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Pontoon Boat Now Sitting Too Low In The Back End

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Jack Willis

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I have a 2018 Bennington 23 RCWL. About 6 months ago my lift strap in the back broke and my Yamaha 300 HP went underwater and ruined the motor. I tried to find and then tried to order a replacement motor and could not get Yamaha to comit to a delivery date. So, I decided to switch over to a Suzuki 350 which was only 175 lbs. more weight than my 300 Yamaha. I just got it back from the retrofit shop and noticed yesterday that the back of the boat is sitting much lower in the water and the front end is almost out of the water. I cannot believe 175 additional pounds would do this.
Is there any way I can do to correct this issue? I know I can use the trim out in open water, but I am talking about idling speed around my cove.
 
Welcome Jack! Sorry to hear about your issues. Unfortunately, I’ve got no words of wisdom other than perhaps getting a pilot’s license, because that thing is going to fly!
 
Wow - what a horrible mishap. Sorry you have had to deal with that mess. I too am a bit surprised it would make that much of a difference with your ESP hull.

Any chance you can post a couple side profile pictures of how it is siting in the water? Also, bonus if you could post an older picture or two of how it sat before. It would really allow some with similar set ups to see if it is really any different than what theirs looks like.

My only thought/concern: Given the type of mishap you had, is there any chance you also popped some welds on lifting strakes or performance foils, or some other weld point, on 1 or more of your pontoons. That would have been A LOT of weight crashing down on the water with the older 300Hp on the back. When in the water, if it were taking on a little bit of water in 1 or more pontoons post mishap, that’s how it would sit - EXTRA low in the back.
 
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You might consider relocating the heavy lead acid battery up front.
 
175 pounds doesn’t seem like much but think of fulcrum effect.
I‘m leaning towards Jeff’s thoughts. Check the toons.
How did it ruin motor? I’ve seen motors dunked previously. As long as they are not turned over and hydraulic if cylinders filled with water, they can be repaired.
 
Have the stern chambers of the toons been checked for water?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong.....Did Bennington advise against using strap type lifts??? Also, must be water in the toons. 175 lbs. shouldn't make that much of a difference on an ESP Hull!
 
Not sure about Bennington taking a specific position, but there have been others that have had problems with strap lifts. AND others in here that have (recently) ignored Club user warnings because their local lift guy “assures” them they are okay.
 
One

Just one of the reasons a strap lift is bad is they impose a significant side load on the toons. The toons are not designed for those side loads.
 
Timdelta said:
One

Just one of the reasons a strap lift is bad is they impose a significant side load on the toons. The toons are not designed for those side loads.
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Bingo!
 
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