Wakeboard boat sinks from too much weight

(eccpaint) · (eccpaint) **Join Date: Feb 2002** 06-20-2003, 8:05 PM

Does anyone know about any wakeboard boats sinking from too much weight? I searched the internet and only have heard of 2 (so far).
One was a new 2001 Sanger and the other was a Prostar 190 (closed bow).

How much weight is too much? I know alot of us are pushing the limit. The most additional weight I have ever heard of is 3000 lbs. + 10 people. How is this boat still floating? He must have been mistaken about how much weight he had, what do you think?

(sn0w) · (sn0w) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 06-21-2003, 6:13 AM

I guess it really depends on the size of the boat and how big the wake is without extra weight. You can pretty much tell just by looking at the draft when you have added weight and go from there.

bambamski 06-22-2003, 10:55 AM

I know sombody in BC that fixes up insurance write offs (I bought a bank repo from him a couple of years ago). He gets around 10-15 boats per year most of them have sunk. He could get way more he just couldn't fix them all. What boats he says are most prone to sink are #1 CC's, #2 Supra, and #3 Malibu. He figures 35-50 sink per year. I'm not talking to the bottom of the lake, most boats won't go that far under. Once the engine is under you're pretty much done though.

murrayair 06-22-2003, 3:40 PM

I put a 600 lb sac in the rear and close to that in the bow plus about 6 or 7 people in my '88 2001 nauti. and the only side effect is a HUGE wake. It would take a lot to sink that boat and it is only like 20 ft. People who put enough in to sink their boat must put like an elephant in or something. Maybe they just forget to put their drain plug in and when it sinks they figure it must be the weight.

(bob) · (bob) **Join Date: Feb 2001** 06-22-2003, 10:07 PM

from my understanding there are quite a few people on here who run 3k lbs regularly, really it doesnt take much to sink a boat- look away for a minute when a large boat is coming and have people and fat sacs in the bow, watch how much water comes in, your bilge pump isnt that fast

(jayc) · (jayc) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 06-25-2003, 4:42 AM

The only way your boat will sink right to the bottom is if your running dry weight like lead or sand. I think nearly all boats have foam filled sides so they wont sink right under.
My dads MC sunk about 10 years ago when moored in heavy storms. It sunk to the windscreen bottom level and just stayed there. Infact it was lifted from the lake the next day and was up and running in about 6 hours with no lasting damage except most of the guages needed replacing!

6more 06-25-2003, 5:57 AM

Jay - no major engine work needed? Or did your father have that type of experience he could break it down himself? Just Curious.

I guy a couple of houses down had the same thing happen to him, but it was an I/O. He still had to have some major engine work done however.

martini 06-25-2003, 5:27 PM

pat i have to call you out on this one...you can't sink a correct craft! even if you drilled holes in the bottom of the hull, the boat would still be resting just under the surface of the water...where did you get your info????

martini 06-25-2003, 5:34 PM

o.k. i read the rest of your post...but, i highly doubt CC is number 1. no one use's more fiberglass than Nautique! no boat has more float...i've seen a Nautique get get fliped when it's rope got caught in a passing boats prop. the thing was under water for 5 hours. after it was pulled out the thing had all it's electrical and even spit out the cd from the player!

rndystr 06-25-2003, 5:56 PM

Yeah, funny that pat lists all the other major boat builders but m/c. Oh yeah he owns one!

(lmtwa) · (lmtwa) **Join Date: May 2001** 06-25-2003, 6:21 PM

Brian
We had a MC 190 in the 90's. It was kept on a lift and we left the plug out one time. A "guest" didn't secure the lift correctly and in the morning I looked out to a boat under water to the windshield (not the gas intake however). We bailed and lifted (with the lift)and bailed, and finally brought it out. That afternoon, my mechanic came over and we drained the oil/water mix. He took it to the shop - ran 2 oil changes after 2 days of dry out and the only thing needed changing was the starter. Ran fine after that.
Lloyd
PS The only real problem was that we had to redo the interior because the side panels and seats couldn't dry thoroughly without dismantling.

(cmawsr) · (cmawsr) **Join Date: Nov 2002** 06-25-2003, 8:09 PM

A brand new M/C sank on memorial day at berryessa. There were like 22 people in the boat and they slowed down to fast. I did not witness it so I don't no how far down it went. Growing up on Berryessa I have seen plenty of boats sink.

wafflejam2250 06-25-2003, 8:27 PM

On the topic of sinking we have a 13" tin boat with a 15 hourse on it and every so often when u turn the engine falls off! Its fallen off twice and almost off 2 times. We have it changed but it seems to vibrate off. And the motor still runs strong to this day. But taht ok bc now were selling it and we just got a '84 concord with a '92 225 merc on it.

(eas) · (eas) **Join Date: Nov 2001** 06-26-2003, 10:34 AM

How many people can you get in a 13-inch boat made of tin?

dbdynsty25 06-26-2003, 11:08 AM

Better yet, what kind of wake does a 13 inch boat made of tin throw?

(33drew) · (33drew) **Join Date: Apr 2003** 06-26-2003, 8:38 PM

can you deepwater start off of a 15 horse?

(jayc) · (jayc) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 06-27-2003, 2:56 AM

If you can get the water out of your engine before it has a chance to corrode bearing and crank etc then you can get away with it. A couple of oil changes and a good hard long run to get it nice and hot so any water left in the oil passages evaporates and you'll be fine.
I have sunk my jetski more times than I care to remember without any problems.