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Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 5:52 am
by Scary1
Best I can tell there isn't any water in the pontoons, I haven't had a scope put in and there are no drain ports on the back of my logs, but I don't hear anything sloshing around when I shake the toons. Its a 2007 Sweetwater 2380 with a 75HP Yamaha 4 stroke on the back. It is stored on a trailer, and has very little cargo in it. the pre-requisite 15 foam noodles, life jackets etc. when we are on the lake the coolers and etc get stored in the middle of the boat by the middle gates.

Anyone else have a Sweetwater that sits low like this? I done some other searches and have seen a few complaints about Sweetwaters having this type of issue. Let me know what you think, Thanks

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 6:51 am
by Mosnowman
I'm definitely not the expert but for what it's worth...from a newb that knows nothing...

I was concerned my Harris was sitting low in the back when I first got it. It is a tritoon and the angle of the watermark looks very similar to mine. It planes very quickly and I have had no issues with it my first year owning it...bought it new. I only share this so you know you aren't alone with your concern....I'm sure some of the knowledgable guys will weigh in. I'm curious as well to see if it is actually something to be concerned with. I'm sure part of my problem is so much junk loaded under the sun deck and my big outboard.

:drive

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:01 am
by lakerunner
your ok

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:04 am
by PlaynDoc
post some larger pictures so we can get a GOOD look!

i think mine sits about 1/2 log deep in the back...

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:43 am
by jimrs
This might help some people see what your talking about.

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:08 am
by RonKMiller
You've got way too much weight in the back....

Once you have water over the diameter of the log you've reached maximum buoyancy, at that point you start carrying water on top of the log (which pushes it down even further) and dramatically increases drag.

Your best (and probably only) option is to add a middle log, or increase the diameter of the existing one if you already have a tritoon.

This 16' X 25" log - which would be easy to add - would give you about another 3,000 lbs. of buoyancy.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/en_us/cust ... fins-dents

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 9:37 am
by Capt Sully
Maybe just move all your stuff forward and have more of a center of balance.

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:33 am
by RonKMiller
I DID see a toon with the motor mounted on the front, it was a tractor instead of a pusher! :lol3

That would definitely take care of his problem. :thumbsup

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 10:07 am
by Scary1
Sorry about the size of the pics, thanks for re-sizing for me. I wasn't sure how to do it.

I would love to add a third log to get more buoyant but that sounds expensive. Anyone have a ballpark idea on price to have one installed. I'm not the handiest of guys so doing it myself would be more than I would attempt.

As far as too much weight in the back, only thing back there is the motor and fuel tank. everything else is forward. Do you think sweetwater would look at this under a warranty issue?

Thanks for the feedback

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 1:43 pm
by GXPWeasel
Scary1 wrote:As far as too much weight in the back, only thing back there is the motor and fuel tank. everything else is forward. Do you think sweetwater would look at this under a warranty issue?
Probably not.
I don't see how it could be a warranty thing, if there aren't any holes in the logs, to let water in. Especially with the boat now being 6 years old.

I will say that I can see why it would sit a bit lower than most, and that could be because of how far back that motor pod/transom sit from the actual rear end of the boat. While this may be better for handling, and for performance in getting clean water to the prop, it's bad for balance. That being said, I wouldn't want to move the motor pod/transom forward any.

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 4:32 pm
by Bryden24shp
Thats about where my old Manitou's water line was, when I left it in my slip down at the LotO. I see no problems with it. I have to agree its in the way the pod is designed. The Manitou's outboard was pushed back with the jackplate. The Premier floats just below the center of the aft portion of the outside tubes. But it has the 36" wide center tube,it has a hell of alot of bouyancy. I tilt the outboards lower units out of the water and that also seems to push the stern into the water alittle more than leaving it down, I suppose because of the weight being pushed out even further. I think you are alright. Sounds like you have very little weight back there since you have played with it after noticing.
No worries!

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 5:17 pm
by schmeg
This is typical for 23" logs on Sweetwater boats. My friend owns one that does the same thing. I just took delivery on a Sanpan (another subsidiary of Sweetwater) with 27' logs in hopes it doesn't do that. I wouldn't fret about it.

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 5:36 pm
by Mosnowman
I don't know if this will help put your mind at ease? I guess it isn't as low, but it is over the widest diameter of the log...


Image[/URL]

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 7:32 pm
by katieclooney
So water lines should be in the center of the toon or lower?

Re: Pontoon sitting LOW,

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 5:56 am
by GXPWeasel
katieclooney wrote:So water lines should be in the center of the toon or lower?

Ideally, YES.