[jbonini]

My 1994 Barchetta 182 leans to the rear starboard side of the boat when the boat is at rest and no gear is in the boat (except for life vests). I will try to post some pictures - but it has been raining everyday here and I cannot get the boat in the water. The boat is always covered. I am the second owner.

When planing, the boat begins to lean to the starboard side. Can be stabilized by trimming up a bit, but leans nonetheless.

There is no standing water in the boat (that I can find). I have it parked in my driveway sloped so that the bow is up and the rear is down - I do not see any water in the boat. The floor underneath the rear flip up seat is wet. I am trying to dry it out. Friend of mine thought the hull might be defective. But that cant be right as it has not always been like this. I am wondering if it could be some waterlogged foam or other water that is trapped that I cannot get to. I tried shaking the boat on the trailer, but I think I am only hearing the gas slosh around.

Any thoughts as to a cause (and cure) are appreciated.

Regards,
John

[Paul F]

How bad is the lean? Photo?

[SEMIJim]

The battery's on the starboard side. Our '94 Barchetta is also heeled slightly to starboard when at rest.

Our 30', 8300 lb. sailboat, with 4000 of those lbs in an encapsulated-lead keel 5' below the water-line also heels slightly to starboard at rest. The anchor, the batteries and the icebox are all on the starboard side.

Jim

[jbonini]

Folks: Thanks for the input. I tried to take pictures on Sunday. Dropped the camera in the water. Wife wanted to kill me. So no pictures of the lean at rest. I have spent the last couple of days getting a new camera. Who knew boat repairs would cost me a new camera.

Anyhow, I did take the boat out. I should have mentioned that the lean is not only at rest, but also when the boat is planing. I cannot drive it without someone else in the boat with me counter-balancing my weight. And when that other person is in the boat with me, they cannot move to the driver's side. If they do, the boat begins to lean to the drivers side - significantly.

Yes, the battery is on the drivers side. But that weight cannot be causing the issues. After tons of looking at this on the web, I am at the point of pulling up some floor to see if I have waterlogged foam below the floor. So, with my cell phone now, I have taken some pictures of the area next to the engine on the drivers side where I think there may be some waterlogged foam (where the boat appears to lean). Funny thing is that the floor seems dry and not rotted.

I bought this boat a little while ago. For $2750. It is a fixer-upper. It runs great with no seals leaking, etc. The person I bought it from had it sitting next to his garage for two years. A cover was on it - but probably not completely keeping water out. As I look at everything, I think water collected near the rear-driver's side of the boat. The side board (with the carpet partially pulled off) is wet and the rear seat was wet on the drivers side. (I apologize for the sideways picture - cant figure out how to rotate it).

So, my question now is, while looking at the attached picture, where is a safe place for me to core a hole to see if I have some issue below the floor. Any suggestions? If you have not already figured all this out - I am new to all this boating stuff. Hopefully I will not destroy the boat. Once I figure all this out, I will upload some before pictures and, hopefully, some much nicer after pictures.

Again, thanks for looking at this post and providing feedback.

Regards

[Paul F]

Mine lists to port (left) coming on plane, but that is due to prop torque. Sounds like your encapulsated foam is waterlogged on the starboard side.

[jbonini]

Thought I should update this post.

I removed the floor and pulled out waterlogged foam. Replaced all wood and foam. It wasn't too bad. I need to glass everything now. Also, on either side of the boat, above the floor, is a soffit of sorts (has cup holders in it) that has foam in it as well - and was soaked heavier than under the floor. Previous owner must have had standing water in the boat forever. Made a huge difference once I replaced all that crap. No more bow steer or leaning at all. I'll post pictures one of these days. It was not a bad project. Learned way more than I ever thought I would about boats.

[WetWilly]

Hi jbonini, great to hear you got to the root of your problem and resolved it .

If you feel up to it, the club could always use another How-To Guide (with pics if possible) for someone else having a similar issue...hint, hint, hint .

WetWilly

[Rdrdon]

I imagine I'll be doing this in the future, my 1996 200 seems to weigh a couple of tons, I scrape bottom in 3' of water. It seems like the stern is a lot heavier than it should be, I've wondered if I have a flooded compartment since I got the boat. The previous owner stored it outside with a cover, but it was obviously wet when I got it.