Boat leaning towards Bow - Very little thrust

[xtaticlyme]

I have been the owner of this '98 Challenger 1800 for about 2 months. I bought it in Florida, and I live in Texas. When I tested it in Florida, it was in perfect running condition from what I assessed. I bought it, and drove it home...900 miles, un-covered. It rained approximately 6 hours straight on the way back. I know this seems like erroneous info, but I think maybe it contributed to my problem. Another piece of info, is that the front cushion upholstery is torn, and a lot of the foam underneath is exposed.

The first time I launched the boat, I launched it in a river. I immediately noticed that the BACK of the boat was sitting higher than the FRONT...the boat was leaning towards the bow. I was a little worried that I was taking on water, but I noticed that there was no noticeable change. I was in a no wake zone, so I didn't give it much gas after pushing out of the launch.

The boat was very unresponsive and I had very little control. I throttled up about halfway, and still, I had no noticeable thrust. I think I probably would have noticed *some* thrust.. but I was in a river, and the current and wind were pushing me down river very quickly... I tried shifting into reverse... and then back into forward.. still the same. I drifted into a tugboat that was docked, and it was then that I realized I was in trouble... so after getting away from the tugboat, I threw it into WOT... and the boat took about 2 seconds.. but picked up speed and planed out.. and I had complete control. Now , if I backed my speed down, I could pick speed back up...as long as I did not throttle all the way down to idle. If I did go to idle, I had to throttle back to wide open to get the boat to respond.

I had 35 gallons of gasoline, and I weigh 200 pounds, and the boat was leaning forward with nothing stowed in the storage? Something doesn't make sense.

Seemed like cavitation... but my wear rings/impellers are fine (I checked) and like I said, one day driving fine...the next - wrong from the time I launched it.

My only idea is I got water in the hull...and the attitude of the boat is causing me to not get any thrust until I get the front up and plane out by going to WOT.... but if I did have water in the hull, shouldn't it drain out?
Is it possible it got in through that torn cushion/foam?

Does anyone have any ideas/experience/feedback?

 

[Dr Honda]

so... you did give it a test drive in FL before driving back to TX?

If there is any water in the hull... just put it on the trailer with the plugs out, and tip it back. It will all drain out. Also... if you had the cover off, and it was raining hard... that would just drain out the scupper valve as you were diving.

Honestly... without being able to stick my head under the deck... I don't know where to start with that. BUT... on that note... open all the compartments, and look around. I know when I bought my boat (it was a beater) I found two 8 Lb anchors up in the nose of the hull. When I got it home, I opened the ski locker, and it was full of old boating crap... along with empty beer cans and bottles... and a few empty packs of smokes.


Cavatation... YES... it can happen with good impellers a rings. Most likely you have a air leak around the ride shoe, the pump body, or the carbon rings. If I were you, I would just get a tube of RTV sealant, 2 new neoprene seals, and 2 new carbon seals, and just change them all. depending how you work... it will probably take less than 2 hours to do both sides.

Last thing... jet boats suck at low speed. If you were in a river... most likely you will need 1/4 throttle just to have enough pump pressure to have control. After you own it for a while... you will get the hang of it. Oh... last thing on control... if you are moving with any speed, then pull the throttles back... you will have ZERO thrust for steering. In a jet boat... "When in doubt, throttle it!"

Let us know if you find anything under the deck.

 

[scooper77515]

Lift the nose up, while on dry land. Start spraying water into the hull, into the beer cooler, or whatever you have. It should come out the back in a few seconds.

If not, you have a clog somewhere. Find it, clear it, and let it drain out.

No telling where you have a leaf clogging a drain line somewhere, and your boat has 800 lbs of extra water onboard...