Remediation
Well-Known Member
We are fortunate to have 2 Benningtons so we don't have to tow 3 1/2 hours to the lake house. This year the big boat broke down and is in the shop. We towed the 2015 down for Labor Day weekend as we had 13 people staying in the lake house for the 48th annual picking an grinning party. Left at 3 am Saturday morning to miss Cincinnati traffic. The boat trailer was twitchy on the way down. When passing a semi, the trailer would want to sway. I was thinking it might be the new truck because the whole way to Canada this summer it did the same thing. At dawn, we put the boat in the water and tied to the slip. Later that morning, we had three loads of people taking stuff to the ramp and loading the boat. I took the truck to the bottom of the ramp and off loaded stuff. Jill was bringing the boat around and I noticed a list of the boat. I am never not on the boat so I had not seen the boat out on the water. We had 10 people on it so "maybe too many people on one side." We anchor up and everybody is in the water. I float to the the back of the motor pod and the boat has a noticeable list. On the pod is a V shaped water deflector on each side. The starboard piece is under the water and the port side is 1 inch above water. We boat Saturday and Sunday. Early Monday morning with the ramp quiet we pull the boat up the ramp. The starboard rear chamber is sloshing water. There are only 2 chambers on the elliptical toon, so half the toon has water in it. We get the boat to the dealer in Cincinnati. I told them about some warranty issues and that I had water in the toon. The called me and said I have a 6" crack on the top rear of the pontoon. That means for probably for the last 2 years I have been dragging around hundreds of lbs of water at the rear of the boat and adding more as we boated. I have weigh slips from when I checked tongue weight when it was new. I will weigh it before I drain the water. I must have very little weight on the ball.
Upside is that Bennington is covering the pontoon, a bimini boot that was stitched wrong and a new playpen cover that had stitching falling apart.
Upside/downside is that service found my propshaft was bent. The bearing were still in good shape so the lower unit is OK . It is an expensive repair.
I hit a marker buoy that was floating 4" above the water about the 2nd time we had the boat out. It tweaked the SS prop a little bit (which I fixed) but it must have got the shaft also because that is the only thing I have hit.
We are fortunate that we did not lose the boat & trailer on the way back but I also drove the speed limit for the first time in a long time. It was never bad but it was not right. Also this might explain the 8.6 mpg towing.
Expensive September.
Upside is that Bennington is covering the pontoon, a bimini boot that was stitched wrong and a new playpen cover that had stitching falling apart.
Upside/downside is that service found my propshaft was bent. The bearing were still in good shape so the lower unit is OK . It is an expensive repair.
I hit a marker buoy that was floating 4" above the water about the 2nd time we had the boat out. It tweaked the SS prop a little bit (which I fixed) but it must have got the shaft also because that is the only thing I have hit.
We are fortunate that we did not lose the boat & trailer on the way back but I also drove the speed limit for the first time in a long time. It was never bad but it was not right. Also this might explain the 8.6 mpg towing.
Expensive September.