CONTINUOUSWAVE

A 1987 Super Sport 13 with 2006-production-year Mercury 25-HP engine with power tilt has A 6-gallon portable [fuel] tank and a Group-24 battery, both in the stern behind the seat. In general the boat is in great cosmetic shape and has all-original gel coat. The woodwork is in good condition. There are no signs of de-lamination that I find. The deck has a solid feeling. The 1987 SUPER SPORT 13 boat has been out of the water since last summer.

The 1987 SUPER SPORT 13 boat is new to me. I just dropped it in for the first time [three days ago]. First observation is that it's way stern heavy. This isn't terribly surprising, given the weight distribution, but I was still surprised by the extent. For reference the engine well (slightly confused about the naming of the two through hulls) was under the water line somewhat, at rest, initially.

Second, the lower (main) drain plug for the deck was slowly leaking.

Third, I set out to try and rebalance things and seemed to fail. I un-plugged the [fuel] tank and put it all the way in the bow on the anchor locker. I took the battery and put it as far forward as the cables allowed, on the seat in front of the console. Pulling the main plug in this state resulted in a steady rush of inflow. This made me uneasy so I didn't let it continue. Instead I put a foot on the bow and applied 50 to 100-lbs of weight. Ok, now I think I got things to stabilize with about 1 to 2-inches of water on the deck in the stern.

Does this all sound normal?

Or not?

What I'm reading now seems to indicate that the 13 realistically will have some water on deck. My past experience was my uncle's 15 which sat with water only in the lower well with the plug out.

What I'm hoping is that some other people with similar 4- strokes will chime in with their experience regarding water level in the boat when the plug is left OUT.

Regarding the leaking drain plug: I'm going to buy a new one. Also I read that it should be screwed in? Not sure if that applies to my plug or not.

Thanks

For advice about hull drains and engine splash well drains, see the Owner's Manual. I have reproduced the original printed manual in HTML. See

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... drainTubes

The drains in the typical Boston Whaler boat of c.1987 are just thin-wall brass tubes. There are no threads in these drain holes.

The typical plug used with them is a press-fit rubber-body plug. The rubber plug has a slight taper to it. The diameter of the plug is increased by pulling the far end of the plug toward the top of the plug and compressing the rubber. This is usually done with either a T-handle fitting that is threaded into a brass end plate on the far end of the plug, or by a lever mechanism. If the plug fits very snugly into the drain, you should release the compression on the rubber portion so its diameter decreases. Installing the plug by rotating it as you push it into the drain may be helpful, but you are not threading the plug into the drain.

When the plug is inserted into the drain, the T-handle is turned to compress the rubber, making the rubber larger in diameter, and creating a good seal. In some cases you might have to lubricate a new plug with some Vasoline jelly to help it fit the drain. It is not unusual that a drain might be a bit out of round or otherwise have a slight imperfection, so getting the plug into the drain might need some help.

Also, the plugs come in two sizes; don't get the wrong size.

The aft sump drain in the cockpit is usually not so far below the waterline that the entire boat floods with water if the drain is left open. Usually the sump fills and perhaps a small amount spills onto the deck.

The engine splash well drains will drain the splash well to the sea, and those drains are typically never plugged on a 13-footer. If there is too much weight on the transom, the splash well drains may be below the waterline, but they should not be so far below the water line that the engine splash well fills or overflows.