306 canyon - do engines touch water when raised?

[Rhumbline306]

New owner of a 2016 306 canyon. The boat will be on a mooring this summer (previously rack stored) and curious if I need to add anti fouling paint to the engine skegs. Boat has twin Yamaha 300s.

Forgot to check this out before hauling in the fall.

Thank you.

 

[JJF]

Hi,

I have a 2018 306 with twin F350s (V8 version; Series C).

A fair amount of my lowers are in the water when the motors are titled all of the way up. They are painted at an angle such that the parts in the water are protected from growth. I am the second owner. It appears to me that the factory Yamaha paint was never scuffed or anything and the lowers were simply painted. I say this, because they were painted one season (yard forgot) and I had to scrub them throughout the summer. By the end of that season, much of the paint was gone and the Yamaha paint was still intact.

In any event, make sure the proper paint is used on the them (I.e. no metals oin the paint).

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

My 2011 306 Canyon had the lower unit about 3 fingers submerged as shown below with the original twin F300, with the F350 V8 it would be about 1 finger more but not to the intake grille what would be a bigger problem.
However, i suggest to not paint them for now and see if they are submerged, how much and if you can change float level with loading the boat differently (more weight on bow).
Should the LU be submerged then it should be enough if you take a swim once a month and scrub the baby barnacles away using a scotch brite pad or something similar.
Then next year you have the correct level to paint the submerged part.

 

[Rhumbline306]

Many thanks. Exactly the information I was looking for. Cheers.

 

[Rhumbline306]

Quick update after spending six months in the water - No real marine growth. No need to paint.

Just one inch in the water and whatever growth was there easily wiped off when swimming.

Thanks!

 

[seasick]

avoid using a Scotch Brite pad ( if it is not the scratch free type).

 

[c1steve]

You can also leave a large cooler on the bow, and fill it full of water. It should raise the engines about an inch.

 

[glacierbaze]

You can also leave a large cooler on the bow, and fill it full of water. It should raise the engines about an inch.

Almost swamped my tournament 22 in the slip doing this exact same thing. Didn’t notice that my deck had become ever so slightly tilted toward the bow, and when it started raining hard that afternoon, it just got worse by the minute, because there were no deck drains forward of mid-ship. Luckily, someone saw it and called me.
But, it does work, because my engines were well clear of the water by the time I got to the marina.

 

[c1steve]

A Canyon 306 is pretty large. I suspect you would need at least 4-5 coolers to bring the bow down enough that the drains are too high.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

You can also leave a large cooler on the bow, and fill it full of water. It should raise the engines about an inch.

Unfortunately not really, or the cooler is huge.
I have a about 100 lbs 6 person life raft under the bow table and it does not really lift the stern.
Before installing the BF350's i went to the bow and stand on it while buddy took some photos and LU cam up about 1 inch,
but then weight is approx 350 lbs.
However, i solved this issue on my Venture 34 using a blue plastic 50 gallon barrel full with water and that worked and i guess it would work also on the Canyon 306. before i left the boat i filled the drum and when i came i emptied it and tied the drum to the mooring buoy, in a slip the the drum or coolers need to be carried or stay on the dock.
I will install the trolling motor this spring and then i have another 100+ lbs on the bow and may consider to do the barrel trick.

As glacierbay mentioned, some previous investigation is needed that boat does not become bow heavy and water does not drain and possibly sinking it. The combination of heavy rain and the non very big deck drains with flow restricting flappers on the thru-hull may lead to filling the deck faster an water accumulate on boa area. To be honest, i would not expect that that happens on the 306 Canyon as its a much bigger boat that the Tournament 22 with much less buoyancy, but this should be tested before.

Chris

 

[Fishtales]

2nd biggest issue with the GW transoms if you ask me.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

2nd biggest issue with the GW transoms if you ask me.

What?
Lower units submerged ?
Wet transoms?

When i shopped around to find mine, all 2011 or older 330 Express and 306 Canyon/Bimini had the lower units submerged.
Chris

 

[Fishtales]

What?
Lower units submerged ?
Wet transoms?

When i shopped around to find mine, all 2011 or older 330 Express and 306 Canyon/Bimini had the lower units submerged.
Chris

Both are design defects. Crappy hull to liner joint (then cover it up) is clearly #1. Not having your engines being able to get out of the water 100% #2.

 

[c1steve]

If the engines are 25", you could do glass work to raise the engines 5". Then convert your engines to 30". That should bring the lower units up about 3".

 

[Ekea]

My 2011 306 Canyon had the lower unit about 3 fingers submerged as shown below with the original twin F300, with the F350 V8 it would be about 1 finger more but not to the intake grille what would be a bigger problem.
However, i suggest to not paint them for now and see if they are submerged, how much and if you can change float level with loading the boat differently (more weight on bow).
Should the LU be submerged then it should be enough if you take a swim once a month and scrub the baby barnacles away using a scotch brite pad or something similar.
Then next year you have the correct level to paint the submerged part.
View attachment 36759

what about the intakes closer to the leading edge of the lower? they are under water in your pic. are you not concerned about them?

 

[DennisG01]

If the engines are 25", you could do glass work to raise the engines 5". Then convert your engines to 30". That should bring the lower units up about 3".

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.

 

[DennisG01]

Almost swamped my tournament 22 in the slip doing this exact same thing. Didn’t notice that my deck had become ever so slightly tilted toward the bow, and when it started raining hard that afternoon, it just got worse by the minute, because there were no deck drains forward of mid-ship. Luckily, someone saw it and called me.
But, it does work, because my engines were well clear of the water by the time I got to the marina.

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.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

what about the intakes closer to the leading edge of the lower? they are under water in your pic. are you not concerned about them?

You are right, that is a problem on newer lower units, the intakes are more forward what makes them more prone to be submerged and marine life can clog the grilles and grow inside the cavities.
I had this problem on several of my boats and on my Venture 34 in Costa Rica i mounted hydraulic jack plates to get the lower units completely out of the water as the infested water creating tube worms behind the intake grille there was a problem.
The BF350's were in the marina from end of May to first days of december and growth on lower units was irrelevant, however i consider to apply AF this spring as i don't wan't again jack plates.
Chris

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Both are design defects. Crappy hull to liner joint (then cover it up) is clearly #1. Not having your engines being able to get out of the water 100% #2.

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

 

[Legend]

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.