Why might our boat be listing?

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Eddie

Eddie

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
86
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Into the Mystic
Vessel Make
Silverton 43
Our Silverton 43 seems to be listing just a little towards starboard. It’s very slight. Our fuel gauges indicate both tanks are equal. Any recommendations?
 
The obvious question is what other tanks are off centerline?
Water Full/empty
Waste Full/empty
 
Check location and content of water and waste tanks. My 80 gallon waste tank and one of the 65 gallon water tanks are off center (both on the port side). There is some listing when either one is full.

Ted
 
Where are your batteries?
 
menzies said:
Where are your batteries?
Click to expand...



I think I have two batteries on the port side and two on the starboard so they should balance.
 
High Wire said:
The obvious question is what other tanks are off centerline?
Water Full/empty
Waste Full/empty
Click to expand...



We are looking at manual now to see where water tank is. It’s half full. The holding tanks are one per side and both read equal on the gauges. I am not sure gauges are exact but assume they are close.
 
O C Diver said:
Check location and content of water and waste tanks. My 80 gallon waste tank and one of the 65 gallon water tanks are off center (both on the port side). There is some listing when either one is full.

Ted
Click to expand...



We are looking at manual now to see where water tank is. It’s half full. The holding tanks are one per side and both read equal on the gauges. I am not sure gauges are exact but assume they are close.
 
Play with your tanks full and empty before making any assumptions. It's surprising how little weight can make a difference from P to S.

I recently mounted a 77# OB on my transom corner and really noticed the difference. Adding a Plano Box with 8 1-Gal bottles of water to the other side in the ER balanced it out pretty well. Plus I have 8 more gallons of drinking water!
 
Eddie said:
We are looking at manual now to see where water tank is. It’s half full. The holding tanks are one per side and both read equal on the gauges. I am not sure gauges are exact but assume they are close.
Click to expand...

Accuracy of gauges is where I’d look if the other tanks aren’t the problem.
 
Even your gear , food, clothing, dinghy, O/B eng. can effect a list if not evenly loaded.
Does the list appear and then disappear? When? Pay some attention and the cause may become apparent.

In all seriousness most boats have a slight list one way or the other for various reasons, some temporary, some permanent.

Even though the fuel and water tank guages show the tanks are equal does not mean they are. Sight glasses?
 
How about your dingy/tender? Which side is the o/b?
 
(If you can)Transfer fuel from one side to the other. Try to note how much fuel needed to transfer to correct problem.

If possible contact previous owner and ask if they experienced it how did they deal with it. Can you define "very slight"? What's the difference measured to waterline or swim platform bottom?
 
Thanks for all the ideas. Here is a possibility. We notice it Saturday after docking at Dudley's Marina in Swansboro. When we reserved the slip a few days before, they ask how much depth we needed and I told them 4 feet. I need just a little less but like to round up. They said we would be fine. After we got here, at pretty close to high tide, we noticed we only had just over 4 feet. I am new to big boating but assume if the water gets too low, the boat could list because it would be aground a little. Tonight, the winds were really bad and the tide seems to be lower than the last low tide and the boat seems to be listing much more.

I was planning to go home for a couple of days then come back and move it Thursday. Is it ok to leave it here for a couple of days or should I figure out a way to move it now?
 
Eddie said:
Thanks for all the ideas. Here is a possibility. We notice it Saturday after docking at Dudley's Marina in Swansboro. When we reserved the slip a few days before, they ask how much depth we needed and I told them 4 feet. I need just a little less but like to round up. They said we would be fine. After we got here, at pretty close to high tide, we noticed we only had just over 4 feet. I am new to big boating but assume if the water gets too low, the boat could list because it would be aground a little. Tonight, the winds were really bad and the tide seems to be lower than the last low tide and the boat seems to be listing much more.

I was planning to go home for a couple of days then come back and move it Thursday. Is it ok to leave it here for a couple of days or should I figure out a way to move it now?
Click to expand...

:facepalm:
 
May I suggest, you find a good friend to SHOW you where all your tanks are located, label each tank. Create a diagram of all tank locations and all hull valve Crawl down and put your hand on each hull valve and vent. Put an identification tag on each hull valve.

The list could be as easy as the dock lines are too tight? I have a breast line, keeping me close to the dock and at low tide I have about 1 degree list towards the dock. BRAG: The lady I am dating is not even 5' tall and although she has beautiful legs, they are almost too short to get from the dock to the boat.
 
Last edited:
Also consider that all tanks being equal the boat might list when tanks are balanced due to the galley placement (I have stove, fridge, and all food stuffs on one side.
 
PMF1984 said:
Also consider that all tanks being equal the boat might list when tanks are balanced due to the galley placement (I have stove, fridge, and all food stuffs on one side.
Click to expand...

When I bought this boat, the fridge and stove and stores were on the starboard side, no list. 2x200 gal fuel tank (cross connected, return to the port tank), one port, one starboard opposite of each other, 150 gal water tank aft and between the fuel tanks, 150 gal sanitary tank forward and under the "queen size" berth. 4X4D batteries, 2 on each side and inboard of the fuel tanks. I put the washer/dryer on the aft port side. No effect except for the 1 degree list cause by the tight port side breast line, at high tide, so my little princess can get on board. Guess I am just lucky.
By the way, she doesn't know squat about boating, yet. Time will come..... soon. (evil smile)
 
Eddie said:
Our Silverton 43 seems to be listing just a little towards starboard. It’s very slight. Our fuel gauges indicate both tanks are equal. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Several 43MYs in the owners club. Don't remember anyone mentioning a list, but they'd know a lot about that model..

-Chris
 
I had a motor sailor where the little 3.5Kw genny was mounted in the starboard cockpit locker. Had a permanent 3.5 degree starboard list. So all my food stores and bottled water were always stored on port side. Towards the end of a trip after all consumables were nearly consumed I just lived with the list.
 
This past weekend, my boat was out of its slip and moored elsewhere. I noticed a list (port side was about 2" higher than starboard side). The dinghy was down, but it rides on the center line. The main fuel tanks had equal amounts of fuel, and the other tanks are all on the center line. A 200 pound person moving from one side of the boat to the other is barely perceptible, so it would have to be a lot of weight. And yet, I hadn't moved anything and could not find any explanation. The next day, the list was still there, but diminished to only about 1" difference. Putting the dinghy back on board did not change the list. Now, back in the slip, the list is completely gone. All I can figure is that the list was the result of wind / current putting asymmetrical force on my keel or stabilizer fins (and it is entirely possible that the fins were not centered).
 
Eddie said:
I am new to big boating but assume if the water gets too low, the boat could list because it would be aground a little. Tonight, the winds were really bad and the tide seems to be lower than the last low tide and the boat seems to be listing much more.
Click to expand...

Being on the bottom can definitely cause a list! :eek:

2v2UgCU7Mx3cYB.jpg
 
MYTraveler said:
This past weekend, my boat was out of its slip and moored elsewhere. I noticed a list (port side was about 2" higher than starboard side). The dinghy was down, but it rides on the center line. The main fuel tanks had equal amounts of fuel, and the other tanks are all on the center line. A 200 pound person moving from one side of the boat to the other is barely perceptible, so it would have to be a lot of weight. And yet, I hadn't moved anything and could not find any explanation. The next day, the list was still there, but diminished to only about 1" difference. Putting the dinghy back on board did not change the list. Now, back in the slip, the list is completely gone. All I can figure is that the list was the result of wind / current putting asymmetrical force on my keel or stabilizer fins (and it is entirely possible that the fins were not centered).
Click to expand...



This makes me feel better. We plan to move it Wednesday so hopefully that will solve our problem.
 
Thanks for everyone’s suggestions. I read them all and learned a lot. We are now in Southport and the list is gone. I suppose it had something to do with the slip we were in.
 
Saddle Tank Sizes?

We have a similar issue from time to time. Two saddle tanks feed to a center tank from which all engines are fed. The two saddle tanks however, according to the design prints, are not of equal size. There is a 40 gallon difference between the two. So, with both valves open, feeding the center tank, fuel can very slowly seek a level to an opposite side. We see this occasionally when underway for an extended period when taking wind or swell to beam. We have a good amount of FreeBoard on our Marine Trader Tradewinds 43'. I can equalize manually by closing the valve on the opposite side of the "list," as it will lighten the load and correct. Food for Thought.
 
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