Teague’s Take: Oldies But Goodies

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Answers to questions about a Baja 22 Sport and two Fountain 32 Fevers.

As Seen In Speed On The Water, Issue 20; July/August 2016

As Seen In Speed On The Water, Issue 20; July/August 2016

For this issue’s column, I thought it would
be interesting to look back at a couple of

technical questions I answered previously that may help some current owners out there.

TABS FOR A BAJA 22
SPORT QUESTION: I have a 1988 Baja 220 Sport with a 500-hp Mercury engine and an XR drive with an IMCO Marine shorty lower unit. The boat will run 80 mph at 5200 rpm. At top speed the boat will float some. I was wondering if trim tabs would help, and if so how much speed would I expect to lose? What length and width would you recommend?

ANSWER: You’ve got quite a bit of power in your smaller Baja. I can understand why it is getting a little flighty on the big end. At that speed, your boat is running high on the keel and the chines are probably not touching the water. Because of that, installing tabs or planes out wide in the traditional location may be ineffective. You would have to lower them at a greater angle than normal in order to contact the water which may contribute to a chine walking condition.

I suggest that you mount the planes closer to the stern drive, but not so close that it can contact them during turns and at any trim angle or plate setting. Also, install the planes at an angle that is 50 percent between horizontal and parallel to the angle of the bottom. This installation position will make them more effective at higher speeds and will help control (not contribute to) chine walking.

I would select the Mercury 280-S K-planes for your boat or a brand that is similar in size. To an extent, it requires less negative angle to be effective with the longer planes. On the other hand, inexperienced operators can get a smaller boat out of shape easier with larger planes.

You will have to learn what the best settings are for the planes for various speeds and conditions. You may not lose any performance. You may be able to go faster because you will be able to keep the boat under better control.

SINKING FOUNTAINS QUESTION: My friend and I both have 1999 Fountain Powerboats 32-foot Fevers. When the boats are docked with engines off, we take on quite a bit of water, about 5 gallons per hour. Is this normal for this boat? I have HP500 engines and he has fuel-injected 502s. Where is all this water coming from? Better yet, how do we stop it?

ANSWER: First of all, it is not acceptable for a modern fiberglass performance boat to leak any water at all. That might have been normal with wooden boats that water caused the wood planks to swell up to seal the seams.

The best way to find the leak is to put the boat on the trailer and get the bilge completely dry. Then, back the boat into the water a little at a time while someone is in the bilge with a good flashlight inspecting for the first sign of water to appear. Sometimes you have to wait at each level in the backing in process.

Probably the first opportunities for a leak to be visualized will be coming from the transom assemblies or K-planes. If the leak is from the transom assemblies, it will be important to distinguish if it is coming from between the transom assembly and the hull, or from an attachment to the transom assembly itself. Likely possibilities include the exhaust “bullhorn” and the engine supply water neck. If the water is entering past the gimbal bearing, then it is likely that the universal joint bellows are leaking. If this is the case, the gimbal bearing will also be damaged.

Check each through-bolt that attaches the K-planes to the hull. If there is water leaking there, it will require that the K-planes be removed from the boat to properly re-seal them and the bolts.Trim indicator cables for the drives and tabs can leak where they pass through the transom. The drive trim indicator cables usually pass through the hull, are sealed with silicone and have a plastic trim cap on the outside. Some installations include a stainless-steel fitting with a compression seal and a nut. Most K-plane indicator cables pass through a stainless compression fitting that is screwed into a 1/2” NPT port in the transom portion of the K-plane pad. If the rubber seal is worn on these types of fittings or the nut is loose, a leak will occur.

You should be aware that if water has been leaking for a long time through the transom at points where the transom assemblies or K-planes are attached, it is likely that the water has also caused mild to severe deterioration of the wood in the transom. I’ve seen boats like yours that had similar leaks that resulted in the entire transom being rotted. In one case, because of how the stringers are attached to the transom during construction, the stringers were also rotted. The repair involves replacing all of the wood in the transom and the stringers from the inside of the boat.

The last obvious place that the water can leak in is around the exhaust ports. This will be obvious once you back the boat in far enough. Some Fountains were built with a piece of 4-inch stainless-steel tube passed through a plastic transom ring which is simply held in place by being clamped to the exhaust hose. The exhaust tips were sealed originally but may not be now. If this is the case, I recommend replacing them with stainless-steel tips that have an integral flange welded to the tube. This type is usually held by screws or through-bolts and sealed to the transom.

The Fountain 32, with twin engines, floats relatively low in the water at the transom. The integral swim platform has a plastic rubrail at the hull to deck joint. I have seen many cases where water was leaking in past the screws that hold the rubrail in place. If this is the case, you will observe water running out of the drain holes in the lower corners of the transom on the outside of the outboard stringers. This can be fixed by removing the rubrail and re-sealing any visual holes. Make sure to use silicone sealant on each screw that attaches the rubrail during re-installation.

–Technical editor and offshore racing world champion Bob Teague is the owner of Teague Custom Marine in Valencia, Calif.