Boat Leaning Towards Starboard While Docked

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

Hi

I have a 1986 Four Winns Santara 216. I have my boat docked with all docking lines running on the port side. I have noticed that it sits to the starboard side by a good 3-4 inches or so from being level. I have very little cargo in it and the battery is on the starboard side. Even with myself, my girlfriend, and another passenger all on the port side the boat still has a very slight tilt to the starboard side. We have all the cargo except the battery on the port side also. Fuel tank is centered. Does anyone have any ideas why the boat would lean so far to the starboard side, and if so, what can we do to fix it?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard.

Have you checked weight to see if you've taken some water into the hull?

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

How would I check that??? The center compartment where the fuel tank is located is bone dry but there does not seem to be any other compartments to open to examine the sides.

 

[tpenfield]

+1 . . . unless there is a substantial amount of 'stuff' stored on the starboard side, then I would be checking the structure of the boat to see if there is any evidence of water being in the hull structure on the starboard side.

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

All "stuff" is on the port side with exception of the battery..... How would I check to see if there is any water in the hull? Do I need to drill through the deck above the starboard side?

 

[Scott Danforth]

take everything out of the boat that doesnt belong, run the fuel tank down low. then take boat and trailer to get weighed. this will tell you if you are heavy.

from there, you may need to drill into stringers, just above the hull (inside the boat) and see if the foam is water-logged.

being a 32 year old boat, plan on it being water-logged.

 

[southkogs]

When you put the boat back on the trailer, how much water do you have draining out of it?

 

[82rude]

As an example of what Scott said I had a boat that was suppose to weigh 1200lbs .Over the scales at the dump totally empty she tipped the scales at 1940!

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

So we did find that the foam in the stern of the starboard side is wet but further forward we went it seemed to be dry.... Do we replace the whole starboard side foam or just the stern? Also when we replace the foam what should we use?

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

When you put the boat back on the trailer, how much water do you have draining out of it?

We have not pulled it out of the water since going in and being docked. We did take her out once and trailer it after going out before getting the dock and it didn't seem to be more than what was in the bilge... If I had to guess maybe less a gallon but we did find we had a leak from the outdrive so theres that....

 

[Scott Danforth]

So we did find that the foam in the stern of the starboard side is wet but further forward we went it seemed to be dry.... Do we replace the whole starboard side foam or just the stern? Also when we replace the foam what should we use?

most likely you are carrying about 40-60 gallons of water in the foam to get your boat to list about 3-4" (that is about 340 - 500# of water)

what were the color of the drill shavings?

that water is rotting away at your stringers, deck, and transom

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

most likely you are carrying about 40-60 gallons of water in the foam to get your boat to list about 3-4" (that is about 340 - 500# of water)

what were the color of the drill shavings?

that water is rotting away at your stringers, deck, and transom

Most of the drilling was moist wood from the deck. The foam was a light yellow.

 

[Scott Danforth]

did you drill sideways into the stringers just above the hull?

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

We drilled from the deck since the boat is still docked at the moment.... We aren't able to pull the floor up to investigate at the moment.....

 

[southkogs]

Sounds like it's taking on water. Might want to get it out and assess what's going on.

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

We believe it is coming in from the transducer that a previous owner put on. We will get it out as soon as we can..... We are unable to get the money back for the dock and want to at least be able to enjoy it for a little bit before having to tear into it to "restore" it...... Is there any temp fixes we can do so we can at least enjoy a month or two before having the boat down for a while to repair.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Is there any temp fixes we can do so we can at least enjoy a month or two before having the boat down for a while to repair.....

nope.

make sure you have good insurance and a good bilge pump and battery

 

[imnewidontknowwhattodo]

Clearly we will need to put new foam in.... What type of foam should we use??

 

[JASinIL2006]

Foam is probably the least of your worries. I would be more concerned with a compromised structure.

 

[Grub54891]

Clearly we will need to put new foam in.... What type of foam should we use??

Closed cell 2-part expandable foam from us composites. As stated, make sure the structure is solid before buying anything. Then decide if it is worth repairing. I'm rebuilding a 175 LARSON bowrider, spending more than its worth. Bit worth it to me.