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New Malibu Owner Questions


TimD

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Hey all -

First time Mailbu owner here and I have a few questions after most of a season with the new boat.

1. My boat collects a small amount of water (1-2" never gets higher than that) in the center hull cavity, where the middle ballast tank pump is. Is that typical? I have to use my tsunami pump to get it out.

2. The underside of my boat cover is soaked when I open the boat in the morning. It drives me crazy. Do any of you have this problem? Solutions?

3. Centering the boat on the trailer is tough (only done it once). It took me several tries to line the hull strakes between the trailer bunks. I kept getting the starboard strake on the bunk. Gotta be an easy way to manage that issue.

Thanks for any insight,

Tim

Edited by TimD
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Hey all -

First time Mailbu owner here and I have a few questions after most of a season with the new boat.

1. My boat collects a small amount of water (1-2" never gets higher than that) in the center hull cavity, where the middle ballast tank pump is. Is that typical? I have to use my tsunami pump to get it out.

2. The underside of my boat cover is soaked when I open the boat in the morning. It drives me crazy. Do any of you have this problem? Solutions?

3. Centering the boat on the trailer is tough (only done it once). It took me several tries to line the hull strakes between the trailer bunks. I kept getting the starboard strake on the bunk. Gotta be an easy way to manage that issue.

Thanks for any insight,

Tim

#1 Don't you have a plug that will let the water out in the middle. I have the same amount but just remove the plug an the water drains out. This could be caused by the ice melting from your in boat cooler?

#2 You must have moisture in the boat or your boat cover is not breathing. Time to upgrade to a sunbrella type cover or evolution made by Cory.

On #3 you are backing your trailer in the water to far use the bunks in the front as a guide I leave mine between 1/2 and 3/4 under water and use the strap to pull the boat up...of course the depends on how steep your launch ramp is. I get it perfect every time.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

LTD

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Don't have a VTX, here goes:

1 & 2 are probably related and might also be due to your weather. Get all of the moisture out you can before putting on the cover. If you store it onsite, wait until it's had some time to air out, then put the cover on. Also, heat from the engine might be staying under the cover causing moisture to condense after it cools, leaving your cover soaked. Try to leave the engine uncovered or prop it open a little bit on the corner to let he heat out.

Finally, my LSV has a drain left of the driver under a round cover. This is the lowest point on the boat and while I don't always open it, if I pull the plug before a short drive it's always bone dry under there in a short time. If you leave your boat in the water you won't have this luxury and tsunami pump might be your only option. The auto-bilge is nice and all, but it's never taken out all of the water. I sometimes keep it running while pulling the boat out on the trailer to get some water sloshing by, but it's never all of it.

3. 120% agree. I have the boatmate trailer and I think the bunkers don't line up right and/or are too shallow to square the boat up perfectly. When the boat is going to be trailered a long way, I will actually get in the water and feel around/move the boat as we pull out to make sure it's centered. This is obviously exteremely dangerous and use exceptional care that you don't get anything between the boat and the trailer. The other thing that usually works after the boat is on the trailer is to tighten the transom strap on the high side (ridge sitting on top of the bunker) super tight and leave the other side just sligtly loose. Usually after a couple miles the boat will settle where it belongs and you can tighten both sides normally.

We've had better luck centering the boat by keeping the trailer further out of the water, pulling the boat partway on, then back in more. It's a PITA, but it really bugs me when the boat is sitting up crooked.

Hope my verbal diarrhea helps some. :D

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Hey there ... The water comes from your ice box an they dont like to load strait If there trailers to deep ... All so if the trailers not reasonably level she will be a bit off to ....

I don't worry about getting it 100 % perfect so much any more when loading cus it bounces it's self rite when traveling

Ft

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#1 Don't you have a plug that will let the water out in the middle. I have the same amount but just remove the plug an the water drains out. This could be caused by the ice melting from your in boat cooler?

#2 You must have moisture in the boat or your boat cover is not breathing. Time to upgrade to a sunbrella type cover or evolution made by Cory.

On #3 you are backing your trailer in the water to far use the bunks in the front as a guide I leave mine between 1/2 and 3/4 under water and use the strap to pull the boat up...of course the depends on how steep your launch ramp is. I get it perfect every time.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

LTD

+1

-i too have some water there, i don't worry about it. I have never had any water in the bilge though. It always amazes me how dry the bilge is.

-the nylon factory boat cover does not breathe.

-the way our launch is set, i back in so that i can just see the top of the trailer fenders, drive the boat on and then power it the rest of the way. If the trailer is too deep the bunks don't grab the hull to guide and hold the boat in the right position.

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Congrats on the boat purchase ! I stopped worrying about boat being off center. Great idea Tyger about "pre-loading" the boat, then backing up a little and winching rest of way. I gotta try that next time.

Not sure if the water in bilge is normal. Some drive shaft systems are supposed to leak a little. I'm kinda bad about leaving ice in cooler, then when I come back to boat, there it is in the bilge, ha.

Steve B.

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Great feedback - thanks.

My boat stays in the water all summer, so I can't pull the center plug. The water in the bilge compartments isn't from cooler - we don't use ice in there (use freezer blocks inside the insulated bag cooler thing that came with the boat). I suspect it's from the dozens of wet people dripping water in every weekend. I try to get everyone to dry off a bit before they jump in but I don't always have the energy to be so anal! Some water is also due to the occasional bow wave, courtesy of inexperienced drivers of the new rig (see: "wife").

Cover definitely wasn't breatihng, just couldn't figure out why the multiple vents weren't doing the job. I just pulled the vents apart and found that fabric was covering the vent holes. The vents weren't installed when my boat was delivered, so I cut them in. Guess I didn't cut the holes big enough. Hope this does the trick.

Trailer tip sound great. I'll be giving them a shot when I pull the boat in a few weeks.

Thanks everyone -

Tim

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1 and 2 :horse: so I wont comment on those.

3. the ramp angle has a real effect on how easy it is to load your boat. I have discovered that if the boat is evenly weighted as you pull out you have a much better chance of getting it right in one try.

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Hey all -

First time Mailbu owner here and I have a few questions after most of a season with the new boat.

1. My boat collects a small amount of water (1-2" never gets higher than that) in the center hull cavity, where the middle ballast tank pump is. Is that typical? I have to use my tsunami pump to get it out.

2. The underside of my boat cover is soaked when I open the boat in the morning. It drives me crazy. Do any of you have this problem? Solutions?

3. Centering the boat on the trailer is tough (only done it once). It took me several tries to line the hull strakes between the trailer bunks. I kept getting the starboard strake on the bunk. Gotta be an easy way to manage that issue.

Thanks for any insight,

Tim

Do you have a dripless shaft seal? I would double check its not leaking, mine took a dump at 102 hours, its going to have to be replaced this winter... you really should have little water in the bilge area, especially if you have a dripless shaft seal. To check this, take your center seat cushion out, and remove the tray, the seal typically will leak when the driveshaft is turning. Make sure engine is at normal operating temp and have someone put the boat in gear and watch for leakage.

As others mentioned there is a "T" handle drainplug in that center section of the boat. I also just added a second bilge pump to that are for this specific reason, it always accumulates water, and the OEM bilge under the motor area does nothing unless you get quite a bit of water in your bilge area. I also remove both "T" handle drains before we tow home and it typically removes 90% of the water in the bilge area, you could also remove the rear transom plug as well. I use a shop-vac to mop up any more water in the bilge area. Also check under your garbage can, water always accumulates there and has no drainage.

And congrats on your new boat, any pics?

Edited by Fman
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Hmmm...I'll check the shaft for leaking while running. I've checked it at idle and can see no leakage.

I can't pull my hull plugs because boat's always in the water but I was also thinking of installing a small bilge pump in that center hull compartment. Figure I can tie it in with the center ballast tank drain tube with a check valve. Need to check into it more thoroughly. Did you put yours on a manual switch or a float?

I've got some pix of the new rig but haven't posted photos on this forum yet. My Ducati forum is tricky. Need to spend a few minutes to figure this site out!

T

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Hmmm...I'll check the shaft for leaking while running. I've checked it at idle and can see no leakage.

I can't pull my hull plugs because boat's always in the water but I was also thinking of installing a small bilge pump in that center hull compartment. Figure I can tie it in with the center ballast tank drain tube with a check valve. Need to check into it more thoroughly. Did you put yours on a manual switch or a float?

I've got some pix of the new rig but haven't posted photos on this forum yet. My Ducati forum is tricky. Need to spend a few minutes to figure this site out!

T

Here or with the factory bilge pump line, depending on which is easier to access.

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To get water out from the center of the boat click on the bilge pump when you are getting on plane and it will slide down to the bilge area. The bilge pump will take care of the rest

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#3

I also got my first Bu this summer. I used to have troubles getting her centered on the trailer, and it always drove me crazy. Here's what I do now.

The wife backs the truck and trailer in the launch and wets the bunks till about 2.5 feet of bunk is sticking out. That way I can drive about 80% of the way up the trailer without having to powerload. I then crank it the rest of the way up and jump back in the boat. I sit in the rear seat and have the wifey back the trailer in till the boat is totally floating. I then grab one of the boat guides on the trailer (while sitting in the back seat) and hold the boat centered between the boat guides (because it is totally floating) while my wife drives out of the launch slowly. We can usually get it within an inch of center. Without doing that method, that little Bu was all over the place.

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To get water out from the center of the boat click on the bilge pump when you are getting on plane and it will slide down to the bilge area. The bilge pump will take care of the rest

Sometimes simple is best. Can't believe I haven't tried that yet...

<<<I then grab one of the boat guides on the trailer (while sitting in the back seat) and hold the boat centered between the boat guides (because it is totally floating) while my wife drives out of the launch slowly.>>

I'll try this too if I can't center it.

great feedback guys, thanks!

Edited by TimD
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  • 3 months later...

I also have a VTX on the diamond hull and sometimes have difficulty loading it straight.

I have found that for this boat you cannot float the boat on to the trailer, if you are just an inch one way the chine will rest right on the bearer, the only way for me to get this boat on straight is to have the trailer in so that the rear of the guard is just OUT of the water, any deeper and I have trouble with the chine riding up the bearer.

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1 to 2 inches is a lot of water. It would take a lot of dripping people to accumulate that kind of water. To shaft seal or any part of the cooling system could be the cause. When you have the boat out of the water you could run a fake a lake for a bit to determine if it is the cooling system. Could also be a leaking line to a balast tank. Water I the bilge will give you condensation no matter what cover you have.

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Great feedback - thanks.

My boat stays in the water all summer, so I can't pull the center plug.

Did you paint the hull if it sits in contact w the water all season?

I have an aftermarket cover and i get moisture on the underside if i put the boat away damp (ie - cover it nightly when on a weekend trip) in certain weather conditions/temps so i think the advice here to get her dry before covering is a great start.

Also, my center ballast is a bag vs hard tank (2002 model) and they just tend to leak a tad - bothered me at first but now just mop it up or pull center plug to get rid of it.

Good luck!

-- Mike

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