Bowrider taking on water

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Ok, ok the bilge pump is working. Let me set the record straight ,I went out only once with no bilge pump because I did not it was not working. This last time I went out the bilge was working then stopped. I stupidly stayed out a couple more hours fishing and the water got a little rough. No insult taken I do know that it is true no substitute for safe boating. I keep my boat out of the water with no plug and the bow up. There where acorns coming out of the bilge that was from the previous owner trees. I will find an inspector to look at the boat to let me know what I'm up against. Any idea where to start looking. Thanks for the FRANK advice ALL.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

If you can find out the original weight of the boat then take it and weigh it.
2 batteries and 18 gallons of fuel is quite bit to have on the stern as well as a 140hp motor. Is your tank full ???
Always have a bilge pump !!!! and a bailing device as well.

 

[grego]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

If you are carpenter savy. You might, think about adding a second bilge pump. I put one in, slightly higher than stock pump, We had friends, girlfriends show up wanting a fast ride in choppy water , I gave them that! but broke the bilge pump neck that goes from pump out of hull. The pump that I thought rested on floor of hull, made it hard to see the break. After that I decided that two "auto pumps" was better.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

I will at least have 3/4 of a tank each time. Also carry a extra battery total three. I will move that battery to the front and get a manual pump for backup. Thanks

 

[krakatoa]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

My friend, you just need to trim better your outboard, thats all about.....

 

[kenny26]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

My first thought was you were overpowered, but I looked on NADA for '77 glastron bowriders and they did sell one in the 16-17 foot range that came stock with a 140hp outboard so I don't think that's your problem. You have too much weight in the back of the boat for sure with gas, batteries and a heavy outboard, i'd be moving the batteries to the bow at least. Next i'd be drilling som exploratory holes in the deck to look for captured water / saturated foam.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

When you say trim better, do you mean the outboard/prop farther out away from the boat to help keep the stern higher? Or is it the other way around not really sure? Thanks.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Kenny26, are you saying that I can run longer battery cables to store the batteries in front? Would this not use much more juice to power the vessel? There is also a drain in the new floor that I took off and seen standing water. I have washed the boat after fishing and thought it would drain to the bilge but it seemed to be a wall dividing the passenger area where the drain is from the bilge. Any thought anyone?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

i'm with everyone else, sounds like ya got water onboard.
eveyone else is right too.
find out the original weight figure in your extras and go weight it somewhere. my local dump has one in my area that i've asked if i could use it and they said yes.
or
start looking for why water isn't draining + find a place to drill some holes at. you'll know if ya got water. what will be on the drill bit is telltale.
get on your hands and knees and see if you can find an area to feel the wood or foam under the deck. probe with an awl. these are some things ya can do to find out.

as for trim.
trim out. raising the engine towards full up. raises the bow.
trimming in, lowering the engine towards full down position, lowers the bow and put's more of the boat in the water. while throttling up from standing still, you start with full down. trim in. this gets the boat on plane fastest with the least bow rise. after your on plane, then you trim up, raising the engine. this brings the bow up and makes for the least amount of wet hull which results in best speed.
if you have a fixed pin for trim, i.e. no trim system, you need to find the best all around location for this pin. a happy medium.
from the sound of it to me, trim is not your problem, retaining water onboard is... start your search, yer gonna have to start somewhere... don't drill through the bottom of the boat...

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

I cleaned out the bilge pretty good and released a lot of water from what appeared to be a clogged drain plug area which I did not know was clogged. The first time I took the boat out there was hardly a cup of water coming out of the drain plug. After the tenth time and running a snake in the drain plug LOTS of water. What damage could of been done as was mentioned in an earlier reply? I thought everything in a boat was water resistant. The most the water could of been in the boat was a month. Thanks!

 

[arks]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

I thought everything in a boat was water resistant.

Don't be too hard on yourself- that's a VERY common misconcepton with new boat owners, and even some old salts, too.
Fact is, boats need to be protected from water getting inside and causing major damage.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Kenny26, good luck on the restore. I think I will going that way pretty soon but I don't think I have the skill or patients. You'll have a nice boat when you finish though.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

So there is unprotected wood under the deck and the previous owner put a drain there. That don't seem right. I replaced the old bilge with a larger one, bought a hand bilge and will be adding a second auto bilge pump higher in the boat. Am I right in assuming rotten wood under the deck will not sink a boat?

 

[krakatoa]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

I replaced the old bilge with a larger one, bought a hand bilge and will be adding a second auto bilge pump higher in the boat. Am I right in assuming rotten wood under the deck will not sink a boat?

Cmon....... you better stay home.....

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

You should head down to the restoration section of this forum. Take a look at some of the fiberglass restorations going on there. You'll be able to see what's under your deck and what you might be dealing with. A rotted boat won't necessarily sink but it's performance will suffer and it's structural integrity is most certainly compromised.

 

[Philster]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Rotting boats are more apt to sinking. Rotting wood falls apart and clogs bilges, holes, etc.

Rotting wood could let water settle to a certain side and not let it flow to the bilge pump or drain, even if there are ways of getting there.

You might be surprised to hear this: Many parts on many boats are plywood -- basic plywood. Many parts that are treated to be water resistant have overlaps and unfinished areas that aren't.

People go to extremes to cover their boats, because boats are much less resistant to water than most people think.

Water always wins. All we do is prolong the inevitable loss and see if we can take it to overtime.

 

[grego]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

if this is your only problem. Just make a hard left or right turn just as you shut down motor. Water will not flood rear of boat.

 

[kenny26]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Kenny26, good luck on the restore. I think I will going that way pretty soon but I don't think I have the skill or patients. You'll have a nice boat when you finish though.

re: the batteries up front... Yes you can put them anywhere, just make sure you use really large battery cable since they have less resistance. My battery is currently in the bow seating area.

Thanks for the comments on the boat restore. Not sure I have the skill either but I'm planning to learn them ;-)
If you decided to do a renovation buy the book "runabout renovation". You can get it on amazon.com and it pretty much walks you through it step by step. There are a few gaps, but you can fill them in here.

 

[Old & In the way]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Hi

I have a 1977 Glastron tri-hull bowrider and there seems to be a design flaw in the stringers. The water gets trapped in the upper stringers and doesn't drain to the bilge area.

bummer.

I still need to drill more holes in the stringers.

 

[cvtech1]

Re: Bowrider taking on water

Well thanks alot guys. The boat seems struct sound, no weak spots and the only water that was coming over was from the stern on sudden stops or when backing up. I can only hope that the trash that was coming out of the bilge drain area was from the deck replacement. I won't be going out far from shore till I get an inspection. Because of all this info, I am a bit more cautious now.