23 CC Power Opinions

[TwoWisemen]

professor,

Yes, it sank sitting right there. We were storing it in a slip at a new subdivision that had yet to be developed so it was unpopulated. We fished on Saturday and came back Sun morn to find it starting to roll. If I would have gotten there 2 hrs earlier, I think I could have prevented it. Now, what caused it? Weighted bowlines. Each of the lines I tied to the bow were tied to a five gallon bucket of cement. That provided enough lift on the front to dip the back under water, filling the baitwell, and then the bilge. Still not sure as to why the bilges didn't come on, but I've solved that problem. After we started raising it, they came on and pumped out the bilge. I had 3300 gph worth of bilge pumps because I knew the open transom was a problem in rough seas or if I had more than 2 people fishing off of the back. FYI - My fuel tanks (180 gals) run from the rear inspection hatch all the way to the front step-up and my 4 batteries were under the console. Not telling you what to do, but a single with a kicker may be safer than twins with an open transom. Just be careful! I was lucky this didn't happen to me 30 or 40 mi offshore!