Marlin 300 listing

shawnod7

Member
I just bought a 2001 Marlin 300 one owner, well maintained and noticed when she is sitting in the slip and you look at the bow she lists to the port side slightly. Has anyone noticed this?
 

hinmo

Well-Known Member
Is that side where the generator is?
Mine is a 99 and does not have a gen.
I havent noticed a list on mine (yet)
 

georgemjr

Well-Known Member
My 2000 listed to port and drove me crazy. The main 3 culprits were 1) hot water tank (which holds 6 gallons = 48 pounds), 2)air conditioner/heat unit , and 3) 2x 2 stroke oil tanks that hold like 10 gallons of oil = 60 pounds. I tried storing as much as I could on the starboard side but never evened the boat out.
 

Hineser Out

Active Member
So this will sound stupid but are the motors straight up and down , not tilted to one side. While ago with my boat , I would leave the dock and notice it listed to one side, then after a few weeks I realized the motor was tilted to that side. I was like duh why didn’t I realize that.
 

Ozz043

Well-Known Member
My 99 sits level, she is basic though...removed the microwave, removed the water heater, no generator no a/c and removed the charger/inverter.
The only thing on the port side is the a fridge full of beer.... which empties regularly :dance

She does this crazy Port listing underway sometimes and it drives me nuts... (never starboard)
 

journeyman

GreatGrady Captain
Ozz043 said:
The only thing on the port side is the a fridge full of beer.... which empties regularly :dance

She does this crazy Port listing underway sometimes and it drives me nuts... (never starboard)


Maybe whenever someone opens the fridge for one of those beers! :wink:
 

DennisG01

GreatGrady Captain
Also check to see if there's any water in the bilge. If there's water in there, a slight "normal" list will be made worse by the water migrating to that side of the bilge.

Oz... this may not be your problem, but if a hull is trimmed down too far (too much hull in the water), it will do exactly what you are experiencing. Since it sounds like it's not happening in flat water (it still can if trimmed down too far), you're probably right on the edge and as the bow plants after a wave, there ends up being too much hull in the water. This is not specific to your hull - this is a common trait with most v-hull boats.
 

Ozz043

Well-Known Member
Dennis....you could be right with bow down too much
I was thinking one engine is trimmed out more than the other as the tilt/trim of each engine isn’t exactly the same :hmm

I’d be running all day no issues and all of a sudden she goes hard Port list?
Never starboard?

Wish this site had a “like button” similar to Facebook and my fishing forum :D
 

DennisG01

GreatGrady Captain
Ozz043 said:
Dennis....you could be right with bow down too much
I was thinking one engine is trimmed out more than the other as the tilt/trim of each engine isn’t exactly the same :hmm

I’d be running all day no issues and all of a sudden she goes hard Port list?
Never starboard?

Wish this site had a “like button” similar to Facebook and my fishing forum :D

You're right - if the engines aren't in sync (either trim or rpm), that can exacerbate the issue. Even if both of those things are perfectly equal, it's sometimes called "bow steer" or "hull steer" when too much hull is in the water. And, yes, it is almost always to the same side... if not 100% of the time. Personally, I've never experienced it to anything but the same side.

Try this - just for fun... on a calm day, running along at an easy cruise speed, trim the motors down to force the bow down and see what happens :) You should notice the boat start to list and it may also start to turn in one direction. Physics!
 

Fishtales

Well-Known Member
Hi,
When I have a bunch of folks on the boat, people moving can cause side to side listing. A few hundred pounds can do it depending on load. As stated the batteries are port aft. Generator on my boat is center aft and fuel tank is slight starboard aft. Near the rear door starboard there isn't anything other than the wiring tubes (unfortunately no access) so there is a load placement bias to the port side if you ask me. I try to keep my big cooler starboard aft to help offset.
 

georgemjr

Well-Known Member
Please see original post above and my response. Question referred to sitting at slip. The items i referred to are all extra equiptment intalled on port side. Batteries were installed in the center of that boat. Trim has very little (nothing) to do with a list at the dock. It is the three items I referenced.
 

DennisG01

GreatGrady Captain
georgemjr said:
Please see original post above and my response. Question referred to sitting at slip. The items i referred to are all extra equiptment intalled on port side. Batteries were installed in the center of that boat. Trim has very little (nothing) to do with a list at the dock. It is the three items I referenced.

George, as Shawn (original poster) hasn't been back in a while, there has ended up being two different "listing" conversations going on. But... it is possible that trim could affect listing, even when boat is sitting still. As mentioned above, if they are trimmed up and heaved over to one side. It wouldn't cause a lot of listing - especially on a wider boat - but it could be, at least, part of a list issue.
 

Ozz043

Well-Known Member
George
The second topic was my fault sorry.

As I mentioned I have removed lots from the port side of my Marlin, water heater, microwave, charger/inverter....all heavy items but it really hasn’t affected the way she sits in the marina.
 

Angler Management

GreatGrady Captain
My 2007 Marlin lists to port when lightly loaded and tied to the dock, always has. I assume this is a weight issue that numerous things in my boat could cause including batteries, fridge, water heater, AC unit, microwave more fiberglass to create the galley vs the head, etc....

But I don't need the performance of perfect balance tied to the dock. I use trim tabs all the time for various reasons and therefore am unaware of this unbalanced weight issue effecting my performance while underway.

When heavily loaded with 4 ice chests and 3 fat asses and 8 days of food she sits level and chews through the waves like a termite.

Enjoy!
 

Graybeard

Well-Known Member
Did you get your boat surveyed before you bought it? I was ready to buy a 1989 Marlin with 2016 Yamaha 250’s. But the survey found the whole port side hull side was delaminated from excess moisture. It had a definite list to port. I did find a 2003 Marlin that passed the survey with flying colors and based on the bottom paint line, it has a slight list to port. My buddy has a 2005 that also lists slightly to port. The water heater and air conditioner are located on the port side and we think that causes a slight list to port. It doesn’t require using the trim tabs when running to level the boat
 
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