Front/back Rocking motion

[mrh]

I noticed an odd front/back rocking motion on my tattoo 26 the last couple of times I took it out. The ballast is properly filled. I used the bilge pump but no water came out. Any idea what it could be. Thanks.

[Tomfoolery]

What was the sea state?

[NiceAft]

To expand on what Tom asked; like Mac’s, are bobbing like a cork. If you are in choppy sea, or following seas, what you described will happen. The result of a ballast instead of a keel.

[Jimmyt]

I noticed an odd front/back rocking motion on my tattoo 26 the last couple of times I took it out. The ballast is properly filled. I used the bilge pump but no water came out. Any idea what it could be. Thanks.

Also, what body of water are you in? Are you new to boating? You say it was rocking "the last couple of times". Does that mean you've sailed the boat many times before in different sea states, and never experienced this before?

Not trying to be annoying, just trying to figure out what you are trying to describe? An odd front/back rocking sounds like a following sea to me. Don't suppose you have video?

[mrh]

Thanks. All valid questions. So, I have owned the boat for many years and have 100s of hours of motoring and sailing on her. So I well aware of all the usual motions. Currently I go out on a lake. It’s not the usual sideways motion of the boat. It’s more of a (fluid) front back rocking. So my first thought was the ballast tank (which is full) and the bilge (again appears empty). I noticed it in winds of about 10 knots, but also during lulls. Both in following seas and on the beam. Couple of ideas coming to mind are: 1) check if the keel has moved/been dislodged from hitting a branch etc, 2) check if the bilge pump is working (some fluid should have come out in any case which it didn’t) and 3) clean the undersides of algae (to be done soon). On (2), have folks had problems with the manual bilge pump not working and any solutions. I appreciate the help from this community.