Boat Isn't Level at Dock UPDATED w/ PICS: SEE POSTS #42 & 43 (analysis see #36)

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Make sure the line is slack when moored and reinspect how she sits. Tie up from both sides and check.

Might be a couple hundred pounds of water sitting down in the hull, trapped by stringers/boxes or sucked up by the foam.

Look at the waterline as far back towards the stern. How far off are each of the two waterlines on the port and starboard side?

My helm and battery are on the starboard side, and so is the plexiglass cabin door (always open) and the battery switch and 90% of the wiring. Even the bilge hose and fitting are on the starboard side. A number of boats seem to have a bunch of junk on the starboard side. Probably cheaper to route everything on one side and keep wiring costs down.

Wire (gets heavier than you think)
Battery and battery wire
bilge hose/fitting (plus misc water)
Helm (electronics, steering wheel and mechanism, cables, GPS, Fishfinder gauges, throttle)
Battery switch
Door (when open)

It can add up!

However, if she is really bad, you do have to consider water down in the hull and/or foam.

Thx...am not gonna be able to get back to the boat until this weekend, but definitely gonna figure do some test to figure how much weight is required on port to get her level....fwiw the battery is as far to starboard (and away from the engine) as possible and my buddy said that while his battery is on the starboards side it is right next to the engine...am really hoping it's the batter y and NOT several hundred pounds of water in the foam.

 

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I like the Gangsta' theory. You are probably supposed to lean toward the center while driving. Make sure you slide down as far as you can in the seat, and wear your oversize ball cap (with price tags attached) sideways.

I'm sure that'll fix it.

lol, i love this idea...i won't do it, but i love it

 

[Stachi]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I like the Gangsta' theory. You are probably supposed to lean toward the center while driving. Make sure you slide down as far as you can in the seat, and wear your oversize ball cap (with price tags attached) sideways.

I'm sure that'll fix it.

don't forget the gold plated Mercedes Hubcap on a thick gold chain around yer neck.....

 

[Stachi]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I had to dig , to my best guess...around 500 lbs of water logged "flotation" foam out of my hull . If I squeezed a hand full sized chunk of it water would RUN out of it...not dribble... everything piece of wood that it was against was rotten.. yikes !
How did they get away with calling it "flotation foam" , if it absorbs water ????? SHEESH !

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Why not drill a 2" hole in the deck on the port side and start adding water until the boat levels out?

No?...just a thought...

 

[seabob4]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I had to dig , to my best guess...around 500 lbs of water logged "flotation" foam out of my hull . If I squeezed a hand full sized chunk of it water would RUN out of it...not dribble... everything piece of wood that it was against was rotten.. yikes !
How did they get away with calling it "flotation foam" , if it absorbs water ????? SHEESH !

Stachi,
The problem with closed cell foam is that if you don't disturb the surface, it will absorb very little water over time. But since foam installation is dependent on someone who REALLY knows what they are doing, the foam will often overflow into areas where it will interfere with fishboxes or actually decking the boat...so it has to be cut away to provide clearance...and that cut away section will absorb water like a sponge...

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I woudn't lose any sleep over it. Is it a visible list from outside the boat? I've seen boats with an unlevel floor. I can change the way my boat leans just by shifting my weight. Once you load up with passengers and gear that is all going to change anyway. I know you are concerned with water logged foam but why not weigh the boat? You can get the dry weight from the manufacturer, add the weight of the power plant, battery, trailer and a full tank of fuel and take her to a scale.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

I know first hand that the weight from a battery and other misc equipment can make a difference as I have the same issue with our Scout. Moored with no one on board it sits about 1/2 inch low on the starboard side.

The boat has two compartments on either side at the rear. You can see them in this pic. Note they are way off the centreline of the boat, out at the gunwales where any extra weight will be magnified.

The battery, water-separating fuel filter and wiring harness for the (uninstalled) trolling motor are all in the starboard side compartment while the port side compartment is the livewell -- usually empty.

If I fill the livewell - probably 5 gallons, give or take at about 8 pounds a gallon - the boat will then sit perfectly level. (And I'm just anal enough to fill it sometimes for that reason alone. )

What I don't quite understand is your terms of measurement (x inches per foot) so I can't tell if your case is particularly bad or not. How much lower is the starboard side than the port, overall? (ie measured at the waterline on the low side of the boat?

 

[Beefer]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

What I don't quite understand is your terms of measurement (x inches per foot) so I can't tell if your case is particularly bad or not. How much lower is the starboard side than the port, overall? (ie measured at the waterline on the low side of the boat?

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr224/Beefer518/listdia.gif

I'm not an artist or CAD user, but I think this will explain what I understand the OP is saying. For every foot of beam he is listing 1/4', so in my drawing, with an 8' beam, he is listing 2". Think of it as a roof pitch - for every horizontal foot, there are an incline (decline) of X inches.

P.S. - sorry about messing up the page layout, and all the extra white area. MS Paint is what I was working with...

 

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

beefer
thx for the drawing...you deciphered my measurements perfectly...I will get more exact measurements this weekend. Specifically, I'll measure from the waterline on each side rather than using a cheap/short level to guesstimate the amount of list. In addition, I'll determine how much port weight is needed to level the boat.

Until then...thanks all.

 

[seaboo]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

While you are "troubleshooting" this problem, why not trailer it out and pull the plug? The amount of water (and length of time it takes to come out) may help you to (hopefully) eliminate that possibility (and ease your mind to that)... Quick easy troubleshooting for some piece of mind --imho.

 

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

While you are "troubleshooting" this problem, why not trailer it out and pull the plug? The amount of water (and length of time it takes to come out) may help you to (hopefully) eliminate that possibility (and ease your mind to that)... Quick easy troubleshooting for some piece of mind --imho.

ok, now I'm really confused....doesn't the plug access the bilge area? if so, I can see how much water is in the bilge area (not much/any). or does the plug access an area beneath the bilge area (i.e. where the foam is)?

apologies for the dumb question just trying to understand how pulling the plug could help and if more water than is in the bilge comes out of the plug where it would be coming from (not to mention how it got there).

thanks for your patience

 

[Beefer]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

ok, now I'm really confused....doesn't the plug access the bilge area? if so, I can see how much water is in the bilge area (not much/any). or does the plug access an area beneath the bilge area (i.e. where the foam is)?

apologies for the dumb question just trying to understand how pulling the plug could help and if more water than is in the bilge comes out of the plug where it would be coming from (not to mention how it got there).

thanks for your patience

Never a dumb question here.

You are correct about the plug and the bilge area. By taking the boat out of the water and pulling the plug, you can also tilt the angle of the boat. There *may* be water not draining from a section in the front, and that could be a cause.

 

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Never a dumb question here.

You are correct about the plug and the bilge area. By taking the boat out of the water and pulling the plug, you can also tilt the angle of the boat. There *may* be water not draining from a section in the front, and that could be a cause.

ok, so there are areas in the boat that water runs to that I can't readily see/access??? interesting

does the fact that the previous owner stored this under pine tree and I washed a bunch of pine needles through the boat add anything to the mystery? that is, perhaps in washing the boat from bow to stern I washed a bunch of pine needles into a hole that plugged and caused water to back up on one side of the boat? is this a crazy theory and if not, what's the best way of confirming this theory and fixing the blockage?

 

[Beefer]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

ok, so there are areas in the boat that water runs to that I can't readily see/access??? interesting

does the fact that the previous owner stored this under pine tree and I washed a bunch of pine needles through the boat add anything to the mystery? that is, perhaps in washing the boat from bow to stern I washed a bunch of pine needles into a hole that plugged and caused water to back up on one side of the boat? is this a crazy theory and if not, what's the best way of confirming this theory and fixing the blockage?

That could certainly be a suspect cause. I don't know the design of your boat, but the below decks/bilge area are 'compartmentized' with the stringers, etc., which have run-out areas, whether they be tubes or passages between the compartments to allow for water to run towards the stern, then to the bilge pump and/or drain plug. Could be you have a plugged tube/passage on that side.

I think this will be solved for you shortly.

 

[muffley]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

OK, first want to thank all of you who were so kind to reply with thoughts/suggestions to my initial post...spent some time over the weekend with the boat taking some more exact measurements and am now back with new info and pictures.

Oops, having trouble uploading pics so gonna have to use a couple thousand words so please bear with me:

Took everything out of the boat and she sits real ugly in the water (about two inches lower on the starboard side than on port!)

Next, I removed the battery (which sat well to starboard) from the boat altogether. This raised the starboard side by one inch. So she still lists one inch to starboard even with the battery removed! But as the battery weighs approximately 60 pounds this gave me a rough idea of what extent of the problem was. Obviously, with the battery located well to starboard I needed about 120 pounds of weight on the port side to offset.

So next I simply put the battery back on the boat, but instead of installing on the starboard side I placed it on the port side. Voila, physics work and now the boat was perfectly level!!!

OK, so a few questions...the trim motor is already on the port side and assuming the battery weighs about 60 pounds that means that the boat has about 60+ pounds of additional weight on the starboard side. Could this weight really be from the pilot station? Would Larson really have incorrectly designed about that was this far out of level (they designed the battery for the starboard side and a two inch difference is ENORMOUS!)?

Thoughts (and apologies for not being able to upload pics...I'll keep trying)

 

[Cuyose]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

when i added the 2nd battery to the starboard side, my boat developed a small list. i will eventually move it to the port side, but thats where i store the bbq grill right now. so until i figure something out, it will list.

So yes, a battery can definitely make it list with the right circumstances.

Is your BBQ grill lighter than air? Because that would definitely be an issue, albiet an awesome issue

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock

You realize that your fuel is going to move side to side as well - right? So any change you make to the balance of the boat while it is just sitting there is going to be exagerated (unless your tank is full)

If the boat sits level under way then I don't see why it would matter how it sits statically in the water.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock UPDATED: SEE POST #36

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock UPDATED: SEE POST #36

Muffly, I think you should go back to the idea that there might be water trapped somewhere due to the pine needles clogging some drain passages. Not sure about how it was stored, but you said under a pine tree and that can spell trouble.

 

[geeco1]

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock UPDATED: SEE POST #36

Re: Boat Isn't Level at Dock UPDATED: SEE POST #36

OK, perhaps I am the one missing something here, but without pictures, here is my take on the situation. It sounds that you have a single console, sitting on the starboard side (~50 lbs). You had a battery sitting on the same side (~60 lbs). You probably also have ~20 lbs of control cables, throttle, electrical wires, etc tucked up under the gunnel on the same side. So you have roughly 130 lbs of stuff sitting basically as far starboard as possible. What about livewells, where are they located? that could be another 10 lbs(empty).

I don't think that trim motor would have much affect as it is probably located close to center.

Keep in mind, the formula to figure the weights and moments is... Weight * distance from centerline. So a 60 lb battery located 4 feet from center line has a moment of 240 ft-lbs. It would take a 120 lb person standing 2 feet from center to offset that moment. (think teeter-totter). If you only have one battery, try to position it closer to center (reduces moments). Or store your anchor, and other gear on the opposite side.