanks are just forward of the fuel. The remainder of the bilge is filled with flotation foam. The foam really quiets hull noise at speed, and of course positive flotation is excellent practice. My one concern is that should the unthinkable happen and the boat swamps, this inner-bottom foam might encourage capsizing. Survivors might end up sitting on the upside-down hull. Incorporating some flotation foam under the side decks can help the boat remain right-side up when swamped.
At the beginning of this essay I mentioned the designer looking after the client’s investment, but he or she also has several other important obligations. The usual and obvious goals are for a boat that is structurally adequate and straightforward to put together, has predictable and forgiving handling, and is safe in adverse conditions. The Dedication 27 has these requirements covered.
Another less obvious design question is, why? An important facet of new design is to question the current status quo and hopefully show the way forward to a better world. This can be difficult or impossible when faced with strict client requirements, and meeting those requirements is paramount. But looking forward I hope to see designs focused on using less energy (smaller engines) traveling at only slightly lower speeds, while maintaining similar comfort and safety. That will be a better world.
Dedication 27 Particulars
- LOA: 29′6″
- LWL: 24′
- Beam: 8′6″
- Draft: 1′4″
- Displacement: 4,850 lbs
- Power: 300−500 hp
Tad Roberts designs boats on Gabriola Island in British Columbia, Canada.
Contact Dudley Dix Yacht Design, 1340–1272 N. Great Neck Rd. No. 343, Virginia Beach, VA 23454; 757-962-9273; dudley@dixdesign.com.