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Getting water out of bilge when on boat lift


Cory

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I have a brand new '08 Vride with LCR 320, which I keep on a Basta boat lift all summer long. Water seems to collect in the midship (particularly when I take a wave over the bow during wakesurfing). I pull the mid ship plug with the T-handle, but this does not get all the water out and the water does not evaporate away. I can't help but feel it isn't good to go all summer with water in there and it never drying out. The mid-ship T-handle seems to be off to the side and not dead center at the lowest point.

Is there another T-handle else where I can drain water? I don't seem to get water collecting in the back of the bilge so getting in the lake and undoing the rear plug while the boat is on the lift wont do anything (besides I'm afraid I may drop the plug one day by doing that). What do other boat owners that keep their boats on a lift all summer do to keep their boats dry (both bilge and carpet).

That brings me to my other problem. We often ski/surf/board until the evening when we are ready to lock up the boat on the lift, put the cover on the boat, leave the cabin, and head back home for another week of work. But that leaves no opportunity for the carpet to dry out and the canvas cover is VERY form fitting and keeps all the moisture in. I can't help but think this will lead to mold by the end of the summer.

Again, what do other boat owners with boat lifts do about these issues?

Thanks.

Edited by Cory
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We pull the T Handle beside the V-Drive. It depends on how your boat sits on the lift. If it's close to the level it is in the water you should be able to get the most of it out there.

We use a small wet vac to make sure the carpet is as dry as we can get it before covering it up.

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Can you adjust the legs on the lift so the water will puddle at the t plug.

I had considered raising the front legs so the water will puddle in the back, but that's not ideal cause then I have to get in the water to undue the drain plug. I hadn't considered raising the left side relative to the right side. Hmmm... Of course, then I would have to look at a leaning boat all the time. I'm also not sure whether this could torque or strain the lift???

It's something to think about though.

Edited by Cory
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how about a cheap 12v pump like an old fat sack pump with a cig plug on the end . pump water out the center before you cover

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MalibuNation

By removing the the plug I get most of the water out. To get the rest out I use ... don't laugh ... a cooking baster and shoot the rest through the plug hole. I also prop the door open with a piece of wood while it's on the lift or in the driveway to help it dry out some more.

Edited by MalibuNation
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We keep our Vride on a lift all year long. Our lift is an overhead lift and is tilted front to back which is pretty standard because you want any water to collect toward the stern around the auto bilge pump. If water is low enough not to engage the bilge pump, I don't worry about it.

A few times a season I do go around back on an inner tube and undo the rear plug to fully drain the bilge.

I've never had any problem with mold, etc. I use the factory Malibu cover.

Good luck.

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If your worried about the moisture Damp Rid works good, Thats what I use if I have to cover a wet boat. You can buy it at any marine supply shop.

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  • 2 weeks later...
By removing the the plug I get most of the water out. To get the rest out I use ... don't laugh ... a cooking baster and shoot the rest through the plug hole. I also prop the door open with a piece of wood while it's on the lift or in the driveway to help it dry out some more.

I'm not laughing anymore... The "turkey baster" was just the trick I needed--simple & cheap. I also purchased a smaller portable shop vac to lug down to the dock on Sunday evenings and vac out the water. It helps a lot for drying out the carpet in the rear locker on the side we wakesurf. I think the water is getting in that locker when we stop to pickup a down wakesurfer. The wave catches up to back of the boat and splashes up against the transom. I think the water is finding its way in underneath the locker cushion???

I've heard people get leaks from the swim platform bolts, but it doesn't appear we are getting water in there when wakeboarding. So, I don't think we have a leak. I need to teach the wife to back off the throttle more gradually when she swings around to pick me up (I'm probably guilty too).

Edited by Cory
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MalibuNation

If I don't get all the water out while it's on the lift and I leave the hatch open I get skeeters in there ... Michigan's state bird.

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Most of the water in the rear trunk on my Vride enters through the piano hinges on the side of the hatch, not from under the cushion. All the water from riders getting in and some water that travels up the transom from a following sea flows to the low side which is the hatch on the surf side. The water goes right in the hinge. I found two things that help. Riders drain off for 30 seconds or so before crawling across the sunpad and coming off the throttle a little more easily, but also turning the boat slightly to give the high side of the boat to the following sea. Don't turn too much because you don't want to give the bow of the boat to the following sea or your in for a huge chilly dip. I usually try to have the following sea hit the boat right in the corner of the stern on the high side. I still haven't figured out away to seal that hinge , so water runs off instead of in without messing up the vinyl and fiberglass.

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