Another Clean-Out Plug Thread

[DaveShip55]

The clean out plugs and the well they sit in needs to be clean for them to seal adequately. Hard water deposits, grime etc will prevent them from sealling.

If you look at the design of them, at least the twist lock ones I have, the rubber seal is what I call a skirt seal, the lip seats into the bottom of the well, this area also needs to be clean, and the skirt uses water pressure from below to billow out and seal against the sides of the tube. When you lock the plugs into place, this causes the skirt to billow out just a bit to make contact with the walls of the tube, and the water pressure increases the sealing force.

So if the rubber is dirty and the side walls are dirty the seal will not be able to gain good purchase on the walls and seal up. I use a rag with de natured alcohol on it, and with light to moderate pressure I clean the walls of the tube in the area where the seal contacts it. I used a flat blade screw driver with a rag wrapped around it to get into the groove at the bottom where the lip of the skirt seats. I suppose if you have some stubborn build up you could use a blue scotch brite pad with light pressure to remove the scale. Same thing with the rubber seal, it needs to be clean and in good shape to seal properly.

I believe that unless things are just perfect there will always be water in the clean out tubes.

The other thing that can happen when you slow down and the wave sweeps up over the back, is that water will come up the drain since its under pressure. Several folks have put an inline check valve in this drain to prevent this geyser effect.

So having everything clean and lubed up with either wax or pool lube will give the best seal possible.

Oh yeah, the little gap down at the bottom is spotless….(the gap the rubber skirt fits into). As well as the rubber skirts are in perfect condition. It’s actually leaked since the day I bought it. Maybe I just have a bad rubber skirts?…. I do notice that one leaks more than the other. But it definitely leaks quite a bit, enough to get 3-5 gallons in the bilge in 5 minutes.

 

[anmut]

The clean out plugs and the well they sit in needs to be clean for them to seal adequately. Hard water deposits, grime etc will prevent them from sealling.

If you look at the design of them, at least the twist lock ones I have, the rubber seal is what I call a skirt seal, the lip seats into the bottom of the well, this area also needs to be clean, and the skirt uses water pressure from below to billow out and seal against the sides of the tube. When you lock the plugs into place, this causes the skirt to billow out just a bit to make contact with the walls of the tube, and the water pressure increases the sealing force.

So if the rubber is dirty and the side walls are dirty the seal will not be able to gain good purchase on the walls and seal up. I use a rag with de natured alcohol on it, and with light to moderate pressure I clean the walls of the tube in the area where the seal contacts it. I used a flat blade screw driver with a rag wrapped around it to get into the groove at the bottom where the lip of the skirt seats. I suppose if you have some stubborn build up you could use a blue scotch brite pad with light pressure to remove the scale. Same thing with the rubber seal, it needs to be clean and in good shape to seal properly.

I believe that unless things are just perfect there will always be water in the clean out tubes.

The other thing that can happen when you slow down and the wave sweeps up over the back, is that water will come up the drain since its under pressure. Several folks have put an inline check valve in this drain to prevent this geyser effect.

So having everything clean and lubed up with either wax or pool lube will give the best seal possible.

Great take on the functionality of the plugs. Makes me wonder if someone could come up with an additional rubber o-ring that would fit just above the skirt to create more of a seal...

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Great take on the functionality of the plugs. Makes me wonder if someone could come up with an additional rubber o-ring that would fit just above the skirt to create more of a seal...

Yeah…. Last year I was trying to think of a way to snug up the seal, it seemed to me that the plugs were stiffer to install when the boat was new, I bought rebuild kits a year or so earlier and that made no difference and the new seals looked just like the oem seals.

After going down that rabbit hole I realized how the seal worked, compression and pressure from underneath. I tried the toilet wax ring trick, it worked great the first time I installed the plugs with that wax on them and I packed some wax into the groove at the bottom, the tubes were dry after using it that way. But once I removed them and put them back in they were full of water after using the boat, and that wax made a huge mess.

So now I’ve been using some of @drewkaree bees wax stuff on the seal itself, it doesn’t melt as easy and makes way less mess.

I did order some of the pool pump lubricant and am going to give that a try.

 

[tdonoughue]

I have the old style ports, but use the pool seal lube on them 1-2x year. Have had no issues... FWIW.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Oh yeah, the little gap down at the bottom is spotless….(the gap the rubber skirt fits into). As well as the rubber skirts are in perfect condition. It’s actually leaked since the day I bought it. Maybe I just have a bad rubber skirts?…. I do notice that one leaks more than the other. But it definitely leaks quite a bit, enough to get 3-5 gallons in the bilge in 5 minutes.

That seems excessive…. You could get a set of rebuild kits to make sure you’re starting from a good base.

The water getting into your bilge was coming in through the clean out tray, but it appears from your previous post you’ve corrected that.

I don’t use any sealant on the round extensions of the clean out tray where tubes attach, I do use some silicone grease to help them slide into the tubes, and don’t over tighten the hose clamps.

In regards to the clean out plugs, make sure the metal side walls are clean and use some lubricant on the skirts such as the pool lube, toilet wax ring or bees wax.

 

[drewkaree]

Great take on the functionality of the plugs. Makes me wonder if someone could come up with an additional rubber o-ring that would fit just above the skirt to create more of a seal...

Off the top of my head, the first thing that came to mind is a piston and piston rings. The difference in this use case would be that the piston ring would have to be a pliable material, and the center section would need a handle to allow insertion and removal, essentially a duplicate of the top half of the version of the screw-in plugs, just to limit water beyond that point. You'd be accepting water up to the DIY "cork", but if the idea worked, you'd stop water intrusion from that angle.

I know for certain that it's possible to 3D print the "piston" handle portion of it, but the flexible sealing portion would require some investigation and thought. TPU could be 3D printed, but the issue is that the cleanout tray takes up enough room that you'd not be able to get the TPU to be wide enough to fit in the lower portion of the tube, the rubber sleeve section. A blade, of sorts, would work, but the shape is working against being able to get a closed circle.

If we came up with an idea, as the forum did with the clamshell cover solution, it appears Yamaha would farm it out to Chinese suppliers for a substandard design that achieves 3/4 of the solution, while allowing 100% of the issue to continue

 

[drewkaree]

I did order some of the pool pump lubricant and am going to give that a try.

Save your dough and send that back when you get it, or cancel your order. I'll send you the rest of mine for testing purposes, I won't be using it

 

[DaveShip55]

Save your dough and send that back when you get it, or cancel your order. I'll send you the rest of mine for testing purposes, I won't be using it

I’m guessing it didn’t work?

 

[drewkaree]

I’m guessing it didn’t work?

I will say that it helped, but I had to reapply every time I used it, so on the list of things to get ready or do before heading out, that would be missed. Since the recommended pool lube is water-based, and your boat is in water, you can see where this is going LOL If you're getting water past your seals, that pool lube doesn't seem to offer much sealing power, seems to be more geared towards keeping things free from stiction.

 

[TeenGee]

Great take on the functionality of the plugs. Makes me wonder if someone could come up with an additional rubber o-ring that would fit just above the skirt to create more of a seal...

Yesterday I installed a -350 o-ring in each of my clean out ports. I lubed them with Super Lube Synthetic Grease 3 oz Mfr# 21030 - Ace Hardware I plugged the tray drain with a paper towel. I ran at speeds up to 55mph. The ports were dry. The starboard plug was a little difficult to remove. I think I need to put some lube on the locking lugs.

 

[anmut]

Yesterday I installed a -350 o-ring in each of my clean out ports. I lubed them with Super Lube Synthetic Grease 3 oz Mfr# 21030 - Ace Hardware I plugged the tray drain with a paper towel. I ran at speeds up to 55mph. The ports were dry. The starboard plug was a little difficult to remove. I think I need to put some lube on the locking lugs.

Nice, thanks for the update!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Yesterday I installed a -350 o-ring in each of my clean out ports. I lubed them with Super Lube Synthetic Grease 3 oz Mfr# 21030 - Ace Hardware I plugged the tray drain with a paper towel. I ran at speeds up to 55mph. The ports were dry. The starboard plug was a little difficult to remove. I think I need to put some lube on the locking lugs.

Awesome!

Where did you place the O ring? In the groove at the bottom?

Could you give us a picture of the clean out plugs on your boat? I think there was a design change between your 210 and your 255?

 

[TeenGee]

I placed the o-ring in the groove at the groove at the bottom of the port.
The plugs on the 210 and 255 looked and operated the same. The only potential difference would be the diameter of the plug. The bottom of the port is 5" diameter.
The picture in post #19 shows where I put the o-ring.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I placed the o-ring in the groove at the groove at the bottom of the port.
The plugs on the 210 and 255 looked and operated the same. The only potential difference would be the diameter of the plug. The bottom of the port is 5" diameter.
The picture in post #19 shows where I put the o-ring.

Thank you for the reply! Great info!

 

[jcb1977]

Yesterday I installed a -350 o-ring in each of my clean out ports. I lubed them with Super Lube Synthetic Grease 3 oz Mfr# 21030 - Ace Hardware I plugged the tray drain with a paper towel. I ran at speeds up to 55mph. The ports were dry. The starboard plug was a little difficult to remove. I think I need to put some lube on the locking lugs.

you're seeing 55mph for top end speed?

 

[TeenGee]

That was the top speed that day.
Less than full fuel.
No one else on board.
light chop.
tail wind.
Into the wind top speed was 52mph.

 

[jcb1977]

That was the top speed that day.
Less than full fuel.
No one else on board.
light chop.
tail wind.
Into the wind top speed was 52mph.

assuming you have the 1.9L's also? what rpm's are you seeing at full thorttle? last year i was only getting about 7,200rpm's with top speed around 49 with two adult, two kids, full tank (on Lake Michigan _-about 600 above sea level). so that probably is comparable to your speeds with less weight. although i'm guessing your boat is probably heavier than mine too.

I'm still messing with oil levels/throttle cable stops to maximize rpm's but am curious what others are seeing for max rpm's and how far I should chase it.

 

[TeenGee]

The FSH 255 has supercharged 1.8's
I didn't pay attention to rpm.
btw, I am at sea level.

 

[anmut]

Yesterday I installed a -350 o-ring in each of my clean out ports. I lubed them with Super Lube Synthetic Grease 3 oz Mfr# 21030 - Ace Hardware I plugged the tray drain with a paper towel. I ran at speeds up to 55mph. The ports were dry. The starboard plug was a little difficult to remove. I think I need to put some lube on the locking lugs.

Which O ring on this list did you buy?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Which O ring on this list did you buy?

Pretty sure it’s #350