Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:06am

hi there, could you help me? We have a new sailaway that we are currently finishing ourselves and we have been told by a boat safety examiner that the water level in the weed hatch, for a hire boat should be 10 inches from the top of the hatch down to the water but as ours is a private boat we should be at 8 inches or there abouts. we have checked the distance in the hatch which currently is a minimum of 3 1/2 inches this is with the fuel tank full and the water level on the outside of the boat is half way up the first d-bar, the d-bar nearest the water. do we need to lift the back of the boat up to drop the water level in the weed hatch nearer a safer level, or is this level fine, at the moment we only have 4 1/2 inches to play with before the underside of the swim is just touching the top of the water. also the boat seems a bit high at the front, could we put some more ballast in the front to lift the back, would this work or do we need to take ballst out of the back. your advice would be appreciated, thank you.

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:18am

I am afraid that I can give little advice. Is your water tank fitted & full yet? Water tanks are normally right at the front of the boat and also large, so filling one may lift the stern a good inch or so. Ballasting the boat to rim it fore and aft affects it's pivot point on turning so can make the boat difficult to handle. If you do decide the ballast the front please check the handling. If you are fitting out in accordance with the Recreational Craft Directive (CE Marking)then you need to discuss this with whoever is advising you. If you are only building to pass the Boat Safety Scheme then all that RECOMMENDS is 150mm (6" not "about 8 inches"). There appears to be no statutory dimension for private boats but I have no idea how an insurance company would act if there was a sinking caused by a leaking weed hatch with less than the recommended freeboard. I am not clear as to what you mean by the first D bar. If this bar runs over the joint between the side and swim (uxter) plate then the stern is probably rising about an inch too high. If its the one that is about half way between the uxter plate and funnel then I think the boat is riding about 2 or 3 inches too low, and that takes a lot of weight. I think yow need to consult a surveyor (not BSS examiner, although some are also surveyors) about the best way forward. Tony Brooks

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:13am

hi tony thanks for the response. the water tank is at the front and i've been told by the builder who built the shell that it is full but i will check. as for the inside all the fitting is done apart from fitting the fridge and the usual thinks you would carry for a holiday. as for the height on the d-bar the water level is currently half way up the second d-bay, this is from the deck down,we then have a band of colour then the first d-bar runs all the way round the boat then we have another band of colour then the second d-bar which only runs a short distance along the side of the boat, this is where the water line is currently, then after that we have another 4 1/2 inches where the steel work returns underneath, or swim i think you call it. is this any help regards

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:49pm

I have no idea how gunnel got changed to funnel in my last reply - it certainly said funnel when I spell checked it. So your swim plate is about 4.5 inches below the waterline and normally the minimum recommended is about 2 inches so if you can find out what is holding the back down you could gain a couple of inches there so that would be far better. I am sorry, but if this is a sail away that you are fitting out why on earth would the builder fill a water tank that (presumably) has an open outlet connection for you to fit the pipe running to the water pump from. Even if he fitted a blanking plug you would get very wet trying to make the connection. I think you had better also check the accommodation bilge in case its full of the water that was supposed to have been put in then tank. There should be a trap in the floor close to the rear bulkhead OR you should find out where the floor bearers are and cut one. Tony Brooks