Just curious about buoyancy

[hipowerone]

Quoting/copied from user manual "GROSS PERMISSABLE WEIGHT IN WATER.................................1305 LBS
(INCLUDES PASSENGERS, CARGO, ACCESSORIES AND OPTIONS)". Your "like it sits" weight only leaves 185# for driver&passengers/fishing gear/etc....yet you said both you and a passenger were in your MAX in the water. With the center of gravity being changed by the heavy roll cage, I can imagine the MAX was a bit unsteady in the water.

[ARGOJIM]

I was wondering of a 6X6 will float with just the tires for buoyancy or does it also require the body to be watertight. Just thinking if i was fishing and poked a hole in the body with a submerged branch or stone. I have hit a few things with my boat at night that I was sure would sink me lol.

Will the machine float with just the tires? Well... yes although not properly, and generally list toward the engine side. The machine needs to be watertight for balance and control, best to keep it watertight and head for shore if it adds up quickly, most machines seep a little water in.


Some machines are more prone to take water over the sides or in the engine compartments as they are generally the lowest part of the upper body. Use caution if you are new to water usage.

This image shows a machine with water even on the outside and inside of the machine, every move made caused more water to enter and nearly going down, luckily this water was not that deep, a bilge pump and a team effort safely removed them and the machine from the water. There were a multitude of contributing factors that occurred simultaneously which led to this.



A quick sorry to Jim and Sam, but somebody's gotta learn em.

[hipowerone]

Many thanks to ARGOJIM....I have been treading lightly around this subject and finally have to break free and state the facts. The MFG lists a GROSS PERMISSIBLE WEIGHT IN WATER for a very specific reason. Your AATV is a water vessel and your "vessel" displaces water. It displaces water in weight equal to the vessel weight. As you add more weight to your "vessel" and try to float it, it will displace more water up to that added weight, continuing up to the time that you have exceeded the gross permissible weight and water begins to seep into vessel openings such as seams, engine openings, or other openings in the body hull. In the two photos that argojim posted, both "vessels" luckily went down in shallow water. However, what are you going to do when you have a problem in much deeper water? I have seen hull opening much larger than most bilge pumps will handle! Folks, bilge pumps are designed to handle minor leaks, not to refloat the Titanic!