Hook near the transom

[Snoode]

I bought a 1994 Grady 243, with twin 200's. Bit of a project boat and have done some work already. The boat has had some transom work done, and I replaced some soft deck sections, total rewire, new pumps, and re-plumbed the live well. Took it out for the first time, on a windy day here in SW Florida, pretty snotty but it ran pretty well. Depending on the speed had a left side lean. Tabs helped some but not a lot. Have a folder full of receipts and see that several years ago they converted the 25-inch Honda 200s to 30 inches. Wanted the motors checked over so brought it to a shop, and know the guy who runs it. He thought the boat was over propped and the motors were mounted too low. He raised them up and took it out and told me the lean was really bad, and he found a hook in the hull near the transom. We are going to return the motors to the original height, and see how It works out. When I ran it that way the lean wasn't bad until I was moving around 30 mph or so. I have read some reasons including manufacturing defects for the hook situation, any advice on correcting or improving the situation without major work is appreciated. I didn't pay a lot for the boat, and I would be fine using it as is for what I do, but I would like any suggestions you guys can offer. Just some comments in advance, no I didn't pay for a survey, I have had several boats over 30 years of boating, and I currently have another boat that I use often, This was something of a project I wanted to mess with.

Thank You In Advance

Would never post this on THT they would have a field day

 

[georgemjr]

Can you explain what you mean by "he found a hook, in the hull, near the transom?"

 

[glacierbaze]

An exaggeration, hopefully. I believe that you can also have a straight line on the bottom, and then the transom is lower in the last foot or so, without having the big bow upward.

 

[Halfhitch]

Thats called a "Hogging hull". It's called a "sagging hull" if it goes the other way.

 

[Fishtales]

Sounds like you've done a bit to the boat. What about upgrading the tabs to automatic? Might help you manage the leaning.

 

[Halfhitch]

Put a straight edge on it in several places and measure how deep the Hog is. I believe Gradys hull bottom in that model is solid fiberglass. For it to be compromised like what you are saying it was probably sitting on a trailer for years with bunks not extending to the transom Or sitting for years on improperly placed blocking.

 

[Snoode]

Put a straight edge on it in several places and measure how deep the Hog is. I believe Gradys hull bottom in that model is solid fiberglass. For it to be compromised like what you are saying it was probably sitting on a trailer for years with bunks not extending to the transom Or sitting for years on improperly placed blocking.

So I think you are probably right. Not sure how the boat was stored. Any suggestions to improve the issue?

 

[Snoode]

Can you explain what you mean by "he found a hook, in the hull, near the transom?"

As illustrated in the post below yours but not as exaggerated. Basically the bottom of the hull is not straight and true to the bottom edge of the transom, but has an inward depression that acts kind of like a trim tab

 

[Snoode]

Sounds like you've done a bit to the boat. What about upgrading the tabs to automatic? Might help you manage the leaning.

Im going to have to run it more. I have tabs that help some but not completely.