So I just bought a nice used 1987 Procraft 1650v with a 115 Mercury Outboard. I bought it from a friend of a friend and was not able to test it out on the water before purchasing it but the guy is a cop and says if I have any problems with it just bring it on back. So I take it out to the lake today with my Dad because he's had many boats and I figure I will use him for a fountain of knowledge. We drop in, park the trailer, load up and start to head out but the boat revs up pretty high but will not plane out and go over 10MPH. Look back and the transom has about two inches of dry left, open the hatch to the battery compartments and my batteries are almost submerged from water!
Apparently we both assumed each other was smart enough to put the plug in. Nope.:facepalm:
We beach the boat as fast (really slow) as we can, drop the motor to brace the rear end up and turn the bilge on. It's not working!!! I can't find the plug either!!! He starts scooping water with a worm container left on the beach, I open up the other battery compartment and there is a set of alligator clips for something.....hook them up and the bilge starts pumping! Find 4 plugs in a compartment, jump out and shove a plug in bottom of rear of the hull, but my boat apparently has like 10 holes all over it that plugs can fit into and I don't have a clue what they all go to. I start shoving plugs in the holes till I run out, tear up my shirt and stuff it in the holes, and sit back for 30 minutes while the bilge dumps the water out like a hydrant! It had taken on so much water that the drain in the floor overflowed and put about 10 gallons in the floor of the boat. We got real lucky. After she was empty we turned around and headed straight for the dock (100 yards away) The boat was still only going 10 mph and nose way up. Loaded up on the trailer and pulled her out, removed the plug and it started pouring out of the hull. I don't know how much it was still holding but it was a lot more than I thought would be left in there.
Would that extra water make my boat so heavy that it could not go faster than 10mph and plane out even with me on the bow (220lbs)? At this point I'm concerned if I have a motor issue, was the boat just waterlogged, or what....
I checked the prop and hub to make sure it wasn't spun and it isn't...tach doesnt work so I don't know the RPM. This is all with the engine trimmed all the way down and WOT.
Any suggestions? I'm going to put it back in later on this week (with the plug!) and try it again.
Apparently we both assumed each other was smart enough to put the plug in. Nope.:facepalm:
We beach the boat as fast (really slow) as we can, drop the motor to brace the rear end up and turn the bilge on. It's not working!!! I can't find the plug either!!! He starts scooping water with a worm container left on the beach, I open up the other battery compartment and there is a set of alligator clips for something.....hook them up and the bilge starts pumping! Find 4 plugs in a compartment, jump out and shove a plug in bottom of rear of the hull, but my boat apparently has like 10 holes all over it that plugs can fit into and I don't have a clue what they all go to. I start shoving plugs in the holes till I run out, tear up my shirt and stuff it in the holes, and sit back for 30 minutes while the bilge dumps the water out like a hydrant! It had taken on so much water that the drain in the floor overflowed and put about 10 gallons in the floor of the boat. We got real lucky. After she was empty we turned around and headed straight for the dock (100 yards away) The boat was still only going 10 mph and nose way up. Loaded up on the trailer and pulled her out, removed the plug and it started pouring out of the hull. I don't know how much it was still holding but it was a lot more than I thought would be left in there.
Would that extra water make my boat so heavy that it could not go faster than 10mph and plane out even with me on the bow (220lbs)? At this point I'm concerned if I have a motor issue, was the boat just waterlogged, or what....
I checked the prop and hub to make sure it wasn't spun and it isn't...tach doesnt work so I don't know the RPM. This is all with the engine trimmed all the way down and WOT.
Any suggestions? I'm going to put it back in later on this week (with the plug!) and try it again.