Okay, things are now getting interesting.
There new been a new development. And, we need some advice or guidance to where this has been discussed previously.
After the boat would not plane, on Lake Hopatcong, We dropped it in the water near the Hudson. The performance was worse. Would barely make a bow wave while running at 3300rpm.
after talking to a well-regarded mechanic come along a certified Mercury service center, we are no closer to an answer. He actually turned down the work initially. Said he didn't want to work on another Optimax because he had four others that were impossible to get running right. But, he agreed to get us in at his next slot. Maybe after Memorial Day. We got the same delays from two other local Merc service centers.
but, here's the kicker.... We took the boat to a junkyard to have it weighed. Generally, (and I am open to being corrected here) The boat should weigh between 4800 and 5200lbs, with engine. With a big EZ loader two axle trailer, we are adding roughly 1500 pounds. 30 gallons of new gas. The verified weight? 8440 pounds!. 8440 pounds.
Of course, our first thought is that the boat is completely waterlogged. We pulled the plug and were guessing that about 10 gallons of water drained. Concerning, thinking there might be a leak somewhere. But, the boat had recently been bottom painted and nobody noticed anything significant. That's a lot of water for a leak we could not see. there had been a giant thunderstorm, including hail, the night before we went out of on lake.
Another element would like everyone's help on: there is an aftermarket deck cut out on the starboard side of the boat. Pictures attached. Clearly someone cut the hole and dug out the Styrofoam in order to patch starboard whole wall. It looks like a decently done patch. it was full up to the top. And, not draining. not showing up in the bilge. Now, we pumped roughly 5 gallons out of the hole. But, the water keeps on appearing. We keep on pumping it out in small bits. The bilge is now dry.
How can we drain or dry any contained water?
The boat has a built in diesel cabin heater. Doesn't make any sense to pump heated air into the hall somewhere in the bow?
How do we determine where the water is coming from? There is a very good chance it's coming from the badly sealed hatch cover. The boat may have had a couple of inches of water in the aft deck area. The only thing we know about the boat's history is that it was sitting for almost 5 years. We will reseal this hatch cover and see if that does the trick.
We are open to any and all ideas.
There new been a new development. And, we need some advice or guidance to where this has been discussed previously.
After the boat would not plane, on Lake Hopatcong, We dropped it in the water near the Hudson. The performance was worse. Would barely make a bow wave while running at 3300rpm.
after talking to a well-regarded mechanic come along a certified Mercury service center, we are no closer to an answer. He actually turned down the work initially. Said he didn't want to work on another Optimax because he had four others that were impossible to get running right. But, he agreed to get us in at his next slot. Maybe after Memorial Day. We got the same delays from two other local Merc service centers.
but, here's the kicker.... We took the boat to a junkyard to have it weighed. Generally, (and I am open to being corrected here) The boat should weigh between 4800 and 5200lbs, with engine. With a big EZ loader two axle trailer, we are adding roughly 1500 pounds. 30 gallons of new gas. The verified weight? 8440 pounds!. 8440 pounds.
Of course, our first thought is that the boat is completely waterlogged. We pulled the plug and were guessing that about 10 gallons of water drained. Concerning, thinking there might be a leak somewhere. But, the boat had recently been bottom painted and nobody noticed anything significant. That's a lot of water for a leak we could not see. there had been a giant thunderstorm, including hail, the night before we went out of on lake.
Another element would like everyone's help on: there is an aftermarket deck cut out on the starboard side of the boat. Pictures attached. Clearly someone cut the hole and dug out the Styrofoam in order to patch starboard whole wall. It looks like a decently done patch. it was full up to the top. And, not draining. not showing up in the bilge. Now, we pumped roughly 5 gallons out of the hole. But, the water keeps on appearing. We keep on pumping it out in small bits. The bilge is now dry.
How can we drain or dry any contained water?
The boat has a built in diesel cabin heater. Doesn't make any sense to pump heated air into the hall somewhere in the bow?
How do we determine where the water is coming from? There is a very good chance it's coming from the badly sealed hatch cover. The boat may have had a couple of inches of water in the aft deck area. The only thing we know about the boat's history is that it was sitting for almost 5 years. We will reseal this hatch cover and see if that does the trick.
We are open to any and all ideas.
