Waterline on Aluminum boat

[Ignatios]

Hello everyone, I'll be brief, I have no experience with Aluminum boats, I bought a Starcraft 16' 1997 Aluminum with a Merc. 40hp oil injected, and when I put it in the water yesterday it kind of got me concerned when I saw the waterline at the transom is only about 6" no more than 8" especially when I go slow with it ( not onplane). All I had on board is another person average weight under 200 lb each, decoys 2 guns some few boxes of shells and 2 light anchors, oars...is this normal, and what is the waterline on these kind of boats are? thank you very much. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-Starcr...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[DeepCMark58A]

what is the weight capacity listed on the transom? How much weight do you have in the boat?

 

[Ignatios]

it is 4 persons or 650lb... I dont believe I had more than 500lb at all everything combined.

 

[airshot]

The real question is "where" in the boat was the weight located. In many cases people just throw gear in the back along with a couple gas tanks and a 60 lb battery and do not think about all that weight in the back. So you need to look at how your weight is distributed.....on a smaller boat this becomes even more critical. On my larger boat I moved the seats farther forward and moved the fuel tank forward so that it balances near perfect and gets up on plane much quicker with much less fuel consumption. Ya got to experiment with the weight distribution.

 

[Ignatios]

I did have 10gal. of fuel and the battery in the back but the rest was pretty much balanced my seat is about 1/4 of the way from the transom so was the second person, everything else was up front or centered. I just want to make sure that it is not that I am used to the 27' cruiser height that I have.

 

[fhhuber]

10 gal of fuel is 70 lbs... and that outboard hanging off the back... and the starter battery...

And your list of stuff comes out close to 600 lbs.

Since the gas is in 2 tanks.. put one in the bow until its needed and swap tanks when the one in use is empty. That would help a lot.

Its the way I used to run when I had a 14 ft LoneStar (1960) with a 35 hp. Both tanks full and behind the rear seat and 6 inch waves came over the transom. After I put the second full tank in the front I suddenly wasn't concerned about getting swamped.
Later I ran long wires (16 ft 6 gauge jumper cables... cut the clamps off and put on eye terminals) and put the starter + trolling batteries forward and just took one 5 gal tank of gas.

 

[JoshOnt]

As others have mentioned it may have to do with your weight distribution . I would play around with that before deciding to do anything else.

 

[Ignatios]

okay it seems like everybody agrees that it is a wait distribution...now what about the height of the waterline? is the 6"-8" something that I shouldn't even put this boat in the water? What is normal when I move some of that weights from back to the front. thanks to all again. you fellows brought up some points that I didn't look at.

 

[roscoe]

It all looks about normal to me.


15" transom, or 20" transom ?

 

[JimS123]

That's a huge motor on a little Jon Boat with low freeboard, a lot of stuff and 2 real big guys. Just look at the transom - its even with the gunnels! You're right at max capacity. Being low in the water is to be expected.

You need a biger boat.

 

[Ignatios]

I think it is 20" but I will double check tomorrow.

 

[southkogs]

I think the depth of the hull on those boats is just over 20": The water line at 8" from the bottom of the rub rail with a full load would be reasonable. You might have had some weight toward the back to add to to the look of it, but there's not much boat there to give you a lot of freeboard.

No signs of water inside, right?

 

[Ignatios]

That's a huge motor on a little Jon Boat with low freeboard.

I kind of thought so, but that was from the factory and the capacity was rated based on this engine per the rating tag on the transom...but I agree I am at the max and I think I will take the advice of rearranging the weight on the boat and then see what happens, but I'm afraid you are right about needing a bigger boat

 

[Ignatios]

Southkogs, no water inside.

 

[crazy charlie]

a 16ft aluminum boat is a lightweight.Not very heavy at all.A couple of studs,motor,fuel,cooler of brewskis etc...is gonna push it low in the water.Wear you pfds and put your buddy on the bow and let er rip.

 

[bonz_d]

That boat is set up with the steering console just forward of where the rear bench seat would be on most Aluminum mod V Jon's. So if you were both seated on that bench seat that would be 400+ lbs. in the rear half of the boat. Then add the engine, battery and fuel and no wonder it was sitting low at the stern.

I'd suggest adding a seat base forward of the steering console then add a pedestal for the seat that is in the bow. That in itself will move 200lbs forward.

 

[Stumpalump]

Your first small boat with a big engine loaded beyond capacity. What could go wrong? As said do not get near that boat with out a life jacket. If I was the skipper nobody else would get in it with out one on either. You are legally responsible for them in a boat that you knew was overloaded. The 6" is normal the way you are loaded. Just be carful slowing down too fast, backing up or walking around. That wood floor and decking is soaking wet and weighs a ton. Add the few gallons of water floating in it it and your over weight. Unfortunately weight capacities do not have enough extra capacity to handle anything more than a flat calm pond and a trolling motor. Throw in other boat wakes or your freind standing up and they swamp really easy. Remove every extra piece of gear you have and move the fuel or battery to balance. Stay low and centered in it then drive that thing like a death trap and you will be OK until you strip all of that extra wet wood out of it. I doubt that platform is stock and I bet it also has added flooring. Add those up dry and you have 100lbs. Wet from being outside could be 200. Get rid of it if. Does it have a 70lbs trolling motor battery? That boat should feel light, nimble and really fast. You posted because you know somthing is not right. You sir are correct and you need to fix it. If you bandaid it at least now you know what you are dealing with. An overloaded boat ready to dump you in the water when you least expect it. Im on my third 16' aluminum boat. Yours will grow on you as you get used to it and set it up right. Put it on a diet and you will love that boat.

 

[bonz_d]

it is 4 persons or 650lb... I dont believe I had more than 500lb at all everything combined.

I think you should recheck your capacity plate. It should read Max Cap XXXX or X persons not to exceed XXX. Also what is the max HP rating for this boat? I find it hard to believe that you are at or near capacity of this hull as I've seen too many of these boats that are running larger engines and some even come with live-wells in them..

 

[steelespike]

I get 697 lbs from the console back. Motor is 177 lbs.
Hole shot must have been pretty slow?

 

[Watermann]

Does your model of SC have a splashwell? I can't tell from the pics from the links. The only time I would be concerned is if there's some big following seas or boat wakes. That boat will ride up and over most normal waves and wakes, it's not like it's fixed in place like a seawall or something.