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Water in floor compartment next to cockpit, normal or issue?


4mc

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Working out the bugs on the new boat and trying to determine what to report to dealer vs what is normal and a non-issue.

• Should there be water in floor compartment next to driverseat, where the T-plug is located?  After each time I go out and check the hatch there is about a half inch of water in the compartment.

Also...

• Plug and play ballast seem not to fill all the way.  Should the bags have some room left or be full and rounded?

• After emptying ballast and driving around for a while the tanks will show the rear ballast about 5% full, and have to hit drain again. Is this normal?

Thanks for helping a first time Malibu owner out.  Don't want to bother the dealer with non-issues.

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Short of chili dipping the bow and wet bodies bringing in water the boat should be completely dry. I would guess you have some ballast line clamps in the bow that are not tightened correctly. Check the anti siphon valves as well. Mine were sitting in the bilge on delivery. You will have residual water from boat washes until it dries out. My through hull compression fittings for the surf gate cables were leaking as well. Simple wrench fix. The pumps for the PNP ballast bags on my ‘19 have to be left on until it starts draining out the side fittings to get the bags to pushing up on the hatches. The fill 100% option will only fill the hard tanks 100%. The newer MY’s are probably different, I am sure some owners will chime in. The ballast gauge levels have been a crap shoot on all of my Malibus. For me I have to bring the bow up on the run home or hit drain on the ramp to get all but a gallon or so out of the bags. Good luck.

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42 minutes ago, 4mc said:

Working out the bugs on the new boat and trying to determine what to report to dealer vs what is normal and a non-issue.

• Should there be water in floor compartment next to driverseat, where the T-plug is located?  After each time I go out and check the hatch there is about a half inch of water in the compartment.

Also...

• Plug and play ballast seem not to fill all the way.  Should the bags have some room left or be full and rounded?

• After emptying ballast and driving around for a while the tanks will show the rear ballast about 5% full, and have to hit drain again. Is this normal?

Thanks for helping a first time Malibu owner out.  Don't want to bother the dealer with non-issues.

If you have people jumping in wet, that will drag in a lot more water than you think.  And the bilge pump won't run it bone dry, so you'll get water sloshing around and then returning to the lowest point in the boat.  Are you taking out the plugs when you trailer the boat to let it drain?  We have a big hill in our lake neighborhood that I have to ride up to take the boat out and I pull the rear plug and let it drain.  I replace the plug once I get up to the shed.

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Hope you’re enjoying the new boat!

I have water in the bilge forward and aft every time we surf, I agree with the others that most of it comes in with people. Also, have you checked the storage bins under the rear facing seats? We get a fair amount of water in both sides, gonna drill a small drain hole in the low corners. If through hull and ballast fittings were leaking I expect one or both bilge pumps would be running regularly, I have yet to see mine kick on and we’re just under 40hrs.

We trailer (I know you are on a lift) so I pull both plugs on the ramp and the boat drains completely.

My rear bags don’t get “full and rounded” but they get pretty close. I usually run a second fill cycle if I want to top them off. After draining, the bags do retain a minimal amount of water. For us this is normal even after a last drain cycle once she’s on the trailer before shutting off.

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In addition to what's been said thus far, I would look at the hose connections on the raw water cooling circuit as well next time you're on the lake.  Start the engine, inspect all connections, and check for leaks.  My 2021 was delivered with all the hose clamps on the raw water circuit loose and leaking.  Simple fix, but worth the inspection.  Otherwise, we always have water in our bilge after use.  It's due to people coming in from the water as well as water dripping off of boards and life jackets, etc.  We are on a hoist, so I pull the t-handle plug and let it drain every time we're out then replace the plug.  That way, if I have a hoist failure and the boat drops into the water, it doesn't fill with water.

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You didn't say what year or model boat, and it isn't in your profile. 

If you still haven't found it after the above inspections, check the shaft packing.  If it is an older boat with a traditional shaft packing, make sure that the packing is adjusted to 6-10 drips per minute in gear at idle.  If it is newer with "dripless" packing, make sure that the water hose is not disconnected and pouring into the bilge.

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I’ve been chasing “where is the water coming from” as well for a year since I bought the boat. I’ve sat dead in the water with a dry hull, ran each ballast tank to full then empty individually. Checked the rudder housing, prop shaft(drip less), ran the engine, checked the shower, replaced anti syphon valves, had the dealer look for leaks, beat my head on the hull, cussed, cried. Alright the last there was a bit exaggerated but still it is frustrating. Haven’t check the heater hoses or core yet but will. Just can’t get my head back there to look. I’m about to the point of figuring it’s just how it is. Hope you find the culprit on yours and you can solve it.

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I have a 2016 and there is always about that much in there when I pull the plug.  The T plug is usually to the R of the opening towards the driver seat near the bilge.  I think the water is in there due to the float on the automatic bilge on it being just above that water line.  

I added a vent line on the top of my bags that ties into the vent on the side of the boat which helps to fill the bags maximally, otherwise previously I had to burp bags to get them to fill completely.  

Since the PNP bags are gravity drain, as that water flows back to the hard tank it will show raised water level.  I even still had some water left in my bags when I removed them for winterization.  

I am fairly new to Malibu as well but long time boat owner.  I got my 2016 VTX last summer after selling my 1998 Moomba Kanga, so did a lot of research last year to know as much as I could to know what is normal and what is not.  Some friends and the local dealership has been helpful asking additional questions and if you are a work on it your own, some dealerships will sell parts and supplies directly to allow you to do maintenance at home.  

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If you are coming from an IO to a wake boat, the water is usually normal as long as the bilge is not running all of the time.  My old boat has a lot more water in it due to the type of shaft packing that required water to pass into the boat to keep the shaft cool.  My new one has a hose that keeps the shaft cool.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been getting more water in the bilge toward the end of this season.  Pulled the pnp bags out to clean an air out the compartments and discovered one of the underside valves is pulling away from the bag. (leak). Found the source!

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6 hours ago, TOAST said:

I've been getting more water in the bilge toward the end of this season.  Pulled the pnp bags out to clean an air out the compartments and discovered one of the underside valves is pulling away from the bag. (leak). Found the source!

Awesome.  At least it's an easy and inexpensive fix. 

 

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11 hours ago, TOAST said:

I've been getting more water in the bilge toward the end of this season.  Pulled the pnp bags out to clean an air out the compartments and discovered one of the underside valves is pulling away from the bag. (leak). Found the source!

Like this?image.png.68846288bad1d208e55f43f64fcb0f20.png

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On 11/19/2021 at 11:19 AM, dalt1 said:

Like this?image.png.68846288bad1d208e55f43f64fcb0f20.png

That is EXACTLY what I found too.  I was thinking the fix is just replace the bags.  Is there an option to repair??

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4 hours ago, TOAST said:

That is EXACTLY what I found too.  I was thinking the fix is just replace the bags.  Is there an option to repair??

I was reading another boat site that suggested that you can buy a bulkhead fitting and use 3M 5200 sealant on the inside before you tighten the nut.

https://store.flow-rite.com/straight-thru-hull-fitting.html or whatever fits your quick connects.  Use a threaded one and an adapter if you need to.

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On 11/22/2021 at 4:47 PM, TOAST said:

That is EXACTLY what I found too.  I was thinking the fix is just replace the bags.  Is there an option to repair??

I have done a repair of my own making. Used the purple spray PVC glue. Many thin layers then put a patch cut to slide over the fitting with about 1.5" surrounding all around the valve. Worked for the couple times I used it but expect failure again is a good possibility. Ronix offered me a replacement at Half price but that was more than I paid originally 3 years ago. I passed.

I think probably the fact that I often have some heavy Items on top of the bag  (Inflatable paddle board in storage bag) and still partial fill it caused the damage.

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