Alaska 500 1988

[ruairi]

Hi,

New to this forum. And need some advise.

I have just bought a Shetland 500 with mercury 60hp bigfoot. While on mooring the gunnel sits parallel to water and boat lists to starboard. Rain water on deck drains toward bow. Water only travels to sump at stern when on plane and is pumped out. When moving if I open bilge bung brown water drains into sump.

I assume that there is water trapped  underfloor? Do I just have to cut a hole in floor and have a look?

 

Any advise appreciated.

 

Cheers Ruairi

[Rob]

Is there a drain plug on the stern low down?

I'm not sure on the build of these, but it doesn't sound right.

Might be worth taking to get it weighed perhaps?

R

[Colin-58]

Hi ruairi, where are you moored? I am sure there are members on here that will be able to give you names of people to contact to give you good advise.           Colin

[Death Trap II]

Hi Ruairi,

 

i dont know about the construction of these boats, but you need to find out how the underfloor structure is put together. This is not always easy to find out though.

 

i.e. is there any foam.

 

However, I would suspect that there is very little foam under the floor and it is more about cavity buoyancy. 

 

The best way to check if there is water trapped is to get her out of the water on a trailer (turn the sump pump off before you do so it doesnt pump out while recovering) and wiggle her around (ensure to account for the fuel sloshing around). Tip up the bow with the jocky wheel and see if that sends water to the rear drain/sump pump.

 

If it does, you might need to do some calcs about expected weight and get her weighed (checking for water logging)

 

if it is catching rainwater, you might want to check the weight distribution in the boat. i.e. where is the battery and the fuel tank? these things have a huge impact on how the boat sits without passengers and could be causing it to sit incorrectly and prevent the water from draining, causing the viscous cycle. 

 

 

[Graham Nash]

My Orkney leaks from the anchor well into the hull. Its supposed to drain to the back, where the auto bilge pump spits it out. 

I took my boat out of the water a couple of years ago because I was constantly getting a small amount of dirty water in the rear of my hull and I lifted the floor. The drain holes between the sections of the boat had filled with sludge and the middle section was completely full of water. Id guess in the region of half a bath full of dirty water.  

 

I removed and replaced lots of structure from beneath the deck, and replaced the deck but fitted inspection hatches in various places. I fitted an additional bilge pump in the middle too, so if it ever happens again I can pump it out easily. 

 

The difference in handling was amazing! 

[Maverick Martin]

If you suspect water between the hull and floor you could fit small inspection hatches in your dec. One either side probably a quarter way from the stern of the boat. doing this will prove 2 things, whether there is water or/and foam under the floor.

If its just water beneath the floor you can fit drain plugs on the outside of the stern to periodically drain it out.  If there is foam in there its a much larger job as some foams absorb and retain water.

Finding any leak into the hull will be a nightmare if not impossible to find without loads of time.

 

Another thought is if you have pedestal seats to remove these and gain access to the hull from under these then repair the holes and refit the seats.

 

Good luck

[Gummage]

Welcome to the club and a great question for a kick off.  On my boat the original deck drain is hidden behind the tilt and trim on the outboard. The original 1980 motor probably had this mechanism inboard.  I don’t know how old a Shetland 500 is but Perhaps that’s why you can’t find a bung. 
 

[ruairi]

Thanks for all the advise, a lot to mull over!

I think I will contact Shetland to find out what the boat should weigh, and then get the boat weighed. My Alaska 500 has a cream coloured hull, think that means it was made by Shetland prior to selling the design to Seahog in 1988 when hull colour was changed to white? 

 

Sounds like I'll just have to cut some inspection hatches to have a look if weights don't match.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

Cheers Ruairi