Very Low Riding Stern??

[happysunshine71]

Purchased a 24' pontoon. Didn't know much about it. Put it on the water and the bow rides high and the stern rides very low. The very front of the pontoons sit almost out of the water and the back of the pontoons are almost completely submerged.

We have limited the weight on the stern. It has a 90 hsp Mercury but that is original to this boat.

Anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it?

 

[rrhodes]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

Sounds like you have water in the logs. If you have plugs on the rear simply remove the plugs. If not and you have a trailer have someone pull forward slowly and hit the brakes while you stand beside the pontoon. You should hear the water slosh around.

Removing the water without plugs will require you to find a plug in the top of the logs and use a pump.

Are the logs round or U-shaped? U-Shaped logs are foam filled. If you find out there is water in the logs the next step is to find out how it got there. Most of the time it is due to small pinholes that have developed over time and may require a welder to repair.

 

[rydiddie13]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

I've been having the same problem on our 24' Pontoon boat we bought last summer. It's 25 years old, carries two 5 gallon gas tanks in the back compartment, two batteries and a 50hp Evinrude outboard. The toons aren't oversized, but are rated to carry 16 people and a 200 hp motor. Yet even with one passenger the stern sits so low it creates a plume of water that shoots into the battery/gas compartments at anything over half throttle. I've pulled it a number of times and pulled the plugs, but there has never been any water inside. As a fairly new boater, I wondered if there was a way to at least create a less turbulent wake, if not adjust the trim, so that water doesn't flood the battery compartment. As there is very little weight to distribute forward, is adding weighted plates to the bow an option?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

Just a pet peeve, but they are TUBES, LOGS grow in the forrest, kinda like MOTOR and ENGINE, Motors are electric, engines burn gas.

As to your problem, that has always been a problem with pontoons, the gas, battery and motor are all in the back 10% of the boat so they all ride low in the back.

It does sound like yours are leaking though if it is that low.

If you have a trailer an easy way to see if there is water in the tubes is get it on the trailer, get moving slow then hit the brakes and listen for water to slosh, obviously a 2 person operation.

To fix it you will need a weld shop to drill and drain them then air check them and repair the leaks.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

Hey Rick - I just found out that not all U-shaped tubes are foam filled. My new Neptoon has U-shaped logs and they have no foam inside.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

I am pretty sure they are suppose to unless some regulations have been changed.

Built some U tubes back in the early 90s and it was a requiirement that they be filled with a certain amount of foam.

Just as well though, alot easier to fix if they aren't.

 

[rrhodes]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

I don't think my Neptoon has foam either. I know I can tap the logs all the way around and it sounds hollow. I will admit the open hole in the center log still messes with me but it is because the fuel tank is in there. I keep thinking there should be a plug in it.. LOL

 

[PolishPrince]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

In addition to pin holes a friends boat had cracks on the inside welds of the brackets between the tube and the deck. When the tube was heated from sunlight, it expelled the air from the hot tube and once he got under way the cool water caused a small vacuum. There was enough splash over the top of the tube to draw the water in. We removed the plugs every time he trailered the boat. He finally pressurized the tubes with about 2 lbs. of air and started spraying the tubes with soap solution. It was a "booger" to weld, but it stopped the water intrusion and the tail dragging.

 

[jessp]

Re: Very Low Riding Stern??

After repairing a patch on my tube Sunday, I noticed mine did not have foam either. Mine is a 81 JC. It does have baffles or whatever in them also. Couldn't see if they were 100% welded individually or not (meaning seperate containers or actual baffle plates. I know it had ALOT of water in it.