Bow sitting low in the water

[Marrigoround]

1987 Hunter Legend 37

I got a call from someone on the dock yesterday saying that my bow was sitting low and my heard started racing. I had known that the boat leaned forward based on the way water gathers forward in the cockpit, but I did not expect that it was dramatic enough for passersby to take notice. I assumed the worst.

After racing home from work, I checked the bilge and all thru-hulls to find that everything was as dry as it has always been (at least since I bought the boat in February). So that's good. Then I emptied the anchor locker (220' of 1" rode, 40' of 1 1/2" chain, two danforth anchors, and 5 bunches of various line) and noticed the bow raised about an inch. Still sitting too low.

Before and after pictures attached.

I had been planning on installing a windlass and upgrading my rode to chain. With a bow that's already a couple inches too low (according to the waterline), the added weight will only worsen this problem.

Anyone have any experience with this? Any suggested solutions other than adding a bunch of heavy stuff in the stern?

 

[agprice22]

Did you recently shift weight forward in the boat? Did you make any adjustments or changes? Is your water tank forward? Can you look under the V berth to see if there is water? Did you run the fuel tank low? Did you empty your water tank? Is your holding tank forward? Did you remove your batteries or other equipment? Any of these may upset the weight distribution forward and aft, causing the boat to bow down.
My O’day sat low in the bow, but all the 272s did. I think it was a way of having a balanced boat with a few folks in the cockpit. I am hearing yours was not that way.

 

[rgranger]

... Any suggested solutions other than adding a bunch of heavy stuff in the stern?

Repaint your bootstrap?

I'm only half joking. How does she sail? If you were not looking at the line, does the boat seem to sit alright?

 

[Marrigoround]

Ya, no major changes. I had previously tested with water in the cockpit with an empty fuel tank (aft) and a full water tank (forward) and then vice versa. There was a minor change, but still sloping forward.

I like your idea of compensating with crew in the cockpit, I suppose there is some logic in that.

 

[Marrigoround]

Ya, she seems fine, sails well. Difficult to drain the cockpit and water collects forward in the galley sink. I certainly don't want to add anymore weight with a windlass and chain unless I can straighten her out though...

 

[rgranger]

Maybe relocate your battery bank as near to the transom as possible?

 

[Ron20324]

Yeah, put 500 pounds of crew in the cockpit and take a look. To assume you take the boat out of the slip and not just sit at the dock and look at it, don't worry about it, as it will change as your load chages. Put the hard liquor in the vee and the soft drinks in the aft cabin.

 

[Marrigoround]

-"Put the hard liquor in the vee and the soft drinks in the aft cabin."

That's pretty much the answer that I was looking for, thanks.

 

[Rick486]

-"Put the hard liquor in the vee and the soft drinks in the aft cabin."

That's pretty much the answer that I was looking for, thanks.

Did you really mean 220 ft of 1 inch rode? Much heavier than one might need. And 40 ft of 1-1/2 inch chain? Really? If those are correct sizes, I can understand why she may be a bit down at the bow. How heavy are the 2 Danforth anchors?

 

[Marrigoround]

Yes that information is correct as I counted it all out last night after I took it all out of the locker. This is the equipment that was included when I purchased the boat a few months ago. The anchors are about 15 lbs and 10 lbs, maybe. It sure would drop the bow, but as I mentioned, she was still sitting low after I removed all of this, so indeed, not the cause of the problem.

 

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[Rick486]

Yes that information is correct as I counted it all out last night after I took it all out of the locker. This is the equipment that was included when I purchased the boat a few months ago. The anchors are about 15 lbs and 10 lbs, maybe. It sure would drop the bow, but as I mentioned, she was still sitting low after I removed all of this, so indeed, not the cause of the problem.

Did you remove all that gear off the boat on to the dock? Or just move it out of the locker further aft on deck?

 

[Marrigoround]

All of that gear went to the dock.

 

[Rick486]

Well, looking around on the web some pics of the legend 37 do appear to be a tad down by the bow. Maybe just the nature of the design. Also, the waterline stripe is very close to the waterline. Might look better if the bottom paint extended above the DWL a bit. On our 44DS, at lightship, I have about 6 inches of bottom paint exposed.

 

[agprice22]

The question is whether this represents a change in the stance of the boat for the owner? How long has he owned the boat? If this boat is new to him, then this may be the natural waterline. If he owned it for some time, it still may not represent a change, depending on how observant he is.
Is this a sudden change? If so, then the reason is worth pursuing. If not, then we are trying to reason out something that really does not matter. My 272 sat low in the bow. Period. No explanation needed.

 

[Marrigoround]

I've only owned the boat for a few months and I have been focused on many other aspects and upgrades to have sufficiently redirected my attention. Now that I notice it, my question is exactly that; "is the reason worth pursuing?" Based on these responses so far, it seems like it is not a big deal and I can probably simply redistribute weight/ballast in order to balance how I prefer.

Thanks for all of your replies, you have helped put my mind at ease.

 

[Ken Cross]

On our 30G we notice the stern squats when under power or sailing. When not underway, it sits pretty level. If the bow were low, the stern squat should actually improve the underway stance. That's my thinking.

Ken

 

[agprice22]

I would guess the boat will settle nicely with sone with some weight in the stern.