Boat almost tipping over

Question
i let my friend drive my boat the other day (1980 glastron open bow) i stepped to the front of the boat and and it almost tipped over to the right, we were going pretty fast but not like rocket fast.  he told me that had been messing with the button that makes the engine go up and down while he was driving but not at the time i moved to the front of the boat. after i put the boat on the trailer i noticed a section on one of the blades on the prop was back about an inch. does the prop or the position of the motor have anything to do with this or do i have a bigger problem somewhere?

Answer
Hi James...Thank you for selecting the undersigned to reply to your question.

The damaged prop blade and the trim angle of the engine did not cause the problem. The steering position is on the right side of your boat, which is where the operator sat. Although you didn't clarify whether the design of your boat was a bowrider or bass boat, it is 27 yrs. old, and in all likelihood osmosis has taken place over several years, which is the penetration or absorption of water through the gelcoat and fiberglass (a semipermeable membrane). Before you moved forward toward the bow, presumably you were seated beside the boat's operator or on the left side, which balanced the weight in the boat. As your body weight moved toward the bow, it influenced water trapped within an unaccessible cavity in the bottom of the boat to also move forward (1 gal. of water weighs 10 lbs.), altering the weight distribution aboard and caused the boat to dip forward and to the right.

I recommend you take the boat to a reliable source and get them to scan the hull with a moisture meter, which will determine the degree of water content within the hull, often in a sealed cavity below a false bilge area. Also, closely examine the exterior of your hull below the waterline and look for slight to moderate bulging or blistering of the gelcoat, which will signify areas of osmosis. To remedy the problem drain the water and let the hull dry out completely, sand off the old gel, repair moisture damaged fiberglass, then refinnish the hull's exterior with gelcoat or other appropriate finnishes.

Safe Boating
Ron