Another Oops Story
A few years ago I rented a Boston Whaler with a 50HP Merc on the back from Chic's Marina, next to the Algonquin restaurant in Bolton's Landing, Lake George.
The boat would NOT get on plane. Not to worry. Everybody knows a Boston Whaler is unsinkable. Trouble was, the space between the hull and cockpit shell was half full of water.
SO: If your Donzi seems to be sluggish and won't get on plane like it used to, it's REALLY Time to pop the hatch and take a look. If you have only 100 gallons of water in there, (800#) it ain't likely you are going to get on plane....even if you have more horsepower than everyone else, cause all that water is gonna slosh right aft under the engine.
The theory goes, "A floating object displaces an amount of water equal to it's own weight". So if your boat weighs 2700#, ...and your boat takes on that much weight of water, then the boat is no longer "Displacing" the water because it's now inside the boat...so it sinks.
Even before you take that amount of water through the drain hole, your freeboard at some point around the hull will be such that a small wave or swell....or someone leaning in the wrong direction will finish the job. Bummer.
BTW: The ONLY way to put the plug back in the drain hole with the boat in the water, is to go swimming with the plug..because nobody has arms long enough to reach the drain hole while lying across the engine hatch of a Classic.
Avatar: RELIANCE (1903) The Largest single masted sailing yacht ever built (Until 2004)...with over 16,000 square feet of sail. Successful Americas Cup Defender.
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1986 Minx. SBC 350/260hp, Alpha I. Red, Honey.