Weird bow rise problem, need some help!

got A question that has my head spinnig. We weight our boat (2003 Malibu response lx) down alot more than what is normal for that boat I'm sure. For the past two years we put a 680# seat bottom sac in place of the back seat, a 580 # fatboy on both sides of the engine and about 600# in the bow. Never had any problems what so ever. It planes fine and will rip someone out of the water with the acme 911 prop on it. Well here in the past few 2 months I've been noticing the bow getting gradually high and higher. Even with zero weight in the boat when on a plane goin 35 the bow sits alot higher than it should and slot higher than it ever has. Lately we've had to stop putting ANY weight in the back and keep everything else the same just to be able to ride bc the bow sits so high. It feels like there is a crap ton of weight back there but there isn't a thing back there. Not only that but when stopped or at idle the platform is completely out of the water (the way we normally weight it it'd be slightly submerged. My boat is on a lift at my house, I tried pulling both pugs and drained everything, I've cleaned the bottom of the boat to where it's spotless, none of the underwater gear is damaged. We do use the wedge but this happens even with out the wedge going 35 so it's not that, has ANYBODY ever experienced this before? Anything I can check? I'm lost and it's really getting on my nerves. Thanks in advance...

That IS quite strange. Does the boat have under floor ballast? If it doesn't it might have foam under there, which could have gotten completely waterlogged. It sounds like a ridiculous idea, but then again it's a strange problem.

Has the wedge moved so it's engaged more than you think? Maybe it's not going all the way back to '0' when it's turned off.

Also has your bilge gone off more than normal? Maybe your shaft seal is leaking more as it gets older?

Tell the fat guy to stop eating donuts on your boat and have him sit up front.

check your bilge it might be full and your pump is shot

Sounds like a total loss and time for a new boat, so sad.

turn on your bilge pump . Then find your leak

Haha nice, I agree time for a new one. Nah it doesn't have any ballast other than the fat sacs, bildge works fine and shaft is drippin like it should. Also the wedge is the manual wedge and it's only down when riding. Like I said with no weight at all and just me in the drivers seat the bow still sits higher than normal even on a plane goin 35. I don't get it.

I was in a boat that did the same. Water was movin from front to back

Have it checked out, if it's water logged call insurance and start looking for a new one.

weird. Has the wake changed since you stopped weighting it in back? That would mean, I think, you still have water/weight in it somewhere back there?

By water logged you mean water in the foam under floor? The water in the bilge is normal, not much at all...and bilge pump works. But i guess that could be it somehow. I was also told that it could be the prop? The prop isn't bent, doesn't vibrate, but could have some kind of slight damage. my response to that was that, if i can go 35 mph (even if the prop was messed up) then the prop wouldn't be the cause of the bow rising. going 35 i can tell a difference that about the middle of the boat, to the bow sits a good bit higher than normal. it still planes and whatnot, but doesn't "settle" down to normal. and this is with no weight at all in the boat and no one in it even. I'm about to go take it for a quick run with no engine cover or rear floor panel and see if i'm getting a leak or something in there. I have no idea how to go about checking foam under the floor...

Have you ever weighed the boat on a scale? If you have go weigh it now and see if there's much difference. Be sure to have same gear/fuel/whatever in it as last time you weighed, or do a little rough math to account for fuel differences. Wouldn't hurt to get a baseline on a scale and compare to what factory says it should weigh, if you've never weighed it.

Also depending on how it sits on your lift water could be hiding under the floor in the front of the boat when you pull the plugs.

If problem was prop related you'd probably feel a vibration or be able to see it. Could problem be engine related? Down on power/torque? When was last tune-up? Do you still get same MPH and RPM at WOT as before?

I am with the rest of the comments on checking to make sure the foam is not wet. Take it to the dealer and they might have to cut a few hole in the floor to get to the bottom of the hull to make sure there is no water in there. If there is, then that is a factory problem and you should make a claim to either get it fixed or a new boat. I would be cautious about the problem just in case all heII breaks out and it sinks.

Maybe you should take everything out of the boat and weigh the boat and trailer. Don't know how good the specs are for boat and trailer weight, but if they are accurate you may be able to tell if you have extra water weight.

Still get the same MPH at WOT, no vibrations, so its not a prop or engine. I haven't weighed it, i guess I could do that. I think i'll get the foam checked and make sure that's it. But what's weird is that when at idle or stopped and sittin in the water, it sits normally. Like it should. The platform is out of the water and sits just find. Its not until you start to actually go that it feels like its really "rear heavy." It almost feels like there's something on the hull (similar to what the wedge does) that is pushing the back down and the bow up. But i've cleaned the bottom extremely well and checked all the underwater gear. I'll get the foamed checked first and see what else i can do if that's not the problem. I appreciate it guys.

Lay off the cronic kid the bow will be back to normal!!

Wow Kevin, was that suggestion based on your own past experiences? Two problems with that would be #1 that's a crap ton of chronic in the boat in order to make the bow rise and #2 I don't touch the stuff. Oh and my wife and our 3 year old would disagree with ya thinkin I was a kid.

another vote for wet foam. The boat I am thinking of had a mystery list no one could figure out until they drilled into the floor liner and found a wet mess down the port side.

Have the dealer check the gear out. A variation in the prop angle can make a difference.
If the boat sits on a lift it would be hard for it to get water logged. Unless your in it 7 days a week????

I had an old bowrider outboard boat that got water trapped in the gunnel's up front. I only figured it out because I heard the water slosh around inside riding in the boat across a parking lot.

if there is water in it under the floor you wouldn't really notice it just sitting. Once you start going all the water flows down to the back. Is there any way you can take the floor boards up yourself?

Is there a trailer under it? haha

Taking it to the dealer is not an option as the closest dealer is several hours away. Has anyone pulled a floor up on one of these? I'd have no problem doing it just haven't done it myself. A buddy of mine own a fiberglass shop and has done it but he's out of town. My dad has actually had an old sn 2001 down to nothing but the hull but I don't think he knows where to start with this one. Any help would be appreciated! Also, prop isn't the problem, I've had this prop on here for two years now and has been great. The boat is on a lift in my house but we do ride about 6 days a week.

Be sure not to void any warranty (or potential claim) by drilling/investigating things yourself.