1991 GW Sailfish Sitting heavy at stern in water

[Blue Fin]

I have a 1991 GW Sailfish with twin 1990 200 Johnsons. Ive owned it for a year. My plans are to re power in 3 years. In doing so I would like to switch the original Springfield bracket for a Armstrong bracket and increase the flotation of the stern through the bracket to support heavier 4 strokes. Also, It would be nice to go up a bit in horse power. Does anyone know anything about this?, Does this make sense? Is this possible?

Also, right now with the spinfield bracket, the boat , seems to sit heavy in the water on the right side. The scuppers on the starboard side are just under the water line, the port side not as bad. I just emptied out a bunch of water from the bracket, pulled the inspection plates, left it open for two days to dry as much as possible, and then re sealed the inspection plates. I used teflon tape on the drain plugs. When I put it back in the water was expecting to see a difference in buoyancy and I did not. This is frustrating me a bit. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[Fishtales]

I'd be concerned that either the bracket is filling with water or you have water intrusion in the stern. Probably best to have them investigated before you put a bracket on and repower. What you are asking seems feasible, maybe someone here has done it before.

 

[Blue Fin]

That is a concern for me and before I spend big cash on repower I will have my transom inspected.. Im wondering why it sits heavier to the starboard side. The bracket was filling with water. When I emptied it, a bunch of water came out, I estimate about 10 gallons give or take. but it did not change the way the boat sits. Im wondering if its sitting normally due to my fuel tanks being full.. I have a 150 gallon main and a 50 gallon spare tank. The spare tank is full right now and sits closer to the stern... I guess Ill try burning off the spare tank next time I go out and see if the scuppers come out of the water.

 

[suzukidave]

is it still listing with the motors in the water? if they are tilted up the boat may list the direction the powerheads are leaning.

also is there any unequal weight distribution near the stern. batteries? live wells?

 

[Blue Fin]

The motors are both down in the water. As to the weight distribution, I have two batteries on the starboard side and one on the port, and I do keep a 10 lb downrigger ball on the starboard side as well... I wouldn't think that would be enough to weigh it down that much though..

 

[seasick]

I have a 1991 GW Sailfish with twin 1990 200 Johnsons. Ive owned it for a year. My plans are to re power in 3 years. In doing so I would like to switch the original Springfield bracket for a Armstrong bracket and increase the flotation of the stern through the bracket to support heavier 4 strokes. Also, It would be nice to go up a bit in horse power. Does anyone know anything about this?, Does this make sense? Is this possible?

Also, right now with the spinfield bracket, the boat , seems to sit heavy in the water on the right side. The scuppers on the starboard side are just under the water line, the port side not as bad. I just emptied out a bunch of water from the bracket, pulled the inspection plates, left it open for two days to dry as much as possible, and then re sealed the inspection plates. I used teflon tape on the drain plugs. When I put it back in the water was expecting to see a difference in buoyancy and I did not. This is frustrating me a bit. Does anyone have experience with this?

If water got into the foam of the stringers are soaked, opening the inspection plates for two days or two weeks isn't going to make much of a difference, especially if your ambient humidity is not low.
Assuming that the scuppers were normally above the water line and that you haven't added weight (everything adds up) you probably have water in the hull or foam. I am not sure if the fuel tanks are flat bottomed or V shaped. If V shaped, they tend to self level. If flat, the full often will flow to one side due to some flotation imbalance and add to the lean.
If foam below the tank is wet, it is hard to see and often also means that stringers may be wet.
If water is leaking in, it has to be stopped before you attempt to dry things out. Does you bilge pump cycle at all. Do you see water in the bilge after a heavy rain?
This things can be maddening to identify and fix. Note that if the scuppers that are above the water line are higher above than normal and the other side is lower, the boat has lean due to a weight imbalance. If the scupper above the water line is at normal height or lower, than the hull has more weight than normal and that could be water weight
Good luck

 

[Legend]

Before re-powering with 4 stroke engines you may want to check with your dealer. I was told once the older sterns were not able to handle the increased torque of the 4 strokes? Not sure if the bracket mitigates this issue. good luck

 

[suzukidave]

The motors are both down in the water. As to the weight distribution, I have two batteries on the starboard side and one on the port, and I do keep a 10 lb downrigger ball on the starboard side as well... I wouldn't think that would be enough to weigh it down that much though..

yeah, i agree it sounds doubtful, but i would try temporarily shifting the battery and anything else you come across to see if it changes anything. you are describing a pretty slight list on a non cv2 hull which will list fairly easily so i am not sure if you are waterlogged. try resting a single battery on the gunnel and you will see the boat list. i looked at a pre cv2 223 with a similar list showing on the hull as a "scummy" water line. it was caused by the things i mentioned.

the other possibility is that it is water pooling at the stern over the years on the wrong side of the stringer rather than full fledged foam saturation. a single hole in the deck from a rusted screw or a leaky drain can cause that. for that matter on my 190 if the bilge was to ever completely fill it would spill over the stringers because there is a small gap at the top of the stringer. you can get that water out either by snaking in a manual bilge pump hose, or with a single well placed hole in the transom.

the best way to figure out if you have a major waterlog problem and how bad it is is to weigh the boat. if there is a boat lift nearby with a weight reading have them lift it out of the water enough to weigh it. if you have access to a trailer and there is a highway scale nearby, take the trailer only there and weigh it, then go get the boat and weigh the boat and trailer and the difference is the boat weight. deduct fuel, engine and accessories and compared to the original dry weight of your hull is listed in the 1992 grady catalog that is available for free download on the grady website. if you are waterlogged you will be way off...

 

[Blue Fin]

I have a 1991 GW Sailfish with twin 1990 200 Johnsons. Ive owned it for a year. My plans are to re power in 3 years. In doing so I would like to switch the original Springfield bracket for a Armstrong bracket and increase the flotation of the stern through the bracket to support heavier 4 strokes. Also, It would be nice to go up a bit in horse power. Does anyone know anything about this?, Does this make sense? Is this possible?

Also, right now with the spinfield bracket, the boat , seems to sit heavy in the water on the right side. The scuppers on the starboard side are just under the water line, the port side not as bad. I just emptied out a bunch of water from the bracket, pulled the inspection plates, left it open for two days to dry as much as possible, and then re sealed the inspection plates. I used teflon tape on the drain plugs. When I put it back in the water was expecting to see a difference in buoyancy and I did not. This is frustrating me a bit. Does anyone have experience with this?

If water got into the foam of the stringers are soaked, opening the inspection plates for two days or two weeks isn't going to make much of a difference, especially if your ambient humidity is not low.
Assuming that the scuppers were normally above the water line and that you haven't added weight (everything adds up) you probably have water in the hull or foam. I am not sure if the fuel tanks are flat bottomed or V shaped. If V shaped, they tend to self level. If flat, the full often will flow to one side due to some flotation imbalance and add to the lean.
If foam below the tank is wet, it is hard to see and often also means that stringers may be wet.
If water is leaking in, it has to be stopped before you attempt to dry things out. Does you bilge pump cycle at all. Do you see water in the bilge after a heavy rain?
This things can be maddening to identify and fix. Note that if the scuppers that are above the water line are higher above than normal and the other side is lower, the boat has lean due to a weight imbalance. If the scupper above the water line is at normal height or lower, than the hull has more weight than normal and that could be water weight
Good luck

When the boat is in the water my bilge pump doesn't go off due to water level in the bilge. The water level has never got that high enough for the float switch to activate. But, I always seem to have a little water in my bilge which I think gets in from me washing the deck towards the drains in the rear. The back panel to my bilge is not water tight. in order for me to drain the water I manually turn on bilge while getting up on plain and that usually works. Ive tapped the butt end of a screw driver on the portions of the stringers that are accessible to me and they sound solid. Are you saying you think it could be my stringers are water logged?

 

[Blue Fin]

The motors are both down in the water. As to the weight distribution, I have two batteries on the starboard side and one on the port, and I do keep a 10 lb downrigger ball on the starboard side as well... I wouldn't think that would be enough to weigh it down that much though..

yeah, i agree it sounds doubtful, but i would try temporarily shifting the battery and anything else you come across to see if it changes anything. you are describing a pretty slight list on a non cv2 hull which will list fairly easily so i am not sure if you are waterlogged. try resting a single battery on the gunnel and you will see the boat list. i looked at a pre cv2 223 with a similar list showing on the hull as a "scummy" water line. it was caused by the things i mentioned.

the other possibility is that it is water pooling at the stern over the years on the wrong side of the stringer rather than full fledged foam saturation. a single hole in the deck from a rusted screw or a leaky drain can cause that. for that matter on my 190 if the bilge was to ever completely fill it would spill over the stringers because there is a small gap at the top of the stringer. you can get that water out either by snaking in a manual bilge pump hose, or with a single well placed hole in the transom.

the best way to figure out if you have a major waterlog problem and how bad it is is to weigh the boat. if there is a boat lift nearby with a weight reading have them lift it out of the water enough to weigh it. if you have access to a trailer and there is a highway scale nearby, take the trailer only there and weigh it, then go get the boat and weigh the boat and trailer and the difference is the boat weight. deduct fuel, engine and accessories and compared to the original dry weight of your hull is listed in the 1992 grady catalog that is available for free download on the grady website. if you are waterlogged you will be way off...

I think I understand what your saying about the wrong side of the stringer. Do you mean on the side that is listing that there might be water trapped between the stringer and the side of the boat in a compartment under the deck that I cant see? I pulled up my deck a few months ago to see the condition of my tanks and also remove
and replaced a 2x4 deck support that went across the top of the tank. It was water rotten. There were 3 other deck supports that were solid and not effected by water. There were some loose screws where water was probably leaking in. Since then I resealed the deck using 4200 and used it in all the screw holes as well to try to make it water tight.

 

[suzukidave]

i don't know the construction detail of the stern on a sailfish. but yes. in the area next to the bilge and right beside the transom there might be a space below your floor with no foam that can fill up with water that has nowhere to go. take a look into your bilge and see if there is a gap to fish a wire in there to see if it is wet.

 

[Blue Fin]

Ok, it will be a couple days but Ill let ya know... Thanks

 

[family affair]

I can't comment on the listing issue, but I think I see something else you need to address ASAP. In your photo it appears you have pressure treated lumber sitting on top of your gas tank. You need to get that out of there in the very near future and clean the area it was covering. Repainting might be needed also.
Pressure treated lumber eats aluminum at a surprisingly fast rate. My dad found out the hard way years ago and had to buy a new tank. Don't be that guy!
Good luck with your other issues.

 

[BobP]

The tanks sit on a flat 1/2 in. ply floor, there is no foam under them. So does the fw and waste tanks.
If you were to dump a 5 gal bucket of water in the cabin thru the floor deck plate, does it end up at the stern when getting up on plane? There is a path to get back there and pass thru four bulkheads to do so, if clear. If you prefer the anchor locker, five bulkheads.

Flotation foam is located outboard of the main stringers, port and starboard sides.

Check the Grady Drive, if it still has its foam blocks, it holds less than 100 lbs of water if filled to the brim.

 

[Harpoon]

If your scuppers are under the water, I suspect you have a leak. Either a hull crack or some through-hull hardware is leaking. Been there ! Perhaps when you sand the bottom you will discover it.

 

[gw204]

Does you stbd cabin window leak? Mine did on my old Sailfish and rain/splash water drip down the inside cabin wall, on to the shelf with the sink and then work it's way back/down until it got to foam between the stringers deep within the hull. When I found it there was a void between the stringer and foam that was full of water. I sucked it out with a shop vac and after resealing the windows (and making sure the drain slots were clear) I didn't have any more problems. Pretty sure I caught it early enough so it didn't do any long term damage...

Something to check...

 

[ROBERTH]

Blue Fin, I suspect you don't have any issues here other than weight distribution. Being that I have a '92 model, I have the same situation.

The boat is heavier on the Starboard side due to the head on this side forward, helm area and most all wiring is run on this same side. I think that is why they installed 2 group 24 batteries on the Port side to offset.

I have been through my hull completely and have no wet stringers or transom issues. Foam is as dry as normal for this age. No water soaked foam.

Last season, I moved 2 of the 4 group 31 batteries from transom to under deck just aft of berth behind the panel. Perfect spot on this model. Added necessary heavy gauge Marine Tinned Wire and switches and extension charging wires from Yamaha aux. charge connection.

I did get about a 1" raise at the scuppers, but Port water line is about half way under and Starboard is near the top. I had added this weight initially and it was really not an issue in regards to boat handling that weight, but I wanted to get the bow down more so I would not have to tab as much. This did benefit me by moving weight forward. Even saw a slight increase in fuel consumption and was able to get the bow down more in heavier seas.

In regards to repower, I would not go with 4strokes when the ETec's are lighter and very powerful as well as they have them very efficient and reliable now.

The Springfield bracket, when I got my boat, the drain plugs were epoxied in. When they repowered with HPDI's, they must have recoated the bracket and just covered up the plugs. Gee, that was a dumb mistake. I finally got them out and I think 100 gallons came out! I found over time, I had some leaks in the motor mounting bolts and all 3 seal plates. To fix this, I put 4200 inside over the bolts for the motor mounts, and sealed the plates with the 4200 also. So far, over anentire season, only a small trickle comes out. Iam pretty sure this is from the upper seal plate since I first used silicone to seal and the silicone did not work well with the starboard, so being that the full swim platform is covering the upper plate, I did not want to remove it to reseal that one with the 4200 due to not a big issue now. I seriously doubt you will gain any advantage for flotation from one bracket to another.

 

[Wannderer]

I had a 1990 Grady-white 252GT Sailfish with yamaha 200s (carbuerated and then saltwater series now my friend owns it with hpdi 200s). From 2001-2002 these items were performed:

Osprey Marine in Deale MD awlgrip hull and topsides, soda blast bottom, barrier coat, etc. (no wet spots or rot)

Before paint i had Trisate marine repower, had bracket powder coated (awlgripped over top once back on boat), replaced teak, pulled both gas tanks (stringers good to go), new fuel lines and other stuff

The boat was great and never had any rot or wet core or stringer issues. The boat always listed to starboard which drove me nuts looking at it sitting in the slip. Full of fuel the the scuppers on starboard side were close to have submerged while port was above waterline. When empty starboard scuppers almost out of water. Before even putting a battery on the gunnel and dealing with either taking it out or finding one or whatever I would suggest this. If i remember correctly the sailfish has a livewell on the port side under the hatch. I also remember the livewell ran off the same pump as the wash down and there is a y valve. I would turn your livewell on and let it fill up. Make sure nobody is on the boat or any excess weight. Then inspect if it still has a list. I never did this with mine, but ive had a 330 express since 2005 and it lists to port. Same reason as the sailfish, more weight on the port side. But with the livewell full it has almost zero list. I believe when grady white balances their rigs they might incorporate the weight of the water in livewell possibly.

I gaurantee with it full it will not list to starboard as much but then the question is do you change location of batteries, add counter weights and how much or do you leave it be. And thats all up to you and your findings. I contemplated adding counter weights to my 330 express but decided not too bc i use the livewell 50% of the time so adding weight was not worth it to me. Let me know what you find out! That model is a great boat, I love my 330 but the quality of my sailfish was definitely better than my 33 which had a wet core on the port side and had to have the whole port side ripped out replaced last year. Also have 300 hpdi s with 2600 hrs and i am on my 7th or 8th (lost count) powerhead now. And the fischer panda generator had to be replaced after five years (raw water cooled). But other than those things everything else has made me happy I guess.