Tony-B...
Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:41pm
Post Subject:
Boat leaning to one side
I gave a very full reply on page 2 under the title Stabilizing a Boat. I very much fear that you are in a worse position than that reader because the shorter the boat the greater proportion of its length are the front and back swims that are even slimmer than the typical 6ft 6 in main base plate. This makes smaller boats more likely to rock about that longer ones. It is very hard to tell if a particular boat is riding high or low unless you see it out of the water. There are so many different designs even though superficially they mostly look the same. If you look carefully at the back section of the boat you should see that the sides finish just below the water on a horizontal plate. This is the uxter plate and it should typically be between 1 and 2 inches below the static water line. If it is not you may be able to lay ballast (steel?) on the flat sections either side of the engine but I suspect it is fine. I assume that your water tank that is usually at the front is full because that will pull the front down by two inches or more. To be honest I doubt anything is wrong but just to be sure check the bilge under the accommodation (usually a trap in the floor at the back) To make sure it is dry because water in there will run to one side when you stand on it and make any list worse but the list would normally stay if you stepped off the boat. If the boat rocks back upright without you on it I doubt that you have water in the bilge. I fear this is a case of first time boaters not knowing what to expect from a narrowboat. If you can not live with it I fear it may be a case of selling it and buying a wide beam boat, but they rock as well, but not as much Tony Brooks