Boat Doesn't Sit Level

S

shadow9999

Member
Nov 23, 2009
110
NJ and FL
Boat Info
Viking Sport Cruiser 50
Engines
Volvo D12's
I wonder if anyone has seen this in the past. I own a year 2000 410 Sundancer. At rest, the boat seems to sit lower in the bow than it should. To me it seems like the stern should be about two inches deeper in the water which if pivoted from the center, would bring the bow up by about two inches. This would cause the boat to sit flat in the water with respect to the chine.

The only thing that I have done as far a weight distribution goes was to remove the 25' of anchor chain and replace it with 200' of chain. The anchor locker is right up front, but I wouldn't expect 500 pounds in the bow to make that much difference. Maybe I'm wrong. Next time I get to the boat (which will be in Mid May since the boat is in Florida right now and I am in New Jersey) I am going to let out all of the chain while I am at the dock, thereby removing that extra weight from the bow, and see if that makes any difference.

I am not aware of any fittings or through hull penetrations near the bow that would allow for water infiltration which was one of my first thoughts when I noticed the boat sitting that way. I put a call into Sea Ray and I was told that based on my hull serial number, there is no coring below the water line, so my guess is that a water issue or wet hull is not the problem.

I'm thinking about getting a surveyor to look at the boat both in the water and out to give me his opinion if the anchor chain test doesn't tell me anything.

If anyone has any thoughts in this, please post them. Thanks.

Robert
 
Also consider the amount of fuel and water on board. My water tank is under the front berth, and you can carry at least 100 gallons of water on your boat. Couple that with the fuel load (if you near empty) and it could make a difference.
 
Southpaw II said:
Also consider the amount of fuel and water on board. My water tank is under the front berth, and you can carry at least 100 gallons of water on your boat. Couple that with the fuel load (if you near empty) and it could make a difference.
Click to expand...

Good point Southpaw. I did think about the water tank. Mine too is in the bow. 100 gallon tank. This situation occurs with full fuel (330 gallons). I would expect with full fuel and full water, the boat should sit level.
 
The only other thing I can suggest is to go to Yachtworld and Boattrader.com and look at pictures of other 410DAs to see if they sit in the water like yours does. That boat was offered with either gas or diesels, and I would think the diesel version would sit a bit lower in the rear because of the heavier engines.

I know a guy that lived on an "off-brand" 36 footer for about 5 years, and because of all the personal junk in the boat, it sat noticably low in the bow. Most listing issues are of the "port-starboard" variety.
 
Definately sits low in the bow compared to others. And yes, most listing issues are port/starboard which is why I figured I'd post to see if anyone else has ever run across this. I'm new to this forum, and am thinking that maybe there is a surveyor or other professional that may be able to offer some insight.
 
The chain gets my vote .. IF all chain was from the factory they'd probably install X lbs of Crap in the stern to make up for it .

U cant compare to other models as you dont know if they have chain or rope rode.

If u have alot energy unshackle the chain and remove it .


Rob
 
Robert, I thnk the 500lbs of chain, the 100lbs of water, when the tank is fuel, will absolutely make the difference. If your DA is loaded correctly, and Sea Ray does a pretty good job with weight distribution, 600lbs in the bow is going to lower the bow.
As an example, I have a 340 DA with the opposite problem. The stern sits low in the water placing the swim plateform just a couple of inch's off the water. A couple of weeks ago my son and I were discussing how the bow of his boat, another 340 DA, sits lower in the water at the bow than mine. Sorry, this is taking so long. We talked about his 200 feet of anchor chain and my 15 feet of anchor chain and the rest rope in mine.
He jumped on my bow, 210 lbs, and my swim plateform came off the water by at least another 4 inchs. When your in your slip just run your chain out and sit it on the dock. That should give you a good indication if that's your issue. Hopefully, that's all it is. Again, sorry I ran on so long.
 
Robert, you could try letting out the chain onto the dock and see if it makes a difference. Water weighs about 7lbs per gallon so full tank + all that chain could easily add 1200 lbs and give you that "sinking" feeling. I keep the water level in the fresh water tank (also 100 gallons) as low as possible. Makes no sense draggin around the equivalent of 4 extra passengers all the time.
 
Chain. 500lbs is alot of weight. Every time ya hop on board notice how much the boat moves with ~200lbs? Is your water tank really in the bow? Ours (diff boat) is behind the fridge.
 
800 lbs of water on the nose isn't a great design.

Even on a 40 footer, that much weight (or, lack of weight if empty) so far from the COG has to make a difference.

Tankage is typically designed close to the COG so that whether full, or empty, it has little effect on the boat's trim.
 
Look at my sig pic. I bet the boat would be more trim if I kept more water in the tank! A wise man told me my boat was ass-heavy, so the water tank under the forward berth is probably an attempt at good design. I just prefer to run as light as possible.
 
tobnpr said:
800 lbs of water on the nose isn't a great design.

Even on a 40 footer, that much weight (or, lack of weight if empty) so far from the COG has to make a difference.

Tankage is typically designed close to the COG so that whether full, or empty, it has little effect on the boat's trim.
Click to expand...

I beleive that the water in the tank is balanced out by other factors in the design of the boat. In other words in think that empyt tank, bow will sit a bit high, full tank, boat will sit more level. I'm guessing that (based on other posts here) that the chain I added may be the culprit. I'm certainly going to check it out next month when I get down to Florida to prep the boat for the trip back north.
 
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