sitting lower in water with each trip!!

[soce009]

noticed that everytime i take my boat out, back end is sitting lower and lower in water. have a '76 20ft. proline cuddy with 200 johnson. quesion is: the two holes on transom wall seem to be sitting below water level, last year were above and water would flow in and out. bilge is pumping dry. 1. could i be taking on water?? if so where?? have a storage area/livewell in front, removed access panel and sucked out 2.5gallon of water, don't know where it came from. i'm not too familiar with layout of boat, 2. are there any other cavities in boat that are connected to bilge?? 3. should those two drain holes on transom ever be plugged up?? thanks in advance.

 

[Solittle]

Re: sitting lower in water with each trip!!

You need to pull every access panel to the floor that you can find and check. I don't kow if your hull is foam filled but if it is it could be getting waterlogged. Call Proline and ask for customer service.<br /><br />I'm not a fan of any hole in a boat that is below the waterline that can let water in even if you have flappers and a good bilge pump. Both can fail.

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: sitting lower in water with each trip!!

Do you always have the weight distributed the same .. such as fuel tanks etc ?<br />If you find that there is minimal or no water getting in, could you re-arrange things so that the weight is shifted more to the bow ?<br />I have a self draining hole in the engine well/transom that lets water in and out , but doesn't get into the boat and I have a removable rubber bung that I insert if it lets in too much water, but by moving gear into the cabin, gives me a couple of inches at stern.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: sitting lower in water with each trip!!

Not sure what your boat is made of. My aluminum boat had similar problems. Took floor boards off and found a rivet head had pulled up. Globbed JB Weld all around it and it took care of the problem. When it leaked Ill bet I pumped at least 20 gallons of water out after fishing about 5 hours

 

[MIKE F]

Re: sitting lower in water with each trip!!

I hope you are not leaving this boat in the water after using it for the day. One possibility could be water getting in to the transom itself and waterlogging the core (that happened to me on a previous boat). What other below the waterline thru-hulls do you have ? Have you pulled the boat out by trailer or fork lift and tilted the boat bow high to drain all the water from the bilge?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: sitting lower in water with each trip!!

I've got an 18ft GLASTRON that has 2 rubber plugs forward of the bilge area under the main floor at the first bulkhead forward. I don't remember how we found them but when I pulled those plugs, it drained water for 30 minutes it seemed like. Now I check them more often, and leave them out in the winter (in heated garage) to dry out completely....Just a thought. <br />Hope you find the problem!