Water in Ski Locker

[toddaltpeter]

I’ve got a 2021 AR190 with about 50 hours on it. I’ve noticed when I have 6+ passengers or a really rough day, I was getting a fair amount of water out when I removed the Drain plugs. I then noticed water in the Ski Locker as well. I did not have the Ski Locker drain plugged. The bilge pump did not kick on, but when I manually turned it one it shot our all of the water.

Next time out I closed the Ski Locker drain, when I got back to the dock I had about 4 inches of water in the Ski locker. Removed the drain plugs and had zero water come out of the bilge. On none of these trips did I take water into the cockpit, so it’s not coming over the bow.

Went out with 2 people on a calm day and everything was dry.

So my questions are:

• Is it normal to have some, not gallons of water in the bilge?
• Anyone have a guess where the water is coming from?
• How can I test my bilge pump float? I’ve never seen it kick on by itself when I have water in the bilge (Doesn’t mean it isn’t I just haven’t seen it) If I manually turn it on, it will pump out water if there is any in there.

 

[mrcleanr6]

The watee is coming from the anchor locker drain. You need to remove the plastic fitting and replace with a ss 3-8” thru-hull fitting

 

[toddaltpeter]

The watee is coming from the anchor locker drain. You need to remove the plastic fitting and replace with a ss 3-8” thru-hull fitting

So that was my original guess after looking at the forum, but from what I can tell, my anchor locker drains into the Ski Locker. I didn't see another drain. But then again, maybe I didn't look close enough. Was this removed when they did the hull redesign on the 19's?

 

[mrcleanr6]

The anchor locker isnt supposed to drain into the ski locker. It drains through the hole drilled through the hull into the anchor locker liner. Water comes in and goes between the liner and hull then down into the ski locker. While under way at no wake speed and people up front i stuck my head in the ski locker and looked all the way fwd. you could see it pouring in over that fwd bulkhead.

 

[AuburnVFR]

The anchor locker isnt supposed to drain into the ski locker. It drains through the hole drilled through the hull into the anchor locker liner.

Not true for the 19" boats. There is not a through hull drain on 190/2/5s.

 

[JBehrens]

Ya no through hulls on the 190's to my knowing. I had a similar problem though and it was water intrusion form both the anchor locker (drains directly into the ski locker) and the drain plug at the bottom of the ski locker. Since the ski locker is a primary dry storage spot for us, I went the route of plugging the anchor locker drain completely and just check for water after a trip. The ski locker drain on my boat had no gasket whatsoever, so I removed the plug and added a decent beed of clear RTV. So far no water.

 

[kgower]

Having similar issues with my 195s, will begin looking for problem. If my ski locker was supposed to come with a plug I don't have one.

 

[toddaltpeter]

I checked on last outing. The Anchor Locker was mostly dry, so I'm thinking that it is coming up from the Ski Locker Drain. Seems like only when fully loaded or in rough waves I'm seeing it.

 

[Robbyw]

I have a 21 ar250 so not sure if that’s the same. What I found was bow down from going slow with people up front water would get into the anchor locker. The very top of the ski locker is open into the ski locker. Get down and look in front of the ski locker with the anchor locker open you can see sunlight.
I closed off my anchor locker drain

 

[AlexT]

Hi Everyone. I am winterizing my boat and still a relatively new boat owner. We keep our boat in a slip on a river all summer and at the end of the season, I noticed the same thing that water would accumulate in my ski locker. All the plugs are in and we don't get much water in the boat from getting in and out. I also don't use the anchor locker.

I also saw a small amount of water in the engine and fuel tank compartments.

I am concerned I'm missing something. Is there any other way that water can get in? To get the water out, I would cycle the bilge pump on and off until it was mostly drained but this doesn't seem right. Looking for input.

Thanks
Alex

 

[212s]

The screwed down cover above the transom/bilge area often leaks, dripping a lot of water into that area. Once I sealed up mine with clear silicone, no more water in the hull.

 

[tpspeier]

The screwed down cover above the transom/bilge area often leaks, dripping a lot of water into that area. Once I sealed up mine with clear silicone, no more water in the hull.

How did you apply the silicone? Did you unscrew the cover and apply silicone to the underside or did you just apply it to the seam with the cover in place?

 

[Julian]

From what I've read (I've not owned a 19' 4 cycle Yamaha - just the 2 cycle) the 19' boats tend to have a forward lean, especially when you have anyone sitting in the boat (the favorite spot for most). So the water all flows forward from the bilge - so there is no water for the bilge pump to pump. The plug in the ski locker is not water tight on ANY of the models, and it wouldn't matter if it was....the water would just sit "around" the ski locker in the hull.

Even my 24 can lean forward. If I want to have the boat drain any water in the hull, I stand (ideally with someone else) on the starboard side of the swim platform. Typically when I do this, the bilge will trigger and pump water for 30 seconds or so....emptying the bulk of the water out. Bet you'd have the same experience.

Now--you need to find your leak. Use the leak finder thread as a starting point and post in reply to it if you find a NEW source.

 

[212s]

How did you apply the silicone? Did you unscrew the cover and apply silicone to the underside or did you just apply it to the seam with the cover in place?

The latter...just ran it around the cover. If I need to take it off for maintenance/repair I'll put a rubber seal down under it instead. But this works so far for two seasons and took 10 mins to apply.

 

[212s]

Now--you need to find your leak. Use the leak finder thread as a starting point and post in reply to it if you find a NEW source.

@tpspeier you could have a leak you can't see, like around the hull/deck seam or similar. Finding the source of the leak can be time consuming, but well worth it if it's an easy fix for peace of mind.

 

[Gmole]

I have a 2021 sx190. Same problem until I resealed the panel where the clean out is located. Once I resealed no more water!!

 

[2kwik4u]

From what I've read (I've not owned a 19' 4 cycle Yamaha - just the 2 cycle) the 19' boats tend to have a forward lean, especially when you have anyone sitting in the boat (the favorite spot for most). So the water all flows forward from the bilge - so there is no water for the bilge pump to pump. The plug in the ski locker is not water tight on ANY of the models, and it wouldn't matter if it was....the water would just sit "around" the ski locker in the hull.

Even my 24 can lean forward. If I want to have the boat drain any water in the hull, I stand (ideally with someone else) on the starboard side of the swim platform. Typically when I do this, the bilge will trigger and pump water for 30 seconds or so....emptying the bulk of the water out. Bet you'd have the same experience.

Now--you need to find your leak. Use the leak finder thread as a starting point and post in reply to it if you find a NEW source.

This is the answer. The 19's lean forward REALLY badly at idle/stand still. Put a few people in the bow and it makes it worse. Just not enough length and not enough weight in the stern to keep a proper attitude. Same reason they bleed speed off so badly with people in the bow.

The water, as best I can tell, comes in through the rear storage drain. As you're going down the lake, with any load or waves, the stern of the boat "bounces" against the water. Each bounce causes the rear storage area drain to backflow water into the rear storage area. It then leaks through the poorly sealed cover in that area, and then into the bilge. Because you're "nose down" all the time, water runs to the bow and then stays there where the bilge pump can't remove it.

The best solutions I've found are to reseal the plug in the ski locker and in the fuel tank compartments. Just remove them, put some clear silicone on the back and reinstall. Then lube the O-rings in the drain plugs generously with spa lubricant, or silicone spray, or something NOT water soluble. After that, remove the rear cleanout tray cover and seal around it with the same silicone. Also, be certain to get under the access hatches with silicone, and around each of the screws. Lube the access hatches with the same spa/silicone lubricant as you did the plugs. Finally, plug all your cupholders, or install drains overboard for them. That was a HUGE contributor to the leaks in my 190. Keep all the plugs for all the compartments IN while you're on the water. This will keep the majority of the nuisance water OUT of the passenger accessible areas. Likewise, a few minutes each trip at 6-8mph with the bow real high will help get the water to the back and let the bilge pump do it's job.

Once I had those problem areas addressed, the water in the bilge was reduced significantly. For the most part, my boat stays dry in the bilge now, despite the best efforts of my 10 and 3 yr old boys, or heavy "front loading" of people in the bow.

I can take some pics if anyone wants them to describe what I'm talking about.

 

[kgower]

This is the answer. The 19's lean forward REALLY badly at idle/stand still. Put a few people in the bow and it makes it worse. Just not enough length and not enough weight in the stern to keep a proper attitude. Same reason they bleed speed off so badly with people in the bow.

The water, as best I can tell, comes in through the rear storage drain. As you're going down the lake, with any load or waves, the stern of the boat "bounces" against the water. Each bounce causes the rear storage area drain to backflow water into the rear storage area. It then leaks through the poorly sealed cover in that area, and then into the bilge. Because you're "nose down" all the time, water runs to the bow and then stays there where the bilge pump can't remove it.

The best solutions I've found are to reseal the plug in the ski locker and in the fuel tank compartments. Just remove them, put some clear silicone on the back and reinstall. Then lube the O-rings in the drain plugs generously with spa lubricant, or silicone spray, or something NOT water soluble. After that, remove the rear cleanout tray cover and seal around it with the same silicone. Also, be certain to get under the access hatches with silicone, and around each of the screws. Lube the access hatches with the same spa/silicone lubricant as you did the plugs. Finally, plug all your cupholders, or install drains overboard for them. That was a HUGE contributor to the leaks in my 190. Keep all the plugs for all the compartments IN while you're on the water. This will keep the majority of the nuisance water OUT of the passenger accessible areas. Likewise, a few minutes each trip at 6-8mph with the bow real high will help get the water to the back and let the bilge pump do it's job.

Once I had those problem areas addressed, the water in the bilge was reduced significantly. For the most part, my boat stays dry in the bilge now, despite the best efforts of my 10 and 3 yr old boys, or heavy "front loading" of people in the bow.

I can take some pics if anyone wants them to describe what I'm talking about.

Pics would be great.

 

[2kwik4u]

Pics would be great.

Of which part? I just reread the post, and I'm fuzzy on what I was going to provide pics of if anyone wanted them

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

Ok I think I understand your position on the storage drain now, you are referring to the shallow "wet storage" compartment on the back deck. (face palm)

The wayward drainage into the bilge through the deck plate instead of that little drain is a Yamaha "bug-a-boo" that they should fix. Re-setting those coarse screws into re-freshed holes is on my "to-do" list for 2022. I think half of mine are rounded out. Ugh.