I just got back from a great trip on the Narragansett Bay on my NS36. While I was there I noticed that I have barnacles growing on a part of my hull above the bottom paint, towards the aft end. I just had the bottom re-done this year and the boat has been in the water since mid-April.
The aft end of the boat sits lower in the water than the boot stripe and white strip just below it. The bow actually sits up about an inch higher than the bottom paint. Is this common among NS36’s? The boat has been emptied since I bought it and there’s nothing significant in the stern there that would cause this.
Thanks
Bob Gehrman
NS36 #52 “Fortunate”
Greenwich Bay, Rhode Island
Thanks Leon - Yes, that’s true and I do store my dinghy on the davits normally. Although, the picture in the water is without the dinghy. No doubt that’s contributing.
Mark’s got a good question – the holding tank, both of the standard N36 water tanks, and the optional additional water tank are all forward of midships on a 36. How much was in them could make a lot of difference. A reduction of chain could also be a factor if you’re carrying less.
Has your boat been repowered, and if so, how do the new and old engine weights compare?
Finally, did you spend a lot of time in the cockpit and have you gained weight recently? That’s usually the explanation on my boat. ;-}
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch e26U #233
Marina del Rey, California
According to the manual the forward water tank is 56 U.S. gallons which is about 450 lbs when full. 3/8” chain weighs about 1.4 lbs per foot so an extra 140 lbs for each hundred feet. If had a half full tank and went to a full tank and add an extra 100 feet of chain you would be adding about 350 lbs of useful weight to the bow. Check how the boat is trimmed, the have a couple friends stand at the bow and check the trim again. This will give an idea of how much difference the extra weight will make.
The problem with davits is they hang 100 lbs of dinghy about 3 feet off the stern which is like having a 300 lb friend sitting on the rear coaming.
One option is adding weight to the bow the other is to re paint the water line and raise the anti fouling at the stern. Also to the extent possible keep weight out of the stern. Unfortunately it sounds like most of the weight was already removed.
I am not as familiar with the 36 as with some of the other models. I have noticed the 30s seemed to drag their sterns more than the 26 with the possible exception of the 30s fitted with the sail drive. Of course when two people sit in the cockpit of a 26 the stern will squat. I am not a fan of adding weight. Our boats are heavy enough.
If the N36 mold was build, drilled and gelcoated consistently, #52 and #25 should be similar. If not, none of my comments or conclusions make sense. Having said that, I think the waterline of #52, Fortunate, has already been raised.
When they made #25, they gelcoated the N36 hull mold in three colors. White, off-white and green. I discovered this when I took the entire hull back to bare gelcoat.
I believe that the green colored boot stripe was meant to be above the water surface, because originally there is NO green waterline boot stripe on the stern! It is completely white. There is also NO underwater off-white gelcoat present on the stern.
I actually raised the original gelcoated waterline slightly when I painted the hull, and I’m glad I did. The tip of my stern is touching the water when the boat is completely empty. But when I’m fueled up and the water tanks are topped off, it is submerged 2 centimeter. I actually believe that the original design was for the entire flat part of the stern to be dry, above the water. I do admit that I have a carbon mast and wb.
To explain my comment on the waterline of Fortunate #52, I focussed on two “landmarks”, one being the stern and the other one being the deck drain hole.
These pictures are of the ORIGINAL gelcoat bootstripe, which is probably meant to be 2,5 centimeter (1") or so above water level.
The boat came out of the water on Friday. I got some pictures of the stern and the residue from the growth at the waterline relative to the boot stripe. To add even more confusion, I have the original boat construction photos which shows how it was built, which has no boot stripe on the stern at all.
I got some information from the son of the PO this weekend. Apparently the PO added the boot stripe on the stern after the davits were added and the weight of the dinghy caused the shift in the waterline.
I compared the boot stripe to my NS30, which wraps all the way around the stern neatly.
My thought to remedy this is to paint a new ‘gap line’ that will define the bottom edge of a new boot stripe as it moves aft on the hull. Then I will bottom paint up to the gap line to prevent growth.
Any thoughts on this solution?
Thanks
Bob Gehrman
NS36 #52 “Fortunate”
Greenwich Bay, Rhode Island
