water in ski locker?

[kmoney 2]

noticed a fair amount of water in the ski locker today after we dumped our cooler by accident. at first we thought the water was just from the cooler but it appeared to be more as we soaked it up and it was dirty water. not sure exactly what was mixed in it. whenever i run the bilge pump no water comes out and the engine compartment is fairly dry. we do not have any type of ballast in the center or up front. anyone ever heard of this happening or know where this water is coming from?

[kgordon7378 0]

I have the same problem with mine. I have found that there is a small hole in the back of the ski locker going to the bilge area, yet I can never seem to get the water to drain from the locker. It almost seems as if the ski locker is the lowest point on the boat, as even when I winterize the water drains from the block, etc and then I got to get it out of the locker. The only resort I have found that works is taking a shop vac to it after each outing, it is a hassle, yet I hate leaving water in the boat when not necessary. If any others have a solution, please let us know. Thanks

[kmoney 2]

the boat is at the marina so i will not be able to put on a trailer at an incline or shop vac it.... i did the towel method but cant get all the water that way, guess i may have to buy one of those hand pumps (which still doesnt solve the problem). i would believe that the locker is the lowest point in the boat especially when the boat comes off plane the nose just dives. looks cool though

[Bigcatpt 408]

get yourself a 12 volt wet/dry shop vac. They have small ones (like 1 gallon size). At the end of each trip, plug it into the 12 volt outlet and suck up the water, pour it out, stow vac, good to go...

[Packrat 13]

Regarding the small hole in the back of the ski locker that goes to the bilge. On my last boat I cranked the trailer jack all the way up and then vacuumed all the water out of the Ski Locker. I then put a cork in the hole and it seemed to work just fine. As far as the water getting dirty mine was from the bilge washing into the ski locker and this prevented it. I took some degreaser and cleaned the ski locker and after putting in the plug it stayed clean. If I were you I wouldn't let the ice cooler drain into the boat anymore, just use a garbage sack around it and pull the sack when you are done. I also put two bilge pumps in the boat, one on the port side and starboard side so they will drain when the boat is tipped to one side surfing. After each person surfs I always hit the manual switch on the bilge pump, probably overkill but I like to keep the bilge as dry as possible.

[grizfan 0]

the boat is at the marina so i will not be able to put on a trailer at an incline or shop vac it.... i did the towel method but cant get all the water that way, guess i may have to buy one of those hand pumps (which still doesnt solve the problem). i would believe that the locker is the lowest point in the boat especially when the boat comes off plane the nose just dives. looks cool though

My 03 bowrider was also moored and I called Fineline and and I was told the locker was designed to be a "wet locker". I even used two compression plugs, one on each side of the drain hole and water still made it's way into the locker. I think the divider wasn't sealed properly. It's a shame it couldn't have been sealed somehow. It would have made a great place to store fenders.

[Nick 0]

I as well get a fair amount of water in my bilge probably a solid 1.5" after awhile the bilge pump will kick on and pump it all out is this something to be worried about? my old boat which was a I/O never had a drop of water in its bilge

[kmoney 2]

My 03 bowrider was also moored and I called Fineline and and I was told the locker was designed to be a "wet locker".

 

 

why would they carpet a 'wet locker'? so this means i dont have to worry about water damage occuring (rotting) in there?

[Fernslinger 0]

Are you talking the rear locker or the front one in the floor? I get water in the front one sometimes, almost always after the nose was put through a wake while going slow and having too much wieght in the bow. It doesnt seem to drain to the rear beacause of a bulkhead or crossmember in the way. I usually use a few towels to mop it up or bust out the wet vac.

[kmoney 2]

yea im talking front floor between the seats and windshield, sounds like this is a common thing and not really a problem, more of a poor design.

[firehog 0]

Same here. I got a 03 sport bowrider and got some water in the front locker. It seems the hole in the bottom that leads back to the bilge area, just doesn't drain good, due to it being lower in that front area. I was thinking of my options, and the only thing I can think of is to plug it some how with a removable plug, or open the hole up more. It seems weird for water to stand above the hole drain and not drain. I can't see the other side of the hole but it has to be clogging up with something.

[kmoney 2]

anyone know the size of this hole so i can get a plug or try some cork?

[islander033 2]

anyone know the size of this hole so i can get a plug or try some cork?

Clear silicone?

[firehog 0]

The hole in mine seems to be about the size of a fat pencil. I had some carpet around mine and I cut a small piece of it off to give it a clear opening, and it still didn't seem to help. I know that area of the boat is lower, but I would have thought running the boat across the lake on a angle would have run the water out of it, but it doesn't, at least on mine. My question is where is the water coming from in the first place. I am not getting that much water from my packing nut on the shaft, I don't have any holes in the bottom of hull. No leaks off engine, and I didn't take any waves over bow. Only thing I didn't check was packing nut running up in speed. I seem to get about 3 inches in 3-4 hours in the deep end of the locker, while on the lake. Not talking about a lot of water I guess.

[kgordon7378 0]

firehog

Look at your drain plugs, both the rear and the middle one (right in front of the engine), my middle one seems to leak. I normally pull it and put some teflon tape on it, then snug it back down.

[firehog 0]

[Nick 0]

same issue here with my bowrider it gets about 3 inches aswell i dont know where the water is coming from. centurion should have designed the boat knowing that there would eventually be some sort of water in it therefore they should have made it so it would all drain where the bilge pump is