CONTINUOUSWAVE

Based on the view seen in Figure 1 below, is the static trim of the 2006 130 indicative of having water in the stern?

Note that the water is about an inch or two above the waterline.

BACK STORY
I recently purchased 2006 130 SPORT with a Mercury 40-HP FOURSTROKE--my first Boston Whaler boat. I am now panicking a little. I am speculating there may be water in the stern. In Figure 1 near the brush you can see a port-side access point; there is maybe an inch of water in there.

Q1: Am I worrying over nothing?


Before launching the boat, I had the engine checked over. Also, around the the swim ladder some resealing was done. While the bottom was being painted the SONAR transducer mounting was resealed.

Later I pulled the plug under the seat that is meant for self bailing and water came in. I was not on the boat.

Concerns over the intrusion and retention of water in a Unibond hull are common. See the FAQ for remarks about this:

Q3: Is there water in a Unibond hull?
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q3

A good indicator of the static trim of any Boston Whaler boat is the position of the engine splash well drains relative to the static waterline with no one aboard. Typically the drains of the engine splash well should be above the waterline or just at the water line. Engine splash well drains that are totally immersed below the water line at static trim are generally indicative of too much weight in the stern of the boat.

For any cockpit sump area to fill with some seawater when the cockpit sump drain fitting is removed and the drain is open to the sea is open is completely normal. However, if the water rises in the cockpit sump and begins to flood the deck of the cockpit, that is another indication of too much weight in the stern. If the flooding is limited to a very small area of the cockpit, this may be a normal situation in some models with certain engines.

Note that the water is about an inch or two above the waterline.

I don't understand your remark. The water is at the water line.

Perhaps you meant to say that the waterline at the stern in static trim is higher than the waterline suggested by where the boat bottom paint was applied.

jimh wrote:Perhaps you meant to say that the waterline at the stern in static trim is higher than the waterline suggested by where the boat bottom paint was applied.

Yes.

The painted waterline around the stern is sitting below the surface of the water. I assumed the painted waterline was correct at some point in the boat's past. The guys who re-painted this year followed the same line.

Most of the model year 2000 through 2008 130 SPORT boats tend to list to starboard. It's normal.

The early 130 SPORT boats originally had two-stroke-power-cycle engines that were much lighter than your Mercury FOURSTROKE. Most 130 SPORT boats with a four-stroke-power-cycle engine tend to be stern heavy.

[Other influences on the static trim on a 130 SPORT are the ] location of the battery and fuel tank, and what volume of fuel is aboard.

The 130 SPORT is a great boat. The 130 SPORT ride is much better than the older classic 13-footers.

The model year 2000 130' SPORT only had a 30-HP engine, and having a 40-HP engine was a welcome addition.

Yeah, the list as you described is definitely noticeable.

A local guy looked at the boat on May 20, 2024, and we worked out a plan.

The boat will be hauled out.

Then immediately after I will watch to see if water is draining from some place in particular, such as from a ladder bolt or a transom bolt.

Anything that look suspect will be re-sealed.

Any [water] left will be pumped out from the access point.

In the Fall of 2024 [the local guy] will drill a horizontal hole in the stern. The boat will be allowed to sit during the winter of 2024-2025 to drain. Then [the horizontal hole in the stern will then be] sealed.

I looked into hull drying services but nothing near me.

Thank you both for your help.

ASIDE: On May 20, 2024 we had a close call. I went haul out the 130 SPORT. My wife spotted that one of the boards on the trailer had become detached at the aft end and was floating, The loading was aborted. Moral: check the trailer before use.

130SPORTINCT wrote:I looked into hull drying services but nothing near me.

What method of "hull drying" does a "hull drying service" provide?

frontier wrote:The early 130 SPORT boats originally had two-stroke-power-cycle engines that were much lighter than your Mercury FOURSTROKE.

That would explain how the present static trim at the stern is much lower than where the original waterline was painted for the bottom paint.

All small boats are very sensitive to weight and its placement on the boat.

If the 130 SPORT is going to be left in the water for more than a few days at a time, the anti-fouling paint should be redone so that the present waterline is reflected in the bottom paint waterline.

jimh wrote:

frontier wrote:The early 130 SPORT boats originally had two-stroke-power-cycle engines that were much lighter than your Mercury FOURSTROKE.

That would explain how the present static trim at the stern is much lower than where the original waterline was painted for the bottom paint.

Apparently [the 2006 130 SPORT I bought] came [originally] with the Mercury 40-HP FOURSTROKE engine.

The [owner's] manual shows a 25 ELPT 4-STROKE TMC MERCURY ENGINE or 40 HP ELPT 4-STROKE MERCURY ENGINE were offered.

jimh wrote:If the 130 SPORT is going to be left in the water for more than a few days at a time, the anti-fouling paint should be redone so that the present waterline is reflected in the bottom paint waterline.

The 2006 130 SPORT will be in its slip for the season in brackish water.

[I assume that the location] of the painted waterline should be a fair point of reference [for where the boat's static trim should be altered] to get back to ultimately.

[Following the between-season-2024-and-2025 procedure mentioned above being done] I will see what [change in static trim] happens.

For the 2024-season I may have to get handy with the scrub brush on a regular basis [to keep the present water line above the anti-fouling paint to be free of aquatic growth].

130SPORTINCT wrote:Apparently [the 2006 130 SPORT I bought] came [originally] with the Mercury 40-HP FOURSTROKE engine.

If you really want to find out, check the model year designator on the engine. If the engine model year is newer than 2006, then the boat may have been re-powered by a previous owner.

Also, check with Boston Whaler customer service, give them the stencil number and the federal hull ID number, and they should be able to see the engine originally rigged on the boat when it left the factory.

130SPORTINCT wrote:[I assume that the location] of the painted waterline should be a fair point of reference [for where the boat's static trim should be altered] to get back to ultimately.

That MIGHT be true if the boat was originally rigged with the heavy four-stroke-power-cycle engine, AND if there has been ingress of a very large amount of water and concentrated at the stern which in some unknown manner has now become absorbed into the foam in the interior of the Unibond hull.

But that seems like a lot of things had to happen. A much simpler explanation is the boat came with a lighter engine when the original bottom paint was applied.

Or even simpler, the original bottom paint was applied incorrectly, and the boat has always had a static trim that puts the waterline higher than the anti-fouling paint.

Or, best of all, find someone else with a c.2006 130 SPORT that is rigged with the heavy Mercury 40-HP FOURSTROKE engine, and get a measurement from that owner about how much freeboard remains at the stern with the engine tilted up as shown in your Figure 1, in the same type of brackish water, at the same water temperature.

Note that the density of water varies with salinity and temperature, so very cold, very salty seawater is sufficiently denser than tropical fresh water that the volume of the weight of the water displaced by a hull for a given total hull weight varies considerably. Commercial ships have a Plimsoll line reflects that change in water density for various conditions.

Aerated water is also effectively less dense, which is why there was a great danger to commerical ships when Russia's North Sea natural gas pipeline failed and began venting enormous amounts of natural gas into the North Sea. A large ship that was heavily loaded could have been at risk of foundering if it sailed into those aerated waters.

jimh wrote:

130SPORTINCT wrote:[I assume that the location] of the painted waterline should be a fair point of reference [for where the boat's static trim should be altered] to get back to ultimately.

That MIGHT be true if the boat was originally rigged with the heavy four-stroke-power-cycle engine, AND if there has been ingress of a very large amount of water and concentrated at the stern which in some unknown manner has now become absorbed into the foam in the interior of the Unibond hull.

But that seems like a lot of things had to happen. A much simpler explanation is the boat came with a lighter engine when the original bottom paint was applied.

Or even simpler, the original bottom paint was applied incorrectly, and the boat has always had a static trim that puts the waterline higher than the anti-fouling paint.

Or, best of all, find someone else with a c.2006 130 SPORT that is rigged with the heavy Mercury 40-HP FOURSTROKE engine, and get a measurement from that owner about how much freeboard remains at the stern with the engine tilted up as shown in your Figure 1, in the same type of brackish water, at the same water temperature.

Thanks for your very thorough assessment. Yeah have been trying to look around the marina at other whalers but no 130s around. I would love it if it were just the engine weight and trying to stay positive but here is what we saw yesterday when I opened the access point, which seems to indicate additional water weight. About 2.5-2in of water there and I know they had pumped out the little bit that had been there when they sealed the ladder bolt and serviced the engine, a week ago. What I also noticed was on the cap you can see from the stain that at some point there was a lot of standing water for a period of time. :(

frontier wrote:Most of the model year 2000 through 2008 130 SPORT boats tend to list to starboard. It's normal.

Typically the engine starting battery is located on the starboard side of the transom area on most outboard engine-powered boats. That weight causes the bias for the boat at rest to have a slight list to starboard.

For the same reason, on a Boston Whaler boat the cockpit sump is located to starboard. The list to starboard causes free water on the deck to drain into the cockpit sump on starboard.