88 Skier Bow Vents

[Chuck A]

I have a 1988 Malibu Skier that is a perfect boat for what I use it for. I've had it for about a month and have been fixing things that don't work like the speedo and lights. Today I crawled up under the bow and took a look at the routing for the vents that are on the leading edge of the bow. The vent channels appear to be made from fiberglass and run in a rectangular pattern back to just under the windshield. There is a round 3" port in this duct work that has nothing attached to it. I'm thinking that there must have been some 3" flexible vent tubing at one time that probably went from the underside of the bow down into the wiring and control tunnel to vent the bilge. Is that correct or did these bow scoops just provide ventilation for under the bow and the driver's feet?

Thanks for your time and help!

Chuck A

[martinarcher]

I have a 1988 Malibu Skier that is a perfect boat for what I use it for. I've had it for about a month and have been fixing things that don't work like the speedo and lights. Today I crawled up under the bow and took a look at the routing for the vents that are on the leading edge of the bow. The vent channels appear to be made from fiberglass and run in a rectangular pattern back to just under the windshield. There is a round 3" port in this duct work that has nothing attached to it. I'm thinking that there must have been some 3" flexible vent tubing at one time that probably went from the underside of the bow down into the wiring and control tunnel to vent the bilge. Is that correct or did these bow scoops just provide ventilation for under the bow and the driver's feet?

Thanks for your time and help!

Chuck A

You are exactly correct. There should be 3" flex tubing going from that port on the underside of the bow, down the tunnel and into the bilge in front of the engine.

[SkiHog]

I have a 1988 Malibu Skier that is a perfect boat for what I use it for. I've had it for about a month and have been fixing things that don't work like the speedo and lights. Today I crawled up under the bow and took a look at the routing for the vents that are on the leading edge of the bow. The vent channels appear to be made from fiberglass and run in a rectangular pattern back to just under the windshield. There is a round 3" port in this duct work that has nothing attached to it. I'm thinking that there must have been some 3" flexible vent tubing at one time that probably went from the underside of the bow down into the wiring and control tunnel to vent the bilge. Is that correct or did these bow scoops just provide ventilation for under the bow and the driver's feet?

Thanks for your time and help!

Chuck A

I can't comment on your 88 Skier Chuck, but back in the day I had a 89 Ski Nautique that had vents similar to what you described and the set-up was exactly as you described. Hoses from the vents that went to the bilge and a blower on the back vent that sucked the fumes out the back.

[Chuck A]

You are exactly correct. There should be 3" flex tubing going from that port on the underside of the bow, down the tunnel and into the bilge in front of the engine.

Martinarcher,

Thanks for the quick reply. That is exactly what I thought. I'll go down to the dock with the flex tubing/Zip ties and will hook that up tonight.

Question, I have a spare 3" inch in-line blower. I wonder if it would do any good to install it on that 3" flex hose before it goes down the tunnel. I could run it off of my blower switch and really air out my bilge with positive pressure. Of course when the blower is off and we are moving, the air will flow right through the in line blower, so the passive venting will still work.

What do you think? Overkill?

BTW, your boat is beautiful. I really like the improvements you have made.

Chuck A

[martinarcher]

Martinarcher,

Thanks for the quick reply. That is exactly what I thought. I'll go down to the dock with the flex tubing/Zip ties and will hook that up tonight.

Question, I have a spare 3" inch in-line blower. I wonder if it would do any good to install it on that 3" flex hose before it goes down the tunnel. I could run it off of my blower switch and really air out my bilge with positive pressure. Of course when the blower is off and we are moving, the air will flow right through the in line blower, so the passive venting will still work.

What do you think? Overkill?

BTW, your boat is beautiful. I really like the improvements you have made.

Chuck A

No problem Chuck. You could certainly add a blower inline with the vents, but they probably aren't needed with the rear blower although with an intake an exhaust blower you would certainly have a ton of fresh air going through your bilge!! You sound a lot like me.....if there's a way to over-design it.....well that's my design.

Thanks for the kind comment! I spend too much time on the boat, but it's my baby and we really enjoy it! I'm always coming up with new projects for the boat.

[risky1]

Hi all, I am going piggy back on this thread since i also have an 88 skier and need some vent/bilge/brower advice.

the boat is great, I took it out to the lake yesterday ran it hard, found all the little leaks, tightened packing nuts on the drive shaft and rudder, found I needed some 3 inch exhaust tubing due to some rot on the bottom side letting water into the bilge.

well, not knowing much about these boats i did not notice that the blower routing and venting had been, ahem, "modified" more than I anticipated. Basically it was non functional and missing parts... I knew that they had done a little jimmy rigging, and would need to fix it, but I did not know how much.

Can someone shoot some pictures of some proper vent/blower/ vent tube routing? and where-o-where can i buy the parts for the vent blower system? I seem to think I am missing some type of " vent box" that takes the single tube that the blwoer is connected to, and splits it four ways to connect to the outlet ports.

Thanks

Jared

[SuzieQMalibu]

I have a 1987 Skier, and would love to see those pics as well if anybody has some.

[Woodski]

@Chuck A:  The blower in the bilge clears the 'contaminated' air from the bilge with an inlet that is low to collect the heavier fumes and exhaust them out the transom.  Adding a blower on the inlet side will do a couple of things, when running, move air around in the doghouse and randomizing what is exhausted and if not running when using the bilge blower, will add some inlet restriction to the system.  The inlet vents are located to create some inlet pressure when in motion to minimize the potential for a low pressure area in the doghouse.

[Rxbfk]

Old thread but i just purchased a 88 skier. The previous owner siliconed the two bow vents and removed the hose that im assuming leads into the bilge to blow out fumes. I have about 20 hours on the boat with no issues but should I fix this?   

[Murphys]

Yes. Absolutely.