Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Bilge Water


martinarcher

Recommended Posts

Hey all,

Wanted to get an idea how much water you guys get in your bilge on the outside of the center section. My Skier never got any water in that section at all. I would pull the transom plugs when I winterized the boat and it was still bone dry. The center section on the Skier would get some water in it over a long Sat, but never the outside two sections.

The Sunsetter is a different story. It gets quite a bit of water in the outside sections. When I pull the transom drain plugs a pretty significant amount of water drains out after a long Sat on the water. The center section gets some water too.

I filled the outside sections with the hose in the driveway and let it sit while I waxed the truck last week. It didn't drip at all. The only issue with that test is the platform brackets and speedo tube hull entries weren't under water.

I'm guessing that's where the water's getting in. When I re-run all the exhaust in the spring I think I'll have a good hard look at these points while I'm working under the floor. Anyone else get water in the outside sections of the bilge?

Link to comment

Hey all,

Wanted to get an idea how much water you guys get in your bilge on the outside of the center section. My Skier never got any water in that section at all. I would pull the transom plugs when I winterized the boat and it was still bone dry. The center section on the Skier would get some water in it over a long Sat, but never the outside two sections.

The Sunsetter is a different story. It gets quite a bit of water in the outside sections. When I pull the transom drain plugs a pretty significant amount of water drains out after a long Sat on the water. The center section gets some water too.

I filled the outside sections with the hose in the driveway and let it sit while I waxed the truck last week. It didn't drip at all. The only issue with that test is the platform brackets and speedo tube hull entries weren't under water.

I'm guessing that's where the water's getting in. When I re-run all the exhaust in the spring I think I'll have a good hard look at these points while I'm working under the floor. Anyone else get water in the outside sections of the bilge?

Link to comment

My 96 sunsetter was getting a lot of water in the bilge. It was coming from one of the brass tubes that the speedo hoses go into before they go on up to the dash. Mine were in the back of the boat beside the fuel tank ( starboard side? I am not too nautical drivers side). One of these tubes had the end coming out of it. So i cleaned it real well and soldered it back it with the same solder and flux you would use for copper plumbing. No more mysterious water in the bilge!

Link to comment

Check the hose coming of the raw water circulation pump as well as the exhaust exit tubes. I found that both were leaking on our boat and cause a substatial amount of water to accumulate in the bottom of the bilge area.

Hope it is not the exhaust tubes...that tube is anywhere from $16-25 a foot.

Link to comment

I know it's not the exhaust or the raw water intake since they are both in the center section and it doesn't get too much water. The outside section (outside stringers) are where all the water is.

I'm replacing all the exhaust in the spring anyways so I'll have a good look at everything that comes through the transom. Hopefully it's obvious.

Your right that tubing isn't cheap! I'm going from 3" to 4" exhaust.

Link to comment

I got a fair bit of water in my 89 Sunsetter. I didnt like to leave the boat in the water too long. Usually when I pull the boat out after a day on the water and pull the drain plugs there may be close to 4 lliters? I am not sure if any of it was on the sides of the stringers...is there not a drain that would allow water to move from the outer stringers to the center bilge area?

Link to comment

I got a fair bit of water in my 89 Sunsetter. I didnt like to leave the boat in the water too long. Usually when I pull the boat out after a day on the water and pull the drain plugs there may be close to 4 lliters? I am not sure if any of it was on the sides of the stringers...is there not a drain that would allow water to move from the outer stringers to the center bilge area?

You just revived a dying brain cell. LOL.gif That's exactly why the two boats are different. I forgot when rugger and I talked a while back (before he was selling the boat) we were debating about adding in a way for water to drain from the outside of the center section to the center after the rebuild. The way the old boats were originally designed there was a hole in the bottom of the stringer toward the transom that would allow water to flow into the center bilge area. That explains why the old Skier never had any water in the outside sections and the new boat does. I know rugger said he was debating on adding a drain hole, but I don't think he ever did. We talked about epoxying a brass tube into the stringers to connect the outer and inner sections of the bilge, but I don't think he ever did.

I don't think it's a big deal, I just wanted to figure out why the two boats were different. I'll still look for the source of the water entry in the spring, but at least I know what caused the difference. Biggrin.gif Thanks old school.

Link to comment

you guys are saying that the exhaust tubing is expensive i have 2 pieces of 3" that has less than a season on it probably only about 30 hours of use that i can make some on a deal on if they need it the pieces are about 35-40" long i bought the stuff when i restores my supra then decided to add mufflers to the boat and remove the exhaust tube

Link to comment

You just revived a dying brain cell. LOL.gif That's exactly why the two boats are different. I forgot when rugger and I talked a while back (before he was selling the boat) we were debating about adding in a way for water to drain from the outside of the center section to the center after the rebuild. The way the old boats were originally designed there was a hole in the bottom of the stringer toward the transom that would allow water to flow into the center bilge area. That explains why the old Skier never had any water in the outside sections and the new boat does. I know rugger said he was debating on adding a drain hole, but I don't think he ever did. We talked about epoxying a brass tube into the stringers to connect the outer and inner sections of the bilge, but I don't think he ever did.

I don't think it's a big deal, I just wanted to figure out why the two boats were different. I'll still look for the source of the water entry in the spring, but at least I know what caused the difference. Biggrin.gif Thanks old school.

No worries. I seem to remember some form of drain hole. I would think you would want to add something to allow the water to move to the center bilge area. When you get lots of water in the boat I think it will eventually make its way to this space and I dont think you want it sitting there too long. Probably not a big deal for you to make this modiificaiton. I myself would not attempt it but you seem to have no problems making some impressive modifiaitons!

Link to comment

you guys are saying that the exhaust tubing is expensive i have 2 pieces of 3" that has less than a season on it probably only about 30 hours of use that i can make some on a deal on if they need it the pieces are about 35-40" long i bought the stuff when i restores my supra then decided to add mufflers to the boat and remove the exhaust tube

If it is 4" tube I'm very interested. Let me know. I would bet it's 3" tubing. I thought mine was 4" until I checked. :Doh:

Link to comment

No worries. I seem to remember some form of drain hole. I would think you would want to add something to allow the water to move to the center bilge area. When you get lots of water in the boat I think it will eventually make its way to this space and I dont think you want it sitting there too long. Probably not a big deal for you to make this modiificaiton. I myself would not attempt it but you seem to have no problems making some impressive modifiaitons!

Haha...thanks for the kind words. Thumbup.gif I know the outside sections will only hold a few gallons of water before it spills over the rear wall into the center section, but I hear you - it might be worth while to make a drain hole into the center section so all the water at least has access to the bilge pump.

Link to comment

I have leaks at both of my speedo tubes as they enter the transom. I am considering removing and patching the outboard portions of the speedo pickups since we use the perfect pass stargazer guage instead of our speedo anyway. If someone in the future wants the old school speedo back they can redrill the transom and push the tubes back out (I'm planning on leaving them tied off inside.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...