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New Boat Owner Questions


2thdoc01

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OK,

Another round of questions.....the place I got the boat is a new BU dealer and hasnt sold ski boats or boats that are less then 30 feet it seems.

I was out today and we got drenched, I mean SOAKED by a suprise T Storm. I had the boss and the kids get to the car with our friends and I stood out and held the boat in the pouring rain! I still havent got my anchor from the dealership..it was supposed to be shipped.

Questions:

1. I tied the boat up when the lightning started..to a tree...and it seemed like the fins were into the sand pretty good to hold it. The fins were a little shiney on the edges, which was prob from the sand....is this a bad Idea to have the fins in the sand or should I always try to stay out in 3-4 feet of water with my anchor buddy and anchor...when it finally comes?

2. The boat was SOAKED...what are the procedures to dry it out properly and what should I be worried about?

I got it home and put it in the garage, took all the stuff out and then used a BIssell machine to suck most of the water out of the carpets. I lifted on edge all the seat pads, I opened the storage areas, sucked the water out. I dried the boat in and out with the ABSORBER synthetic chamois.

Every place water could get in...it was there!

3. Under the acess cover to the MLS ballast, the area in there was full of water. I couldnt get the T handle drain plug out to drain. How do I get that SOB out? Is that the best way to empty that area?

(I wound up using a wet/dry vac to suck it out.)

4. I hit my bilge pump and it didnt push any water out, I could see some water back by the tranny and also in the MLS Ballast area. How many Bilge pumps do I have and where do they drain from?

How much water will the bilge pump drain out?

5. There are 2 blue and white pumps in the MLS area...one has a lever on it...What is that for? I cant find that in the manual.

Thats all i can think of fo r now!

Thansk again for helping me out, its nice to have somewhere to turn to get answers!

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OK,

Another round of questions.....the place I got the boat is a new BU dealer and hasnt sold ski boats or boats that are less then 30 feet it seems.

I was out today and we got drenched, I mean SOAKED by a suprise T Storm. I had the boss and the kids get to the car with our friends and I stood out and held the boat in the pouring rain! I still havent got my anchor from the dealership..it was supposed to be shipped. What a "P_____"

Questions:

1. I tied the boat up when the lightning started..to a tree...and it seemed like the fins were into the sand pretty good to hold it. The fins were a little shiney on the edges, which was prob from the sand....is this a bad Idea to have the fins in the sand or should I always try to stay out in 3-4 feet of water with my anchor buddy and anchor ( 2-3 ?? feet )...when it finally comes?

2. The boat was SOAKED...what are the procedures to dry it out properly and what should I be worried about? Open it all up I got it home and put it in the garage, took all the stuff out and then used a BIssell machine to suck most of the water out of the carpets. I lifted on edge all the seat pads, I opened the storage areas, sucked the water out. I dried the boat in and out with the ABSORBER synthetic chamois. Open it all up and let it dry out - do you have a ceiling fan in the garage?

Every place water could get in...it was there!

3. Under the acess cover to the MLS ballast, the area in there was full of water. I couldnt get the T handle drain plug out to drain. How do I get that SOB out? Is that the best way to empty that area?

(I wound up using a wet/dry vac to suck it out.) - ask the guys with newer boats - I don't have a MLS ballast -

4. I hit my bilge pump and it didnt push any water out, I could see some water back by the tranny and also in the MLS Ballast area. How many Bilge pumps do I have and where do they drain from?

How much water will the bilge pump drain out? - usually none after your out of the water - I have one bilge pump.

5. There are 2 blue and white pumps in the MLS area...one has a lever on it...What is that for? I cant find that in the manual. - ask the guys with the newer boats

Thats all i can think of fo r now!

Thansk again for helping me out, its nice to have somewhere to turn to get answers!

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It's not exactly fair to expect your dealer to cover these questions. If they told you everything you needed to know about every conceivable situation you would be stuck there forever. :)

Now if you called and asked them these questions and they didn't give you answers, that's something else...

1. I tied the boat up when the lightning started..to a tree...and it seemed like the fins were into the sand pretty good to hold it. The fins were a little shiney on the edges, which was

prob from the sand....is this a bad Idea to have the fins in the sand or should I always try to stay out in 3-4 feet of water with my anchor buddy and anchor...when it finally comes?

It probably won't do any damage, but it's best to anchor the boat in enough water than none of your underwater gear will impact the ground. If the boat is anchored in an area with traffic, that's even more important, as other boats wakes could do serious damage. Finally, you should anchor the boat bow out, which means your running gear will be the first to impact the ground, and that could do damage, even if it's only to the prop.

2. The boat was SOAKED...what are the procedures to dry it out properly and what should I be worried about?

Just what you did is great. If you live in a really humid place, put a box fan pointing into the boat to increase air circulation.

3. Under the acess cover to the MLS ballast, the area in there was full of water. I couldnt get the T handle drain plug out to drain. How do I get that SOB out? Is that the best way to empty that area?

They tend to be tough to get out the first time. You can use a crescent wrench on the lower part of the plug to break it loose, or put an open end wrench on one end of the handle ot use that as leverage.

4. I hit my bilge pump and it didnt push any water out, I could see some water back by the tranny and also in the MLS Ballast area. How many Bilge pumps do I have and where do they drain from?

The bilge pump is in the back of the boat, so sitting on the trailer it's not the lowest point.

5. There are 2 blue and white pumps in the MLS area...one has a lever on it...What is that for? I cant find that in the manual.

Those are your ballast pumps, the level is an emergency shut-off.

These boats are made to get wet, so while it would be a bad thing if it was fully submerged, a rain storm is no big deal, just let everything dry out completely and you'll be set.

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Skicrave...did you mean anchor bow out or bow in to the shore???

I got it all sucked out... Clap.gif Everything out of the boat and drying.

Stereo "works"...and by that I mean it plays some music! LOL

Stlll some water under the MLS ballast hatch.....

As for the bilge pump...it sounds a bit weak to pump alot of water......and btw..should it pump water out of the bilge while on the trailer?? Mine didnt pump anything while on the trailer after loading and there was alot of water in the MLS ballast tank area...

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Skicrave...did you mean anchor bow out or bow in to the shore???

I got it all sucked out... Clap.gif Everything out of the boat and drying.

Stereo "works"...and by that I mean it plays some music! LOL

Stlll some water under the MLS ballast hatch.....

As for the bilge pump...it sounds a bit weak to pump alot of water......and btw..should it pump water out of the bilge while on the trailer?? Mine didnt pump anything while on the trailer after loading and there was alot of water in the MLS ballast tank area...

Anchor bow out from shore with anchor in deep water ensuring that aft of boat (which will be towards shore) is in deep enough water that underwater gear will not touch bottom.

Don't worry too much about water in the boat and in the bilge. Just ensure good ventilation to dry it out. You'll have water in the bilge the next time you put it in the lake again... It's normal.

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get the t handle plug out in the center of the boat, use a cresant, pliers, box ended wrench on one of the t parts, (these are called tools, men own them) then when you put it back in next time only make it hand tight. You should pull this out each time you pull out of the water along with the plug in the cooler unless you remember to put a bucket under your boat in the garage. when the boat is level the lowest point is the center of the boat and the bilge pump in in the rear near the engine there is only one and it drains out the side like the mls ballasts if you put the bilge button on and nothing came out there really is not that much water in there. Next time anchor your boat so nothing touches the bottom as stated above. Pull all the seat covers out and open up rear hatches put a big fan in the boat if you can't leave it out in the sun to dry.

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get the t handle plug out in the center of the boat, use a cresant, pliers, box ended wrench on one of the t parts, (these are called tools, men own them) then when you put it back in next time only make it hand tight. You should pull this out each time you pull out of the water along with the plug in the cooler unless you remember to put a bucket under your boat in the garage. when the boat is level the lowest point is the center of the boat and the bilge pump in in the rear near the engine there is only one and it drains out the side like the mls ballasts if you put the bilge button on and nothing came out there really is not that much water in there. Next time anchor your boat so nothing touches the bottom as stated above. Pull all the seat covers out and open up rear hatches put a big fan in the boat if you can't leave it out in the sun to dry.

In my tool man voice...ohhhhh tools, binford, yes.

I just wasnt sure if this thing was screw in or what, so i didnt want to put the wrench to it! With my luck, Id snap it off and be screwed...no pun intended.

I understand now that the middle of the boat is the lowest portion while level on the trailer and all the water will be best drained by taking out the plug in the MLS area. Cool.

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If you have the time, you can pause on the boat ramp as you pull the boat out. Since all the water will flow to the back, the auto bilge pump will kick in and start pumping. Dries the bilge out completely. Although, the next guy in line might be annoyed...

The cover once blew off my boat in a storm (it wasn't tight enough), so I had to pull it right off in driving rain and wait til the wind died down. The boat was drenched, but no ill effects.

I find malibu tends to go overboard (so to speak) on the carpeting, to save fiberglass finishing costs (I guess). I've never had a boat with carpet in the seat compartments. It provides wonderful conditions for bacteria growth in the carpets if you don't air the boat out after each trip...

Skicrave...did you mean anchor bow out or bow in to the shore???

I got it all sucked out... Clap.gif Everything out of the boat and drying.

Stereo "works"...and by that I mean it plays some music! LOL

Stlll some water under the MLS ballast hatch.....

As for the bilge pump...it sounds a bit weak to pump alot of water......and btw..should it pump water out of the bilge while on the trailer?? Mine didnt pump anything while on the trailer after loading and there was alot of water in the MLS ballast tank area...

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As far as the bilge pump goes, I have an 07 vRide and there is a pump in the bilge area right next to the driver's seat. If you remove the access panel, there is a pump right next to the t-handle in between the gas tank and MLS tank. This one is the one that pumps most of the water out of the bilge when it gets in there. If it ran for a little bit but nothing came out, it might not have been primed yet. Sometimes when mine comes on automatically, it will run for a good 30 seconds before it primes itself and starts spewing water out of the back right side of the boat. It usually comes on about once every 30-45 minutes when we're out on the water to drain the bilge and pumps water for about 15-20 seconds or so. Not sure if this is normal or not, but I think my shaft packing may need to be adjusted. It seems like I take on too much water in there, but not sure since this is my first inboard.

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I thought the two pumps near the mls ballast were for filing the ballast.....

They are! Your bilge pump is in the back of the boat next to the transom. It just sits on the hull of the boat and when the water level reaches a certain point the float will kick on the pump, and in my experience running the bilge won't pump out all the water. The two pumps in the center access area is for your MLS system, the ones with the shut offs that are going through the hull

Now that I think about it, you should only have one pump in the center access area since the v-rides don't come with the optional front ballast tank. I could be mistaken Dontknow.gif I know this for sure if it goes throught the hull of the boat and has the shutoff valve it is not your bilge pump.

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I thought the two pumps near the mls ballast were for filing the ballast.....

They are! Your bilge pump is in the back of the boat next to the transom. It just sits on the hull of the boat and when the water level reaches a certain point the float will kick on the pump, and in my experience running the bilge won't pump out all the water. The two pumps in the center access area is for your MLS system, the ones with the shut offs that are going through the hull

Now that I think about it, you should only have one pump in the center access area since the v-rides don't come with the optional front ballast tank. I could be mistaken Dontknow.gif I know this for sure if it goes throught the hull of the boat and has the shutoff valve it is not your bilge pump.

the two pumps in the midship of the vride are ballast pumps for the midship tank--one to fill (has the lever) and one to drain. These pumps only work in one direction so you need two pumps per tank. To get water out of you boat while on the trailer parked on level ground--remove midship T-handle and then take a turkey baster or shop vac to get the remaining water. There will still be a little left. This will evaporate if you leave locker open to air out.

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Well I must have a special edition vRide then, because I have a bilge pump in the midship area. I know it's not a ballast pump, it looks totally different. The ballast pumps all look the same, the bilge pump is different and I have seen and heard it pump water out of the bilge. It also doesn't have a thru-hull or shutoff valve. And then when it shuts off, the water in the line backflows back into the bilge. I am the only owner of the boat and we didn't purchase anything extra, so this is how it came from the factory. Maybe the CA factory puts the bilge in a different location, but mine is definitely in the midship. I might have one in the stern, but haven't bothered to check for it since the water all goes to the midship and that's where it makes the most sense to have the bilge pump.

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Well I must have a special edition vRide then, because I have a bilge pump in the midship area. I know it's not a ballast pump, it looks totally different. The ballast pumps all look the same, the bilge pump is different and I have seen and heard it pump water out of the bilge. It also doesn't have a thru-hull or shutoff valve. And then when it shuts off, the water in the line backflows back into the bilge. I am the only owner of the boat and we didn't purchase anything extra, so this is how it came from the factory. Maybe the CA factory puts the bilge in a different location, but mine is definitely in the midship. I might have one in the stern, but haven't bothered to check for it since the water all goes to the midship and that's where it makes the most sense to have the bilge pump.

They don't. Someone must have taken creative license that day.

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Well I must have a special edition vRide then, because I have a bilge pump in the midship area. I know it's not a ballast pump, it looks totally different. The ballast pumps all look the same, the bilge pump is different and I have seen and heard it pump water out of the bilge. It also doesn't have a thru-hull or shutoff valve. And then when it shuts off, the water in the line backflows back into the bilge. I am the only owner of the boat and we didn't purchase anything extra, so this is how it came from the factory. Maybe the CA factory puts the bilge in a different location, but mine is definitely in the midship. I might have one in the stern, but haven't bothered to check for it since the water all goes to the midship and that's where it makes the most sense to have the bilge pump.

In my 07 VTX the bilge pump is in the middle. If I open the middle hatch there is 2 aerator pumps attached to the tank and the bilge pump is right behind the t-handle

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The water alway drains to the middle on my boat also, Probably a better place for it than the back. Edit, unless your under way.

Edited by bigD
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Well I must have a special edition vRide then, because I have a bilge pump in the midship area. I know it's not a ballast pump, it looks totally different. The ballast pumps all look the same, the bilge pump is different and I have seen and heard it pump water out of the bilge. It also doesn't have a thru-hull or shutoff valve. And then when it shuts off, the water in the line backflows back into the bilge. I am the only owner of the boat and we didn't purchase anything extra, so this is how it came from the factory. Maybe the CA factory puts the bilge in a different location, but mine is definitely in the midship. I might have one in the stern, but haven't bothered to check for it since the water all goes to the midship and that's where it makes the most sense to have the bilge pump.

In my 07 VTX the bilge pump is in the middle. If I open the middle hatch there is 2 aerator pumps attached to the tank and the bilge pump is right behind the t-handle

I'm glad I'm not the only one! That's exactly where mine is.

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Well I must have a special edition vRide then, because I have a bilge pump in the midship area. I know it's not a ballast pump, it looks totally different. The ballast pumps all look the same, the bilge pump is different and I have seen and heard it pump water out of the bilge. It also doesn't have a thru-hull or shutoff valve. And then when it shuts off, the water in the line backflows back into the bilge. I am the only owner of the boat and we didn't purchase anything extra, so this is how it came from the factory. Maybe the CA factory puts the bilge in a different location, but mine is definitely in the midship. I might have one in the stern, but haven't bothered to check for it since the water all goes to the midship and that's where it makes the most sense to have the bilge pump.

I have an '06 iRide and my bilge pump is midship, but that's where my engine is too Whistling.gif

When the bilge pump turns on, where does it pump the water out? If it's up front by where the ballast water drains, then the bilge is probably mid-ship, otherwise I would think it would be expelled out near the back of the boat.

On a side note, I always have a little bit of water mid-ship by the ballast. It's never been enough to start the ballast pump. In fact my ballast pump has never turned on by itself. I have, on occasion, manually turned it on and had a very little amount of water expelled.

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All of the Bu's that I've seen out of either factory have had the bilge pump mounted at or near the transom, including my '06. Drive configuration has never made a difference in the past. This must be a fairly recent thing, & maybe Malibu has listened to us complain about how the bow has to be way up to get the water to the back of the boat. My boat is a very early '06 model (took delivery in September of '05), so that may explain it.

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Ok, so while we're on the topic of bilge pumps, mine turns on by itself about every 30-45 minutes while we're out on the water and pumps out water for a good 15-20 seconds. I usually have an inch and a half to two inches of water in the bilge when the pump turns on. Is this normal or am I taking on too much water through my shaft seal?

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Ok, so while we're on the topic of bilge pumps, mine turns on by itself about every 30-45 minutes while we're out on the water and pumps out water for a good 15-20 seconds. I usually have an inch and a half to two inches of water in the bilge when the pump turns on. Is this normal or am I taking on too much water through my shaft seal?

That's probably on the high end of normal, but shouldn't cause any problems.

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All of the Bu's that I've seen out of either factory have had the bilge pump mounted at or near the transom, including my '06. Drive configuration has never made a difference in the past. This must be a fairly recent thing, & maybe Malibu has listened to us complain about how the bow has to be way up to get the water to the back of the boat. My boat is a very early '06 model (took delivery in September of '05), so that may explain it.

My 06 VLX has bilge At midship location. TN built early 06 model made in 05

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