Compartment Drain Plugs?

[G.P. On the water]

sorry, learning how to navigate the forum here.
I was saying, both were out and the dealer never told me anything about this. My previous boats only had 1 (moomba outback at the center and a scarab 195 at the stern). I tried to closed the one at the ski locker and something was wrong with the thread, I was not able to plug/screw down. Your explanation makes me feel better until I bring the boat to the dealer and inspect these plugs.
Regarding the standing water I am in a slip limiting my ability to tilt the boat, I will try in the water and see if the water goes back to the bilge pump.
Thanks again

 

[zipper]

Last fall when I posted about "water in the ski locker drain", I pulled out 4 gallons with a shop vac, not knowing that it takes the jack all the way up on a big block of wood to get the water to to flow back to the transom drain plug. While the boat was in the water this bilge water never got high enough to start the bilge pump in the engine bay, but come to think of it the engine compartment drain plugs were closed while on the water. The water will stay under the engine, fuel compartment and ski locker and move back and forth under the bilge pump in the engine bay until you pull the boat out of water and pull the main transom plug, or install another bilge pump under the cleanout tray on the boats true bottom. Add it to the mod list...another bilge pump, trim tabs, two batteries, new speakers...the list never ends.

 

[zipper]

Thank you for this explanation! I was fixing my anchor locker today in my new 212x and noticed these compartment plugs and some water at the ski locker, I found another one in the middle of the two engines at the front, b

The water in the ski locker is already below the scupper drain. Depending on how much there is, open the plastic drains in the engine compartment to allow the water in to reach the engine bilge pump. The only way to get it all out is to pull boat and jack up bow or install another bilge pump.

 

[davel501]

We should be careful about giving advice that recommends a particular solution over regular maintenance. At least once per season you should let the hose run at the front of the boat with the hatches closed to check for leaks. If water is getting into your ski locker or fuel tank compartment it is time to change out the weather stripping. There are valid points on both sides of the conversation but I am going to argue that rainfall infiltration, outside from the little bit that drains from the helm cup holders, is not one.

 

[Jaime]

There was a member on the other site that left his out while in the water. He had a clean out plug blow which quickly filled his boat with water. He made a quick dash to shore and found the water was half way up on his engines and his ski locker was quite full. If he had his plugs in all of the water would have stayed in the engine compartment and ruined both engines.

I leave my plugs out so if a compartment gets water, and we know that usually means the engine compartment, the water will equalize to the other compartments giving you more time to address the problem and making the boat easier to handle.

I agree to leave them out and that will buy you time is something go's wrong, otherwise your engine compartment will fill quick.

 

[Jaime]

One thing I forgot to mention!!! We should all add a second bilge pump!!!

 

[Bernd]

yes now I'm confused as in the beginning. When I purchased my 2010 sx210 a few weeks ago it was in the water with no water in the bilge. when I picked up the boat 3 days later at the boat ramp and opened the bottom drain plug it took at least (probably more) 10 min to drain all the water and we are talking full stream. All plugs where out. So what to do not to repeat it?
Whats the lowest point of the boat? install a second pump?

 

[zipper]

@Bernd Don't feel confused, we have all been there. There most likely was water in the bilge, you just did not see it. If you looked at the engine compartment and saw no water, that is great but the true bilge is under that compartment. It is the area between the inner and outer hulls. It runs from the area under the ski locker aft to the stern drain plug. If you look closely at the base of the bilge pump in the engine bay you will notice a hole under it that allows the water down there to rise to its level. You may not see water pumping out the bilge pump, but there could be a couple of gallons of water below it. The only way to get all the water out is to put the boat on the trailer with Jack all the way up and pull the transom drain plug. I have found that 99% of the water in my boat is from rainwater. This is how I manage that. https://jetboaters.net/threads/rain-water-pools-at-front-of-bow-floor-while-on-the-water.14264/#post-246353

 

[Bernd]

@Bernd Don't feel confused, we have all been there. There most likely was water in the bilge, you just did not see it. If you looked at the engine compartment and saw no water, that is great but the true bilge is under that compartment. It is the area between the inner and outer hulls. It runs from the area under the ski locker aft to the stern drain plug. If you look closely at the base of the bilge pump in the engine bay you will notice a hole under it that allows the water down there to rise to its level. You may not see water pumping out the bilge pump, but there could be a couple of gallons of water below it. The only way to get all the water out is to put the boat on the trailer with Jack all the way up and pull the transom drain plug. I have found that 99% of the water in my boat is from rainwater. This is how I manage that. https://jetboaters.net/threads/rain-water-pools-at-front-of-bow-floor-while-on-the-water.14264/#post-246353

Thanks I think I got it now. Thanks for the quick awnser made me feel better

 

[OhioCop]

I have a 2011 242limited s, what is the proper to keep all the drains when operating the boat?

 

[2kwik4u]

..........There are valid points on both sides of the conversation but I am going to argue that rainfall infiltration, outside from the little bit that drains from the helm cup holders, is not one.

I disagree.

I sat on the water, uncovered, in the rain, for 3.5 hours weekend before last waiting on the locks. The rain was varying in intensity from medium to heavy. When we checked the ski locker after locking through, there was over 6in of water in there (as measured by me standing in it, and having water 1/2 way up my shin). I had the ski locker plug in, and the bilge had not run at all. We immediately pulled the plug and got the boat up to about 8-10mph (just off plane, bow very high) for a few minutes, and pulled the ski locker plug. The bilge came on almost immediately and ran for about 30-40 seconds.

It wasn't enough to sink us, but it was enough to alarm us.

Without getting the bow up, the water just sat there in the ski locker and didn't really drain. I suspect the front of the boat was full of water as well, although where that was getting in I'm not certain, as the underseat storage was mostly dry. I suspect the weather stripping around the fuel locker is not doing anything for sealing. I know the ski locker weather stripping isn't doing anything either. This is on a 2yr old boat that is garage kept. I would wager the stripping is there for sound more so than water tightness.

I also know that while sitting a significant amount of water pooled in the front foot well area of the cockpit. By significant I mean about 2in deep of water over the carpet.

Once we were back on the ramp, we left it on the steep portion of the ramp and let it drain. Had a FULL stream from both transom plugs for the better part of 2 minutes. A considerable amount of water from sitting in the rain without a cover.

I'll be leaving my plugs (in all compartments) out moving forward. No sense in storing rain/drip water if I don't have to. I'll also not sit still in the rain for 3 hours again. If I have to I'll get on plane for a short bit to empty the water back into the bilge and out of the scupper.

 

[Bernd]

Hmm. Do these boats maybe need a remote activated bilge pump in the front of the hull or just keep it in the garage when there are clouds in the sky. Before this I had a 36' Flybridge and never had a drop of water in the boat. Looks like I'm driving a fast bathtub now LOL

 

[davel501]

I disagree.

I sat on the water, uncovered, in the rain, for 3.5 hours weekend before last waiting on the locks. The rain was varying in intensity from medium to heavy. When we checked the ski locker after locking through, there was over 6in of water in there (as measured by me standing in it, and having water 1/2 way up my shin). I had the ski locker plug in, and the bilge had not run at all. We immediately pulled the plug and got the boat up to about 8-10mph (just off plane, bow very high) for a few minutes, and pulled the ski locker plug. The bilge came on almost immediately and ran for about 30-40 seconds.

It wasn't enough to sink us, but it was enough to alarm us.

Without getting the bow up, the water just sat there in the ski locker and didn't really drain. I suspect the front of the boat was full of water as well, although where that was getting in I'm not certain, as the underseat storage was mostly dry. I suspect the weather stripping around the fuel locker is not doing anything for sealing. I know the ski locker weather stripping isn't doing anything either. This is on a 2yr old boat that is garage kept. I would wager the stripping is there for sound more so than water tightness.

I also know that while sitting a significant amount of water pooled in the front foot well area of the cockpit. By significant I mean about 2in deep of water over the carpet.

Once we were back on the ramp, we left it on the steep portion of the ramp and let it drain. Had a FULL stream from both transom plugs for the better part of 2 minutes. A considerable amount of water from sitting in the rain without a cover.

I'll be leaving my plugs (in all compartments) out moving forward. No sense in storing rain/drip water if I don't have to. I'll also not sit still in the rain for 3 hours again. If I have to I'll get on plane for a short bit to empty the water back into the bilge and out of the scupper.

I'd be looking to figure out how that water got in the ski locker. One of the big rules in boating is keeping the water outside the boat. If it was from rain it should have all hit the deck and run out the scupper in back. The cup holder on the helm drains to the ski locker and maybe the compartment behind the helm too but there's really no way for water to get in there except the cup holders in front.

The weather stripping on the fuel tank cover is terrible...that compartment will fill with water if you don't replace it but I'm not leaving that drain open and risking a leak dumping fuel into a hot engine compartment.

You should be able to leave your boat out in a downpour and as long as it does not overwhelm the scupper you should never have a problem.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'd be looking to figure out how that water got in the ski locker. One of the big rules in boating is keeping the water outside the boat. If it was from rain it should have all hit the deck and run out the scupper in back. The cup holder on the helm drains to the ski locker and maybe the compartment behind the helm too but there's really no way for water to get in there except the cup holders in front.

The weather stripping on the fuel tank cover is terrible...that compartment will fill with water if you don't replace it but I'm not leaving that drain open and risking a leak dumping fuel into a hot engine compartment.

You should be able to leave your boat out in a downpour and as long as it does not overwhelm the scupper you should never have a problem.

I agree. I'm not enthused at all about those this boat handled the uncovered rain. Between water filling the ski locker to begin with, and then how it has handled draining it out of there.

I've had the boat out twice since that outing, both times I have had continued filling of the ski locker with water. Even on a sunny day trip, with no rain, and nobody in/out of the water. That tells me that despite sitting on the trailer for two weeks prior the water never drained fully from the boat. The idea that the interior of the hull is shaped such that water can collect and NOT run to the bilge is somewhat disturbing. I ended up running around the lake at about 9mph for 20 minutes to get the bow high enough, long enough to get the water to drain back. The bilge pump finally kicked on and ran for probably 30-45 seconds at full stream to empty the water out. What the damn hell Yamaha?

I sat the boat on a heavy incline yesterday evening. Emptied the bilge as best I can tell. Had another 1/2gal or so of water come out the drain plugs. I did finally pull the fuel tank cover off and look inside. Dry as dry can be. Perhaps the seal on the tank cover is working and the seal on the ski locker is not. Will have to do some more testing this fall to figure that out.

Either way, I'm not really enthused with the watertightness of this boat. Had a I/O for 7yrs prior and never had more than a dribble from the drain plug even after a week floating. This boat seems to release exceeding high amounts of water on a regular basis. Unsure if the plant doesn't know how to use sealant, it's a bad design, or what. But it definitely isn't the "set it and forget" feeling I had with the last one.

 

[Homernukem]

The engine compartment is plugged off from the bilge pump in case you get a fuel or oil leak. The leak won't get pumped into the water.

 

[scokill]

Agree. I forgot to use my standard line which is always "it depends"

And hitting a rock (or stump) will not necessarily cause you to sink no matter what. Maybe @scokill will chime in. He hit a stump that put a huge hole in the hull and he motored back to shore somehow. Who wants to take bets on if his plugs were in or not?

I must have missed this years ago or missed my response. I knew there was significant damage and hull was breached because the bilge started pumping water and never stopped. Made it to the marina fairly easy. I want every single plug open and every single drop of water going to the bilge pump end of story. Most boats are extremely difficult to sink..... This is preference and ancecdotal. Also another anecdote...how did the compartment theory work out for the Titanic??? At the end of the day it is my opinion that it won't make a difference either way, as there is always a circumstance that you could dream up that will either be solved by it, or made worse.