350 Mariner - A Little Nose Heavy?

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gratcho

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Sep 6, 2008
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30715
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We went from a 28' express cruiser to the 350 Mariner this year. It's great! I notice that the boat seems to sit at the dock a little nose heavy; water collets on the swim platform, in the swim ladder well, on the steps to the fly bridge and behind the captain's seat storage bin. When it rains, the fly bridge carpet gets soaked.

Is this typical? If not, the only thing I can think of weighing down the bow is the anchor chain. We don't have a lot of stuff in the stateroom. Fuel tanks and water tank all full.

We have the Mercruiser 5.0 engines, maybe they are lighter than other engines?

Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Are you sure about the engines? Even my older 32 Mariner has 5.7's and not 5.0-thats the equivalent of 302 inches. I thoght 6.2 were the standard engine package for the 35 Mariners. My Mariner doesn't have a genset and I have the same problem as you-when at rest, there is a slight tilt down towards the bow. You could look at it this way: your always going downhill so it should be use less fuel. ;-)
 
Oops! I was momentarily back on the cruiser... we have twin Mercruisr 350 Mag MPI engines and the Kohler 7.3 KW genset. Seems like plenty of equipment to balance out my hind end.

The biggest annoyance is if I leave the bridge carpet down, it's alway wet. I roll it up each night and put it on one of the seats. Just curious is that's the usual routine for this model. We are enjoying the heck out of going to the 350. We call it our condo on the water.
 
Not to change the subject but, being interested and looking at a couple of 350 Mariners, any comments from current owners regarding storage space?
 
it is normal for the 350 Mariner to sit a little nose heavy.
 
Great galley storage, good head storage, (great shower space) great hanging locker, good stateroom cabinets and 2 drawers, good sized refrigerator with separate freezer, wish there was more storage in the salon ( that may be a project )

Overall we REALLY like the boat. Still getting to know it.
 
you found the storage under the dinette cushions and under the dinette floor? as well as the 2 drawers under the sofa?
 
Yup, used the storage under the dinette cushions, the drawers under the sofa and the storage under the dinette floor. We replaced the TV with a flat screen on a hinged arm and converted the space behind it for storage, but would like more.
 
I'll bet you have all chain rode? Maybe 200 ft sitting in your front locker?
Drop anchor & see if it's the cause?
 
Indeed we do have chain - probably 150' or so. We have the windlass that handles the heaviy lifting. Do most 350s have chain or anchor line? Would line work in the windlass?
 
Back when windlasses were options, if you ordered it, you got all chain on later model year boats. They still provide all chain, but windlasses are now standard.
 
We also have all chain which is great as you can by usually with the 3-1 vs 7-1 ratio for anchoring. Overnight we do 5-1. Only downside is if you snag the anchor bad and can't get it up, you can't cut the line!!!!! If a emergency arises, and you have to move quickly, etc. your a bit screwed unless you have a blow torch or decide to just let out all the chain :(
 
all chain on my 350 Mariner as well. It does sit a tad nose-heavy, especially when the fuel tanks are low.
 
Thanks for the replys - for those who have nose heavy boats, what do you do to keep the flybridge carpet dry? Our canvas enclosure does not cover the aft seat on the flybridge, so I unsnapped the carpet that was outside the canvas and rolled it up into the enclosure. The problem is since we are nose heavy, any rain water that collects in that area flows right into enclosed area soaking the carpet. We're rolling the carpets up and stowing them on the seats. Is that the best bet? Thanks
 
Gratcho, if the tilt is a problem get a few big water bladders. They are easy to refill when you come back & going out you can just unplug them to drain into the bilge. Usually underway the bow will rise anyway?
 
quote:
Originally posted by gratcho

Thanks for the replys - for those who have nose heavy boats, what do you do to keep the flybridge carpet dry? Our canvas enclosure does not cover the aft seat on the flybridge, so I unsnapped the carpet that was outside the canvas and rolled it up into the enclosure. The problem is since we are nose heavy, any rain water that collects in that area flows right into enclosed area soaking the carpet. We're rolling the carpets up and stowing them on the seats. Is that the best bet? Thanks

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Fortunately for us, ours is kept under cover so we don't have to deal with the rain which means I don't have a solution for ya. sorry.
 
Ours is under cover as well, we leave just the bimini on, except for our few months of cooler temps (in Texas). So I don't have much advice for you either.
 
We are out in the rain with ours....our issues with bridge canvas are mostly due to leaky bimini as opposed to water collecting from the entrance way - we roll our carpet up just what is outside the canvas and put it in the enclosure.

But I do have the water collecting on the stairs - solution for that.....dogs :) ours go to the steps first thing when we arrive and lap up that water lol

The swim ladder is a huge pain in the but - water will not drain out of there and it gets messy.....I thought about drilling a hole for the water to drain but obviously not a good idea lol

never thought about the issue being too "nose heavy"

we only have 50' of chain on our anchor so I'd think we'd be a little lighter than you
 
Thanks for the advice and guidance - I am thinking about coming up with a drain pipe for the swim ladder recess and fiberglassing it into the swim platform. (That sounds like a great winter project)
 
Just fire the bad boy up on plane. All the water on the ladder recess is gone after that!
 
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