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How much water in the hull is ok?


jdeltoro

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Hello, I'm keeping my boat in the water for about a week in lake tahoe. I was wondering how much water is ok to have in the hull and when should i start worrying? The boat has been in the water all day and i'd say i have about 2" of water in the look through cubby that gives access to the center ballasts. I measured the depth with a zip tie on a flathead and i keep checking it every other hour it raises a hair whenever i check it but it isn't deep enough for the bilge to start kicking on. 

Fyi i have a 2006 Wakesetter VLX

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Edited by jdeltoro
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You may have your packing on the shaft leaking more than it should. Can you manually run the bilge and kick some out?  I wouldn't be overly concerned but would keep an eye on it and run the bilge pump some.

 

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Should have an automatic bilge but to me that's a little more water than should be. Do you have a leak some where? I have a 2007 Wakesetter VLX and I only take my drain plug out every few weeks. I go 2 days in the water and not have that much in mine. 

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Or it could be a leaky fitting at one of the MLS pumps or hose fittings, I had one.

if you have any ballast bags plumbed double check that they aren't leaking at the drain point.

are you moored off shore in the open water , keys, or protected dock?

are you using it throughout the week or leaving and coming back?

Edited by Stevo
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Just now, Stevo said:

Or it could be a leaky fitting at one of the MLS pumps or hose fittings, I had one.

if you have any ballast bags plumbed double check that they aren't leaking at the drain point.

are you moored off shore in the open water , keys, or protected dock?

Im in the keys the boat is tied to a dock.

Yea it has an auto bilge however we usually turn the batteries off when we exit the boat. Maybe ill keep them on over night if it gets high enough with the key out will the bilge pump kick on? I haven't looked at the packing on the shaft maybe i need to shoot some grease in there to help seal it up a bit. 

 

 

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Hmm weird, my bilge works even when battery switch is turned off. I'm thinking previous owner wired it that way in case it was left on the water and it was needed. Not sure if that's correct, but I can lift the float on my bilge and it will kick on even when both my batteries are switched to the off position. Maybe it is a fail safe in case someone turned off all the batteries and the boat was left for an extended period of time? Does that sound right? 

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18 minutes ago, TexasTexas95 said:

Hmm weird, my bilge works even when battery switch is turned off. I'm thinking previous owner wired it that way in case it was left on the water and it was needed. Not sure if that's correct, but I can lift the float on my bilge and it will kick on even when both my batteries are switched to the off position. Maybe it is a fail safe in case someone turned off all the batteries and the boat was left for an extended period of time? Does that sound right? 

Yes that is right, means your bilge is wired direct to your battery. That's the way it should be. I don't think Malibu started wiring that way till around 2010. 

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Similar issue developed for me this week. Have major ocd about wanting the bilge dry. Found a leak at the drain fitting on centre tank. Looks like a pita to repair.

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I kept my boat on the water for the first time this weekend and was worried about it as well.  My shaft packing was leaking a bit more than I wanted and i didn't have the tools to adjust.  I was a bit stressed, but even with a pretty constant drip, I didn't accumulate that much water in two full days. I never had enough water to kick the bilge on, and left one of the batteries turned on all weekend. We didn't really board or surf, just pulled a few tubes and cruised.  I had less water than a half a day boarding session.

I would lean toward a leaky fitting somewhere, but I am certainly no expert.

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I used to have an 08 VLX, so same hull.  My experience is that isn't enough water for your bilge to come on nor is it enough water to worry too much about.  If you'd like to get the water out while the boat is in the water run very nose up (slow 8-ish mph) so the water flows to the back where the bilge is located and manually turn the bilge pump on, and that water will drain out.  That said you have enough sludge in there that I'd just wait till the boat is out of the water, put some bilge cleaner and fresh water in, drive around so the cleaner and water can slosh around, then park uphill and remove the rear drain plug.

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Usually the water from the shaft packing runs down to the front hatch access.  Even at rest, if you leave it all week and the nut needs adjustments, it will fill up.  Since the bilge pump is in the back of the boat, it would likely never kick on. 

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Our boat stays in the water all summer long.  It's very common to have that much water in the bilge.  I know my shaft packing leaks a little more than it should at this point, but not too worried about it.  My bilge pump is located right in between the gas tank and the center ballast in that cubby that you have pulled.  It kicks on just about every time I first get to the boat after leaving it for 5 days or so, when the boat moves around and water moves up to the middle section of the boat and kicks the float up.  As long as your bilge pump is working correctly, don't worry about it and enjoy your time out on the water.

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A couple inches of water in the midship hatch means your bilge pump is probably high & dry. Run the boat at slow speed so the bow is high, then turn the bilge pump on manually. The water should run to the back & drain.

Also, be aware that your prop packing should only be leaking when the prop is spinning. If it's leaking when the engine is off, then the packing is failing. Get the boat off the water &/or get it tightened up ASAP. When they fail, it happens quickly & they can take on water pretty quickly.

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For those of you who have adjusted your packing nut, how far is too far to push the lock nut?  Aside from the obvious "all the way down".  Mine is about half way, and I do have a slow drip when parked.  I want to adjust it to stop this from happening, but wonder how much further down I should compress the nut?  I've read small increments is best. 

Edited by saxton15
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You've been in the water that long, and it's just at 2 inches? Man, you're fine. Think about it - we slam these things with an additional 3000-5000 lb's of water and they don't sink. Plus, I think most bilge pumps are tied to the battery directly. Mine's an '06 and it kicks on when the batteries are off. (I found out because I picked my pump up and turned it on it's side, and the internal float lifted and kicked the pump on.)

You're good brother. You're boat isn't going to sink.

 

I mean, still check the packing and rudder and ballast tank fittings etc. But whatever water you have coming in is negligible. 

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I'd test your bilge pump so you know how your boat works, just in case you need it later. 

Mine is wired directly to the battery so even If I switch the batteries off my auto bilge will always work until the batteries die.  Your boat isn't going to sink from a couple inches of water but you do have excess water coming in somewhere.  I'd fix it eventually.  Could be the shaft packing or a ballast tank or any water hose really.  The only thing I'd do right now is look around while the boat is running w/ someone else driving and make sure it's not an engine hose or anything.  

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Thanks guys, we finished the trip and im back out of the water. I ended up buying a siphon and ended up removing some of the water every morning. Ended up being no more than 1 gallon every morning after removing the water from the hull after the last run. I was probably doing too much and should have been less stressed however it was my first trip with this boat and it is my first boat... With that said next years trip ill be more prepared. I was thinking about buying a secondary bilge to place in the cubby because I did notice that the stock bilge does sit higher as many of you described. Thanks again!

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