Looked at another 43DCMY today - listing problem

[montauk1989]

I looked at another 43 DCMY in Maryland today. 6V71 engines, hours are unknown as the meters were replaced. Overall the boat was in nice condition. The electronics are very out dated. Engine room was clean. The owner is not in the area and isn't using a broker. He told me where the keys were and said to go ahead and start it. The keys weren't there. He later explained on the phone that he had a friend start the boat earlier in the day to make sure it was running good. I thought I had specifically asked to leave the engines cold but maybe I didn't. Anyway the mysterious friend reports that the engines are fine. No kidding. I suspect the friend couldn't start the engines and took the keys with him.

Anyway, the boat is listing to port. The bottom of the port engine exhaust is about 2 inches under water. The bottom of the starboard engine exhaust is even with the water. The owner said it has always been that way since he's owned it. There were two other 43DCMY's near by. Both of those boats sat level but lower in the water. Both fuel tank indicated 3/4 full. There was very little water in the bilge. The generator and two AC units were mounted on the port side. Batteries were on the starboard side. There may have been more batteries on the port side but we didn't get around the engine to look. Is this a problem?

Thanks
Dave

[Nonchalant1]

Many boats list due to unbalanced items in them, not unbalanced boats. Batteries, dinghy motors, davits, genny, one full tank and one empty tank, etc. I had to move a heavy sleeper sofa from port to starboard to correct a list in mine. It was on the same side as the davit and dinghy motor.

Doug

[Hat4349]

From the descriptive data you supply I'd walk away from this one and keep on looking. Good luck.

[jim rosenthal]

..give this one another chance- tell him you're coming over with an IR thermometer and you're going to read the engines to make SURE that they are COLD. (it's not quite forty this morning here in Annapolis). Then do Karl's coldstart procedure. If she passes that maybe she's worth looking at in more detail. A lot of boats list from being improperly loaded, like the man said. Mine did. Heavy stuff too much on one side ends up unbalancing the boat and she will sit out of level. Also, when up on plane, you have to use the tabs to run level, if the problem is beyond a certain point. I took out the fridge and installed a much smaller one, moved the batteries, and pretty much solved the problem. The wiring changes we are about to make will help a bit more, as did putting the sofa back in on the port side (when we rebuilt the sofa we lightened it considerably, so it doesn't exert the righting force I hoped it would. Installing a few more starting batteries on the port side will help, plus I went to a smaller genset muffler on the starboard side, which took a little weight out there.

These hulls were generally well-designed and should float level if the heavy objects are distributed evenly.

[montauk1989]

Thanks for the tips. I've searched the forums but I can't find the Genesis's test description anywhere. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Dave

[wmpierson]

Look up Genesis 30 second compression check. This thread was stared 10-26-04.

Will

[PascalG]

doens't take much for a boat to list a little. My 53 had a slight liat, about 1 to 2" at the exhausts. when i added the inerter bank (8 golf batteries placed between the stbd stringers it almost corrected completly

easy for a boat to get a list with a heavy sofa, props or oil stored, etc...

pascal
miami,fl
70 53my

[Walter Pereira]

Sometimes just a beam wind at the dock can cause quite a list. Turn the boat around and check it again. Obviously this test only applies if it's fairly windy. I also have had listing situations and all of them were easy fixes. On one of my boats (also a Hatteras), the factory added 7 or 8 lead ingots on one side of the boat to level it. I believe redistribution of load is the better way to go however since adding weight is counterproductive as relates to performance. Walt

[montauk1989]

We've decided to give it another look tomorrow. If it goes well we'll be getting it surveyed next week, both engine and boat by separate surveyors.

I'm taking Karl's engine starting tips with me. We'll be starting the 6-71's cold. The temperature should be around 50F. The owner is absolutely confident that the engines should start right up. I asked that they not be started prior to our arrival.

Dave

[montauk1989]

Someone sent me an email asking me how we made out with our second look at the 43 DCMY. Well, it went okay. The temperature was around 40 degrees. The port engine took quite a few cranks to start but it did. The idle was a little lumpy for about 30 seconds. The starboard engine started on the first try. The generator wouldn't start but sounded like it was almost ready. The boat was tied at the dock so we just made sure it went in and out of gear properly which it did. Anyway, just before we left to go look at the boat I happened to find a 42' Grand Banks on the internet at the same marina. Long story short, we made an offer, left a deposit, had it surveyed by both a boat surveyor and ford/lehman mechanic. We're waiting on the written reports of those surveys but it looks like we'll be buying the Grand Banks.

I have to tell you folks that I participate in a boston whaler forum, continuouswave.com and an airplane forum for citabria owners. Both of those forums are active with good advice from many people although the whaler forum gets a bit carried away with political stuff. While searching for boats I tried to find active forums for that particular brand. Most were ghost towns. This forum is excellent. There is some really great information here and some incredibly knowledgeable people. I'm glad the forum will be updated and access to archived posts will be maintained. I really like the 43 DCMY but for now it looks like a Grand Banks is in our future. Thanks so much for your advice.

Keep your knots up!
Dave

[jim rosenthal]

They are wonderful boats. You have to like keeping up with all that exterior varnish, though. Every time I see one go by, I think about the Matthews and Egg Harbor I owned years ago and all the time I spent varnishing.

[Trojan]

I could not agree more Jim. My 37 Egg was nothing but varnish work. Looked good. But work. Never again. Bill

[jim rosenthal]

When I bought my Hatteras, almost the first thing I did was remove that teak molding that runs around the outside perimeter of the aft bulkhead. It was gone anyway. I never had it remade or put it back; we just painted the area in. It's a nice touch, but lets water into the bulkhead thru the screwholes etc.
I love classic boats, I love the way they look and feel, I even love the way wood boats smell. There is nothing as enjoyable in its' way as looking over a Trumpy or a Matthews or Egg or Chris that someone has lovingly restored. I'm in a club for classic yachts and I admire greatly the lengths their owners go to in keeping them up. But I strongly suspect I'll never do it again myself. I've been there, got the Tshirt and shed all the tears, and what I want to do with my boat is go boating. Not sanding. And in order to PROPERLY maintain a big wood boat, I'd have to give up not only my Hatteras but all my cars and motorcycles. And that ain't happening.