The well where the outboard mounts on Novelman's Lancer 25 fills with water.

[caguy]

Is this normal? Last time out the gas cans were floating about. It just seems a little strange. Is there a fix for this or do you just live with it?
We are sailing it up to Paradise Cove from MDR tomorrow, for an overnighter and was just curious.

 

[Ross]

How many people in the cockpit? Sounds like she was down by the stern. How big were the people? 4-250 pound men would be quite a load on one end of a 25 foot boat.

 

[Tree]

first question is of course balance. Do you have too much weight in the stern. I needed to put a lot more weight in the bow of my boat to keep the bow down when motoring.

But, also, the angle that your outboard is set at might need to be adjusted. Consult your owners manual. You may need to set the angle of attack so that the shaft does not angle toward the bow as it goes down in the water.

And last but not least, were you giving it too much power? Once you reach hull speed, any additional RPM (power) only results in stern squat --- and motor well filling with water. My 27ft goes hull speed at a pretty low RPM on my Honda 15

 

[caguy]

So you are saying that filling with water is not normal. The water is quite a bit of weight in itself. We did have a pretty heavy trailing sea that day too. We'll try loading more stuff toward the front.
Thanks for getting back so soon.
Frank

 

[Ross]

Caguy, Is the motor well full of water at the dock or when you are under way. Remember it is self draining.
My cockpit drains are about 4 inches above the waterline when we are not moving but when I run the engine at full throttle we get down by the stern and the cockpit starts to flood a little ease the throttle just a bit and it drains right out.

 

[caguy]

Ross, I'll let you know tonight. The time that I noticed it the wind was blowing and the swells were large. My concern at the time was the amount of weight that it contributes to the stern. The floating gas cans were also a bit disconcerting.
I'll take pictures and post when we get back.
Frank

 

[SamLust]

Having had a Lancer 28 which is essentialy the same boat I can say that while not a desirable trait, my engine well would fill with water also. The"transom is quite low to allow as much of the engine lower unit into the water as possible.The thing to look out for is the integrity of the well's floor. It is very lightly glassed and, on mine at least, leaked seawater in which rotted the plywood backing, causing water to end up in the bilge. Took a while to figure that one out. I added glass to the floor and beefed up the engine support while I was there.

 

[caguy]

Thanks Sam, we checked the bilge and it was dry. The well in the back did take in some water though not as badly as before. We had a great time. Paradise Cove is a beautiful anchorage. Lots of kelp but a descent clearing just west of the peer. The view from the water give you a completely different perspective. When on the beach you cannot see the magnificent homes above the high cliffs. One of them belongs to Barbara Streisand. Her's is the gray one with all of the chimneys. Had a great time with Novelman, that old boy gets around pretty well. Now if I can just get him to stop wearing socks with his sandals.

 

[Steve22116]

Paradise Cove Photos; Novelmann & Socks

Thanks Frank for the photos. BTW...there's nothing wrong with socks and sandals as it keeps your feet from getting sunburned. What I this is worse is Duane is out sailing and he's not smiling. Was it the company as he's either happy or sleeping when we're out together(;-) Steve