Seems to be sitting a little low

Norcoastal

Norcoastal

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First day out with my new 2023 Mercury 200 4-Stroke today. The motor is a dream. I’ve been restoring my 1988 Seafarer 228 for the past two years.

When I took her out today, water was coming in the scuppers in the back on the deck. I’m wondering if it’s a bit too heavy? Underway she was great, dry as a bone. It only happens if your at rest and standing in the stern on either the starboard or the port sides.

My boat doesn’t have a hardtop and I’m searching for one now; I wonder if the weight in the front would help or hurt?

Thanks
 
Adding weight forward does not raise the stern. It just lowers the bow and possibly the whole boat.

I'm surprised because the new Mercs are not much heavier than a 2 stroke.

Check the scupper flaps. Inspect your 30 year old scupper hoses.
 
The bilge went off at first when I put it in the water, but I assumed that was rain water from the bow. I keep it on a lift. But then the pump stopped stopped.

There was no water in the bilge at all. It was dry. Just the scuppers
 
Did you relocate batteries or something. Add weight elsewhere? I assume you are sure the boat is dry? No way a 200HP Merc. should put those scuppers under water under normal conditions. Is the bracket dry? Any chance you replaced the scupper hoses and routed them slightly different? Just some wild guesses but that should not be happening on that hull.
 
When I had the tanks checked, the front tank wasn't usable but the back one was. I had it pressure tested and cleaned but I'm only using the rear tank. Could that be it?

I'm concerned now that the bracket may be wet. The good news is that it's on a lift. If I can borrow someone's kayak, I'll be able to open the plug and see if I'm getting water in the backet. If so, I guess I'll need to put more 5200 on the seam. I did that before I launched the boat, but maybe I didn't add enough? I'm concerned about the bracket because there was a hole in if from the PO that I filled with JB Weld. It looks like it was eroded maybe from not having enough zincs? But it's sealed.
 
Norcoastal said:
When I had the tanks checked, the front tank wasn't usable but the back one was. I had it pressure tested and cleaned but I'm only using the rear tank. Could that be it?

I'm concerned now that the bracket may be wet. The good news is that it's on a lift. If I can borrow someone's kayak, I'll be able to open the plug and see if I'm getting water in the backet. If so, I guess I'll need to put more 5200 on the seam. I did that before I launched the boat, but maybe I didn't add enough? I'm concerned about the bracket because there was a hole in if from the PO that I filled with JB Weld. It looks like it was eroded maybe from not having enough zincs? But it's sealed.
Click to expand...
5200 is an adhesive not a sealant/caulk.
Does your bracket have an access port on the top?
 
Yes it does and I put 5200 around that as well
 
A set of the ball valve suppers will help instead of the flap type
 

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If you put 5200 on it, good luck getting it off. I'd use the chemical 5200 remover, clean it up and use the appropriate sealant.
 
Here’s a question. I’m worried about the bracket being full of water. But if you think about it, if I had a 5 gallon bucket on the back of the boat full of water, that wouldn’t make the boat ride low in the water.

Right?
 
How many gallons can your bracket hold?
The bracket is beyond the transom. The motor is on the bracket, beyond the transom. If the bracket has no bouyancy its not the same as putting a bucket of water on top of it.
 
Not sure about your year of boat, but my 228 Seafarer has a drain for the water on the bottom on it. If yours does as well, I'd open it up and see if there's any water inside of it. If not, you could always add a drain to check for water intrusion if you wanted to. Or, at least on mine, you can tap it with your finger or a rubber mallet and if there's a "ping" you can tell it's empty. If there's a "thud" then you've likely got some water inside of it.
 
Mine does have a drain plug on it, but it's up on a lift and I can't access it unless I have a rowboat or kayak, which I don't.

I like the idea of tapping on it. I'll absolutely be able to tell if its full water a tap. just like checking transoms for rot.

Thanks for the tip. This will be a process of elimination. Check the bracket, get new scupper on the transom and go from there

I tapped on it, and I actually can’t tell. Ugh…
 
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you could also buy a raft from walmart or amazon for $20. or if you have a tube, just use that
 
I have my boat on a lift and to get to the boat I bought an inflatable raft from amazon. It is 4x8 and is great for any thing I need to do on the boat.
 
Norcoastal said:
First day out with my new 2023 Mercury 200 4-Stroke today. The motor is a dream. I’ve been restoring my 1988 Seafarer 228 for the past two years.

When I took her out today, water was coming in the scuppers in the back on the deck. I’m wondering if it’s a bit too heavy? Underway she was great, dry as a bone. It only happens if your at rest and standing in the stern on either the starboard or the port sides.

My boat doesn’t have a hardtop and I’m searching for one now; I wonder if the weight in the front would help or hurt?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Check to see if there is a leak in the cavity behind the transom. Mine was filled with water after one day. Remedy is easy…buy a new bottom plug and install it.
 
I’m considering filling that cavity with spray foam. I talked to a guy at empire foam solutions and he suggested testing out high density foam insulation from Lowe’s to see if it takes on water. If not, use it. But in the meantime I’m filling mine with an inflatable raft. Simple solution!
 
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