306 canyon - do engines touch water when raised?

[DennisG01]

I never understood why the engines need to have the bottom a couple or inches in the water. When I see my same model with twin Suzukis that stay dry when raised. So is it an engine issue or a boat issue.

It's a bit of both. It's whether the engine/engine hood size/design is such to allow more clearance when tilted up AND whether the boat manufacturer designs enough clearance at the stern.

 

[glacierbaze]

........and checking to see if you have any adjustment left in your tilt limit switch.

 

[Fishtales]

That GW did not (or only in the last years) solved the wet transom problem in more than 30 years is very disappointing for such a top tier brand. I consider GW far superior in build and ride quality than BW, but the rather simple solvable transom problem is just frustrating and expensive to fix.
My 2011 306 Canyon is in the shipyard and fibreglass specialist should repair the swollen transom, but still waiting for a quote.

The problem with submerged lower units is rather common, particularly on pre 2005 hulls being designed for lighter two strokes but i see that even on newer and new boats. It is either a design flaw regarding center of gravity or the choice of a low transom with short splashwell as both limit how much the engine can be tilted up. On most dual outboards hulls a higher transom is not really a issue while on single or triple outboards it can be a issue as center engine length may be too short even on a 30" outboard.

In case of my 306 Canyon, i can't tilt my BF350 more up, tried to set the digital tilt limiter to zero but from what i understood there is no limit set. That steers me to believe that GW just miscalculated the COG and never fixed that, maybe the new design Canyon with the different console style does better.

Chris

Didn't solve yet to my knowledge. Going to the boat show this weekend and will check.. Just a bigger stainless bang plate to sell it. As we used to say in the electronics biz, sell your issues as a feature.....
If I ever buy a new one, I will require the factory to do it correctly before the engines are mounted or no deal.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Just a bigger stainless bang plate to sell it. As we used to say in the electronics biz, sell your issues as a feature.....

Shipyard offered me the same, but i wan't to have it repaired correctly.
I don't think that the bang plate is the only problem, i expect that the transom design is just a bit too weak and flexes.
Either because transom is too thin or not correctly bonded to the stringers.
Chris

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

When I see my same model with twin Suzukis that stay dry when raised.

The do that because
a) the engine wight is less
b) the engine can tilt a bit more
c) a combination of both

All GW's i saw had OEM Yamahas and the lower unit is a few inches submerged, including the 330 Express.
I also saw a 2001 Bimini with Suzuki DF250's and lower units were partially submerged.

Chris

 

[c1steve]

I agree - the floors are typically barely bow high in most boats. Adding enough weight in the bow to make a big enough difference at the stern is not a good idea.

I think this is one of those "it sounds good in theory... at first"... but could easily end in disaster. Especially when a little bit of anti-foul will take care of the issue... if it's even needed (which the OP said he ends up not needing).

I painted a little bit of the forward edge of the gearcase on my boat before I thought to "just try it" and see if I only get a small amount of growth that can be just wiped off.

I have a 228 as well as a 258. I have had a cooler on the bow of the 228 for the last couple of months to keep the lower units almost completely out of the water. This works well, just is inconvenient. The 300 lbs. on the bow brought the lower unit up several inches. The deck is still has a slope to it, no problem with rainwater draining out.

 

[c1steve]

That's some interesting math you have going on there

But... have you actually done this type of work before? That's a rather big/expensive job for a small (although largely annoying) problem.

IF the engines were at 45 degrees, installing 30" shaft engines would raise the inclined lower unit 5"/1.41=3.5".

 

[DennisG01]

IF the engines were at 45 degrees, installing 30" shaft engines would raise the inclined lower unit 5"/1.41=3.5".

Oh, I see what you're saying, now. For some reason, I misread your first post as only talking about the XXL on the transom and then the XXL on the 5" higher transom.

But, still an awful big moot point, you know? I mean, no one in their right mind is going to go that extreme expense (and would something like the steering cable even still fit?) when $2 of bottom paint would do the job.

 

[DennisG01]

I have a 228 as well as a 258. I have had a cooler on the bow of the 228 for the last couple of months to keep the lower units almost completely out of the water. This works well, just is inconvenient. The 300 lbs. on the bow brought the lower unit up several inches. The deck is still has a slope to it, no problem with rainwater draining out.

I guess as long as your bilge stays bone dry? Meaning, it's not uncommon for bilges to get rainwater in them due to bad seals/whatever... and then we know that the forward bilge on GW's is lower than the aft bilge... which means the forward bilge will start filling up more than normal and then quickly change the boat's attitude.