Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Hey everyone. Over the last few months I have noticed a few problems with my 240z Davanti. I seem to have a starboard side list. Both sitting in the water and while under way at medium speeds. As I increase speed, it corrects. I have also noticed increased time it takes to come on plain, exspecially when I add a person or two (3-5 people total). The boat just feels heavy! Trailering, pulling it down the road, handeling, It just feels like I have a 500lb elephant in it with me. I have pulled the drain plug and physically checked in the bottom for water but there is non. Where could I be getting this weight or water from. The bilge area is relativly small, could I have other compartments that have clogged drains? Where? Driving me crazy. Please help.

1994 Davanti 240Z

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Do you have smart/ trim tabs ? Maybe one of them isnt working properly..

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I do now. I just installed them to help with the problem, and they have but I still feel like i'm putting a bans-aid on the problem. Smart Tabs, Port side on furthast hole away starboard on closest to the hull, hole.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

did you check the drive ? i mean like the geometry compared to the boat

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Can't say that I have taken a tape measure to it. From just looking with my eyes everything look fine. However that really does not say much, I would imagine just an inch out of wack could really make a diffrence. Thanks I will check it out and post results.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Thats weird :confused:, if it feels heavy on the trailer/ road aswell that cant be the problem..

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I agree, however it might only feel heavy because I have it stuck in my head, that it is. Either way still has a list

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

maybe you gained a few pounds lately ;)

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

LOL well maybe a few. Nothing serious

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Wet Willy seems to have the same problem with his boat....but then after looking at his avatar i completely understand why... :rolling_laugh:

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I had been doing some reading and found that the 303's? had draining problems. Does anyone have a general layout of how the Davanti drains water into the bilge area. Again I just feel like its heavy. FYI I have not traded in my wife on a heavier model so its not that :yes_grin:

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Everything drains through the center into the bilge. I'm assuming you've tested if your bilge pump is working properly?

And just an FYI, Mariah never made a "303". :)

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Do you have dual batteries? If so, and they're on the same side, that could be the cause of a slight list. I have it as well (just barely noticeable), but I'm quite certain it's just the weight of 2 batteries on the very edge of the Starboard side.

Take a rubber hammer and knock the sides of the hull and transom. If water-logged, you should be able to hear different noises as you go along the hull. If you recently put in Smart Tabs, did you notice any water or rotted wood when drilling the holes?

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Yes, when drilling the hole I did notice water coming out of the holes. The wood is not in very good shape either:confused:. Its hard to tell when you can't see it. I read an article that said soggy wood is pretty common on old boats. The top holes I drilled, for the actuator brackets, were fine. When I look into the bilge area it would appear that there has to be drains from the side storage areas but I can not find them at all. The hull, again appears, to have three compartments. The center and one on each side. From peeking into the bilge/ engine compartment it look like there is no escape for water traveling down either of the two sides. This weekend I'm gonna get the hose out and start filling the side compartments and see if/where the water ends up.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Water coming out of the lower holes you drilled for the tabs doesn't necessarily indicate a punky transom. You may have simply drilled too deep & went right thru into the bilge area.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I very well could havedrilled too deep. The wood coming out when drilling was soft and wet but it did not have that dark old look that rotted wood looks like. The wood could just have gotten wet when bilge water hit it. The amount that came out was only about 2 cups or so.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

do you have a cooler in the rear? my 96 Shabah Z210 had a problem with water filling up a rear compartment beteen the swim platform and the aera under it.after hours of looking , testing , and checking what was every thing i could think of that would let water in the compartment, i found that it was coming in around the brass collor that was used for the drain for the cooler. don`t know if this will help , but good luck anyway !

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I dont have a built in cooler. I do know the area you are talking about and never thought to check it, think I will. I think I may have a drain hole clogged. I have been looking at some pics of people who had replaced the floors and see an area where I think water could be hiding. I keep my boat about 2 hours away and am not going there this weekend . Wish I was, I'm loosing sleep wanting to start my investigation.

Thanks for the help.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I found this pic on the site, looking at it, how does the water drain into the center if it collects in the side compartments.
http://www.mariahownersclub.com/foru...iew1-small.jpg

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

brettk,

I thought that Mariah's side compartments were foam filled. If so, how would they collect water?

Shabah 198SE

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

I believe there was foam on smaller boats, on models larger than 21' I remember reading on this forum they did not. I had also thought I read some place that when water gets in the sides, like through a hole in a cup holder it has no place to go. I'm sure you know your boat well, how it rides, feels, trailers, etc. Over the past year mine has been feeling slugish I guess. The same way it feels when you have too many people in the boat. I have pulled the transom drain plug and there is no water that comes out. If there is foam in the sides I would guess that it could hold some water as well. I don't hear it sloshing around or anything but it would be hard to hear while under way. I have my wife load the boat on the trailer so I don't get a chance to hear anything while loading and un-loading. I have asked her and she says she dosent "think" she hears any water sloshing around but she can't tell for sure. I feel my list has to be a weight thing because it does it just sitting there. Even putting it on the trailer I have to move all bodies to one side to get it level. I won't be able to get to the boat for another week, then I'm gonna start pulling out the ski locker floors and see what I find. It seems like the best place to start. I posting here to get my plan of attack in order, its nice to have the power of numbers to help with ideas.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

From the 94 Brochure:

"Mariah achieves it's solid quiet ride through the injection of polyurethane foam into all hull cavities and the secondary stringer system. In addition to the floatation benefits, this special foaming technique provides remarkable structural integrity, sound absorption, and thermal insulation."

I've never heard they did it on just up to the 21ft models. The foaming was part of their signature construction method on all boats up until the very end, so I'm assuming you might be misinformed.

One thing to check, my bilge has a smaller drain plug inside the hull that's inside the regular drain plug hole on the transom. I'll try and snap a pic to explain this better. Perhaps yours has become blocked. Just check the drainage compartments in all your storage bins, and make sure they're open and not blocked off.

Re: Starboard side list, Could I be water logged?
 

Thanks, I will check the storage areas. I know I read something about the foam thing but I can't find it now. I must have been mistaken. A pic of the drain thing would be great. Thanks for your help!