Offshore 24 leans to one side

[gradydaniele]

When I open the boat up say 20-35 mph the boat tends to lean to the right side. I’d like to think that my fat 300lb ass has something to do with it but I also have 2 big heavy batteries on the side of the boat. Then one day when I had two friends out I had them stay on the left side of the boat while I ran it and the same thing happend leaned to the right. When I adjust the trim a bit it does help but I can’t for he life of me figure out why this boat leans?
Has this ever happened any you guys? What have you done to fix it?
Dan

 

[DennisG01]

If the engine is trimmed down, then that forces more of the boat into the water and you will get listing. That's very normal for v-hull boats. The speed that you're traveling at will also have an impact, as well as sea conditions. "Loosening" the boat up by trimming up lifts the bow and helps level things off. You can try moving some equipment around to help. But you likely also have trim tabs - that is one of the exact reasons to use them. Drop the stbd tab a bit.

 

[magicalbill]

Be aware of existing conditions also. "V" hulls; modified or deep V tend to lean into a quartering wind. if you have wind on your starboard quarter, your Offshore 24 will lean that way. A port quartering wind will lean you to port.

As Dennis mentioned, use tabs/engine trim to correct it. You said your batteries are on "the side" of the boat. If they are on your port side, that should mostly compensate for your weight. If the batteries are on the starboard side along with you, that will induce some starboard list. Add the quartering wind I mentioned above, and she'll heel right over.

 

[Andrew93]

I noticed when the fuel tank was low on my old Offshore I would get an uncomfortable lean to the starboard side. Weight was pretty even otherwise, one battery on each side, etc. When I had a bigger crowd on the boat and/or a full tank of fuel it didn't seem as bad or that noticeable. I had to use the tabs to make it comfortable otherwise.

 

[gradydaniele]

Hey guys thanks for all your input.
Both batteries are stored in the rear compartment on the starboard side. I’ve noticed that even when the boat was docked it had a bit of a lean to the right side. This year when I hauled her out I noticed the scum line was about an inch higher than the bottom paint & more so on the starboard side, which tells me that the boat was leaning for quite some time while tied at the dock. The boat Does not have trim tabs but I did notice my Scagg is a little bit bent. could this have the ride to lean more to one side? Even with a bent skeg though just docked I feel like it shouldn’t be leaning to one side.

 

[DennisG01]

With both batteries on the stbd side, that's totally normal to lean that way in the water. It's just physics - plus the boat should really be a bit wider than it is. You can try straightening the skeg, but it's doubtful that it's the cause of your list under way - or, at least, it's only having a miniscule effect. The main reason is the beam and weight (batteries/gear/people/etc) on the stbd side... again, just physics.

Adding trim tabs would make a HUGE difference - in many aspects.

 

[dstarok]

My Sailfish 252G does the same thing. Stern sits in the water a little low in starboard side. Always worried I might have some wet wood in the transom on that side. Or if it’s the boats layout that makes it lean. I had one battery on each side, added a third battery for house and put it in the port side, seems to have helped the lean some.

 

[seasick]

I noticed when the fuel tank was low on my old Offshore I would get an uncomfortable lean to the starboard side. Weight was pretty even otherwise, one battery on each side, etc. When I had a bigger crowd on the boat and/or a full tank of fuel it didn't seem as bad or that noticeable. I had to use the tabs to make it comfortable otherwise.

Yours is an interesting observation and I had to think about it for a bit. I can see that with a flat bottomed tank the fuel will run towards whichever side that is lower than the others. That could be for and aft or side to side. So if a hull has a slight lean to starboard, the fuel will also lean to that side. When a tank has a little fuel, the majority of the fuel's weight shifts to one side. If the tank if more fuel in it, although the fuel also shifts to the side that is lower, the weight of the fuel is more distributed. I think you can see that if the tank is full, there is little shifting of fuel towards the leaning side since there is no place for it to go.
Now if the tank is not flat bottomed but rather v shaped with the lowest section in line with the keel, then there will be less of a shifting effect.

 

[Fishtales]

Fuel, waste, water, gear and people all add up and are variable. Good input on wind and sea conditions as well. I just use the tabs when situations require it.