Input/solutions for a couple issues

[Pat600cc]

Hey y’all, never thought I would make the switch to the jet boat world but wanted something I could try surfing behind and still pull up on the sandbar. I started eyeballing the 255xd a couple years ago and once we saw one at the boat show it was a no brainer. We’re had decent enough weather here in Omaha to take her out for a few rides and we absolutely love the boat. I have noticed three things that are gonna need some attention though. Obviously the boat is under warranty but I’d rather not have the boat sitting at the dealership when there’s boating to be done

1. Anchor light comes on after boat is turned off by itself. There is no way to get off except for turning the boat back on and hitting the button or screen. Regardless once you turn the boat back off it turns back on after about 5 seconds. Also I would think the button would still function with key off which it does not. Only solution I have as of now is to shut off batteries.

2. The clean out trays drains are not draining. The last time I had it out I played out with the clean outs just to get familiar. Yes they were about half full of water which I hear is normal. I forgot to pull them when we put the boat on the lift Tuesday to drain. Yesterday I went down to install an adjustable seat pedestal and opened the hatch to pull the clean outs. Apparently the clean outs took on more water since I check when we were out as they were overfilled out into the clean out tray. There appears to be two drains in there for this reason however they aren’t draining.

3. Reversed bias in neutral. This is most frustrating part of the new boat as it makes pulling the boat into the slip a pain in the ass. Drivex doesn’t seem to help. Even just starting the boat while tied up jerks the dock lines tight which makes them hard to remove. Has anyone had any luck adjusting the buckets on the drivex boats to get closer to a true neutral? I bought the service manual and it does say you have to hook it up to wds first but there are no position sensors on the buckets so I don’t see why that would be necessary

 

[Hot2Go]

1. Probably needs to go to the dealer as that seems like a glitch issue with connext.

2. You can buy a riser off jet boat pilot and plenty of YouTube videos on how to install it to help with drainage. Plus you need to buy the #350 o-rings to place in the clean outs so the plugs seal even better.

3. Sadly our jet boats are always in some sort of motion, my 252SE in neutral actually goes backwards very slightly. We always untie and have someone hold the dock while I start the engines, seems to work for us. I know the drivex boats and wake boats buckets may be adjusted slightly differently. I’m sure you could adjust it to get it closer to what you want!

 

[Pat600cc]

T

1. Probably needs to go to the dealer as that seems like a glitch issue with connext.

2. You can buy a riser off jet boat pilot and plenty of YouTube videos on how to install it to help with drainage. Plus you need to buy the #350 o-rings to place in the clean outs so the plugs seal even better.

3. Sadly our jet boats are always in some sort of motion, my 252SE in neutral actually goes backwards very slightly. We always untie and have someone hold the dock while I start the engines, seems to work for us. I know the drivex boats and wake boats buckets may be adjusted slightly differently. I’m sure you could adjust it to get it closer to what you want!

Thanks for the response. I was thinking the same thing on the connext. I can deal with that until fall. Ordering some rings and I’ll see if I get around to playing with the buckets

 

[CastawayRK]

Or try smearing copious amount of beeswax (I use a toilet wax ring) on the rubber surface of the plugs. Lots of discussion around here about whether it’s so great but I swear by it. I get no water at all on top of the plugs since I started using. And it helps the plugs come out easy.

 

[Pat600cc]

I was actually planning on orings and wax. But are those drains on the clean out tray? Mine definitely are not draining into the bilge just standing water up there and in the drains?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

1. Probably needs to go to the dealer as that seems like a glitch issue with connext.

2. You can buy a riser off jet boat pilot and plenty of YouTube videos on how to install it to help with drainage. Plus you need to buy the #350 o-rings to place in the clean outs so the plugs seal even better.

3. Sadly our jet boats are always in some sort of motion, my 252SE in neutral actually goes backwards very slightly. We always untie and have someone hold the dock while I start the engines, seems to work for us. I know the drivex boats and wake boats buckets may be adjusted slightly differently. I’m sure you could adjust it to get it closer to what you want!

Adjust your reverse buckets if you are going backward in neutral the buckets are slightly lower than they should be the reverse bucket splits the forward and reverse thrust the lower the bucket the more revere it creates pretty simple to correct

 

[Hot2Go]

I was actually planning on orings and wax. But are those drains on the clean out tray? Mine definitely are not draining into the bilge just standing water up there and in the drains?

Pictures help. Are you talking about the cleanout plugs having standing water on them? Totally normal and you should pull the plugs after every use unless wet slipping.

 

[CastawayRK]

Yes the tubes going down to clean out plugs have no drains other than removing the plug. Even when my boat is docked in the water (usually just vacation) I pull plugs and reinsert every couple days just to make sure they don’t get stuck.
The tray should have a drain to the bilge but should not really be needed. If you’re getting water up there especially on new boat that’s an issue. I use the compartment for aft PFD storage and it stays dry.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

What year is your 255XD? Your profile says 2007 Crownline.

The clean out tray drains dump their water through a hose to a thru hull under the hull, so any water that accumulates goes back into the lake. If water doesn’t flow through that fitting and out there’s a problem that needs to be investigated. If however the water in that picture you posted is below the drain top of the drain fitting then that would be understandable.

The clean out O rings will more than likely solve the water issue in the clean out area. Use spray silicone on the clean out plugs, skirt seals etc. I’ve started using a small amount of marine grease on the locking tabs / lugs and the corresponding slot in the clean out tube to make things work smoothly.

Absolute neutral is tough on jet boats as they’re always making thrust while running, however you can get very close. First you’ll have to experiment with one engine running at a time to see how each power plant is affecting motion at idle. Once you know what’s going on you can adjust each reverse gate / bucket accordingly to achieve the best neutral you can get.

So the anchor light, are you saying that after turning the engines off, but with the keys still and in float mode, the anchor light comes on? Is the anchor light only controlled via the touch screen only or is there a manual switch too that could be on as well and that’s why the light comes on? On some boats, critical functions have manual switches, sometimes in addition to touch screen switches.

From the 2025 255XD Owners manual

 

[Pat600cc]

Pictures help. Are you talking about the cleanout plugs having standing water on them? Totally normal and you should pull the plugs after every use unless wet slipping.

Yes the tubes going down to clean out plugs have no drains other than removing the plug. Even when my boat is docked in the water (usually just vacation) I pull plugs and reinsert every couple days just to make sure they don’t get stuck.
The tray should have a drain to the bilge but should not really be needed. If you’re getting water up there especially on new boat that’s an issue. I use the compartment for aft PFD storage and it stays dry.

I’ll try to get more pictures next time I’m out. No I’m referring to the drains on top of the clean out tray. There are two of them and look like they should drain any water that does get in the tray down to the bilge. Mine are definitely not draining. In the one pic I posted you can’t see it but there is about 1/2 inch of water on top of the tray and not draining. I tried looking for where they would drain to in bilge but didn’t see anything. Though maybe they had shipping plugs or valves that needed opened. Hopefully with some orings in the clean outs the drains won’t be a issue but I don’t like the ideal of dirty river water just chillin in the clean out tray like that

 

[Pat600cc]

I

What year is your 255XD? Your profile says 2007 Crownline.

The clean out tray drains dump their water through a hose to a thru hull under the hull, so any water that accumulates goes back into the lake. If water doesn’t flow through that fitting and out there’s a problem that needs to be investigated. If however the water in that picture you posted is below the drain top of the drain fitting then that would be understandable.

The clean out O rings will more than likely solve the water issue in the clean out area. Use spray silicone on the clean out plugs, skirt seals etc. I’ve started using a small amount of marine grease on the locking tabs / lugs and the corresponding slot in the clean out tube to make things work smoothly.

Absolute neutral is tough on jet boats as they’re always making thrust while running, however you can get very close. First you’ll have to experiment with one engine running at a time to see how each power plant is affecting motion at idle. Once you know what’s going on you can adjust each reverse gate / bucket accordingly to achieve the best neutral you can get.

So the anchor light, are you saying that after turning the engines off, but with the keys still and in float mode, the anchor light comes on? Is the anchor light only controlled via the touch screen only or is there a manual switch too that could be on as well and that’s why the light comes on? On some boats, critical functions have manual switches, sometimes in addition to touch screen switches.

From the 2025 255XD Owners manual

View attachment 244918

It actually only comes on after the key is completely turned off regardless the fact that the light was never turned on during the entire boat trip with several cycles through drive/float mode. When in drive or float mode the light seems to work as designed. It’s weird

 

[Pat600cc]

What year is your 255XD? Your profile says 2007 Crownline.

The clean out tray drains dump their water through a hose to a thru hull under the hull, so any water that accumulates goes back into the lake. If water doesn’t flow through that fitting and out there’s a problem that needs to be investigated. If however the water in that picture you posted is below the drain top of the drain fitting then that would be understandable.

The clean out O rings will more than likely solve the water issue in the clean out area. Use spray silicone on the clean out plugs, skirt seals etc. I’ve started using a small amount of marine grease on the locking tabs / lugs and the corresponding slot in the clean out tube to make things work smoothly.

Absolute neutral is tough on jet boats as they’re always making thrust while running, however you can get very close. First you’ll have to experiment with one engine running at a time to see how each power plant is affecting motion at idle. Once you know what’s going on you can adjust each reverse gate / bucket accordingly to achieve the best neutral you can get.

So the anchor light, are you saying that after turning the engines off, but with the keys still and in float mode, the anchor light comes on? Is the anchor light only controlled via the touch screen only or is there a manual switch too that could be on as well and that’s why the light comes on? On some boats, critical functions have manual switches, sometimes in addition to touch screen switches.

From the 2025 255XD Owners manual

View attachment 244918

That’s the old boat. 26 255xd

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I’ll try to get more pictures next time I’m out. No I’m referring to the drains on top of the clean out tray. There are two of them and look like they should drain any water that does get in the tray down to the bilge. Mine are definitely not draining. In the one pic I posted you can’t see it but there is about 1/2 inch of water on top of the tray and not draining. I tried looking for where they would drain to in bilge but didn’t see anything. Though maybe they had shipping plugs or valves that needed opened. Hopefully with some orings in the clean outs the drains won’t be a issue but I don’t like the ideal of dirty river water just chillin in the clean out tray like that

As I said, the clean out tray does not drain into the bilge. Run a small stick down that drain hole to make sure some bugs haven’t made homes in there. You should be able to look down through the drains and see daylight.. pull the mechanical hatch cover off and look down in there and you will see what I mean.

Your owners manual is not available online yet so I can’t see it, but I’d be surprised if there isn’t a manual switch down there on that panel. You might want to look for that and see if that solve the issue.

 

[Pat600cc]

Update
Had the boat in town to get the windows tinted so I let the dealership have it for a day

My wet storage area drain hoses were clogged. I tried a shop vac in reverse to try and blow them out but it didn’t help. They got more aggressive with compressed air and they drain now

Anchor light- apparently the new 26 model boats are designed this way to meet new coast guard safety requirements. Once the key has been turned on and then off the anchor light will turn on. The only way to get it off is to turn the key back to the on position and turn it off via switch or conext. Once the key is turned back off however the light will turn back on. The house battery disconnect switch is the only thing that will keep it off. I verified this on two other 26 models the dealership had on their sales floor

Orings- I got my hands on some of the #350 orings but they will not fit my clean out hole. My clean out has a 4.75” outside diameter so I’m gonna try to come up with a smaller size

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Update
Had the boat in town to get the windows tinted so I let the dealership have it for a day

My wet storage area drain hoses were clogged. I tried a shop vac in reverse to try and blow them out but it didn’t help. They got more aggressive with compressed air and they drain now

Anchor light- apparently the new 26 model boats are designed this way to meet new coast guard safety requirements. Once the key has been turned on and then off the anchor light will turn on. The only way to get it off is to turn the key back to the on position and turn it off via switch or conext. Once the key is turned back off however the light will turn back on. The house battery disconnect switch is the only thing that will keep it off. I verified this on two other 26 models the dealership had on their sales floor

Orings- I got my hands on some of the #350 orings but they will not fit my clean out hole. My clean out has a 4.75” outside diameter so I’m gonna try to come up with a smaller size

Pull the anchor light bulb, if it’s an incandescent bulb go on amazon and get a LED replacement for it. The LED bulb will draw 1/10 th of the current the incandescent does, and it will be brighter than the incandescent, then you don’t have to be concerned with battery draw for the anchor light.