Cleanout Plug - Lubrication??

[Jim Robeson]

@Julian ... got it! I guess you could also use your footballs for some play time while you're relaxing. I like it!!

 

[Julian]

Yes....except I always forget they are there! There is no perfect solution....

 

[jawsf16]

@Jim Robeson Yes you can also throw them to a friend or loved one for entertainment. The nerf football has several uses!

 

[itsdgm]

@Jim Robeson Yes you can also throw them to a friend or loved one for entertainment. The nerf football has several uses!

I used to have nerf balls in there but they would soak up quite a bit of water. The lakes that we go to have zebra mussels and I would never pass an inspection since there wasn't a way to squeeze all of the water out. But they were fun to throw around.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I think someone figured out that a different manufacturer of ball had a closed cell foam and didn't hold water. Was it Poof?

 

[jawsf16]

I actually use these. We have them for the pool basketball hoop too. They don't hold water.

http://www.coop-sports.com/hydro/hydro-balls/hydro-football.aspx

You can also skip them across the water. I got them at our local academy.

 

[Jim Robeson]

@itsdgm ... don't have to worry about Zebra Mussels but a few Copperheads can make their way around my boats. Sure keeps things a little exciting at times!!

 

[txav8r]

Like I said in the beginning, plenty of ideas on what works best and no problem with that. But ABS is know to swell with exposure to petroleum products, so many avoid that. The Aladdin lube (swimming pool o-ring lube) is good stuff too...but very tacky and like grease, may attract more gunk. There are pluses and minuses to everything and no perfect answers, but many of us feel that we do what we do as a measure of protection. What works for one may work for all, but were still working in a good direction and until a consensus is reached, you have the philosophy of a good number right here! Cleaning is a key ingredient here, so keep both the plug lower shell, the gasket/seal, and the aluminum seat and lock recess clean, and half the battle is won! Definitely don't keep the plug locked in the tube, that does run a big risk, although some will say they have done it forever without an issue. Conditions that we boat in are definitely not the same as another guy that posts, and his usage may vary, so it is very hard to make an absolute statement. The good news is you can replace the wearable components now...but you still have to keep stuff clean because the tolerances are small, even if they are looser now than the past boats.

 

[davel501]

2 pages and not 1 dirty joke. I am a little disappointed.

 

[Britboater]

I was thinking that………..all this lube and pulling……….great minds eh.

Defiantly take out, clean and only reinstall when going out.

 

[Ogtbagger]

@itsdgm ... don't have to worry about Zebra Mussels but a few Copperheads can make their way around my boats. Sure keeps things a little exciting at times!!

I just posted about this on FB yesterday. Over the weekend boat was waiting in the water for me. I went to put the plugs in and the left side went right in. Right side was being tricky, i pulled it up to adjust and a snake poked it's head up at me. I dropped the plug and it fell into the left side upside down. Was a huge pain to get out.
As for lubrication service department at my dealer said to use the marine antifreeze. Said to close them up poor on top and slowly work it around.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Your plugs are 7-8 years old depending on the build-date of your boat and there's a good change the rubber is starting to get hard if you haven't been lubricating them on a regular basis. I fussed with the plugs on my old Yamaha for 2 seasons and one was getting so hard to remove it barely came out. 2 rebuild kits later, and they were much easier. that was one of those, "why didn't I do this earlier" kind of things.

I also use a silicone grease and lube them up every couple of trips. I too lay the plugs across the tops of the tubes and they seem to stay there pretty well.