Ski locker water

[mtcommander]

I have a 2008 210 Select and for the 2nd year now I have water in the ski locker. When I pulled the plastic plug out of the floor of the ski locker abour 1/4 gallon of water kept coming out of hole. After mopping up with a sponge the water has now slowed coming up thru the hole and has now stopped. Just for reference there are three plastic plugs in ski locker floor and the water seems to come out of the rear one. Can anyone help with this issue?

 

[mtcommander]

Anybody?

 

[kaz911]

The ski locker is open from bow to stern more or less.

So every time you wash the boat - water will come in via anchor locker drains, cleat drains and then drain through the bottom of the boat down to the engine bay where the pump will take care of it.

If water piles up in your ski locker - the ski locker drain might be clogged. Blow some clean water through and see if it ends up in the engine bay.

 

[Shaun77]

I guess I'm confused about your question. My 185 always has water in the ski locker when I'm level (I don't use the plug)until I crank the bow up and drain it into, and then out of the bilge. Water gets in there from anywhere water enters the boat really. My 185 only has 1 plug tho, so not sure what the 3 plugs are.

 

[mtcommander]

The three plugs are in the floor of the ski locker they are plastic and just push into the holes where it looks like they shot foam into the floor of locker. the plugs just pop out with your hands and really just sit there to cover the holes, more for looks than anything else. The water is coming from the most aft floor in the locker thru this hole and from the foam. There is not enough water to go thru the small drain into engine bay where the pump is so it just sits in the ski locker. Every year I just sponge up about 1/2 gallon and at some point it stops and dries out. Where is this coming from I dont see any cracks or leaks and always cover the boat in the slip. My engine bay is completely dry always this only happens in the ski locker

 

[spfortjohn]

My 09 Sundeck has a compartment in the ski locker that holds water. I called searay and they told me it is supposed to have a drain hole. Guess what no drain hole. They said to drill one but be careful as the fuel tank rest against that bulkhead and not to drill into the tank. I did not want to take a chance so I use a manual bilge pump and suck it out after I wash it. I am going to attempt to drill this winter if I can determine where the tank is. I hate water standing anywhere in my boat. Good luck with your problem.

This is what I use:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...&subdeptNum=50633&classNum=50636#.UGcI5bTKJ0g

 

[mtcommander]

I have the drain hole that goes into engine bay from ski locker. I was concerned where this water comes from and how to stop it as it seems to be coming from between the floor of the ski locker and foam the is in floor of ski locker. In the front of the ski locker towards the bow there is a trail where water drained from various outside sources down to the ski locker and then back to engine bay to be pumped out. my concern is why the foam onder the ski locker floor andabove the hull is wet in this area.

 

[Woody]

My 09 Sundeck has a compartment in the ski locker that holds water. I called searay and they told me it is supposed to have a drain hole. Guess what no drain hole. They said to drill one but be careful as the fuel tank rest against that bulkhead and not to drill into the tank. I did not want to take a chance so I use a manual bilge pump and suck it out after I wash it. I am going to attempt to drill this winter if I can determine where the tank is. I hate water standing anywhere in my boat. Good luck with your problem.

This is what I use:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...&subdeptNum=50633&classNum=50636#.UGcI5bTKJ0g

What a disappointing response from SR. They should have told you to take it to the dealer if was supposed to have that hole and they forgot.

 

[spfortjohn]

What a disappointing response from SR. They should have told you to take it to the dealer if was supposed to have that hole and they forgot.

I agree but I did purchase the boat used from another searay dealer then the one close to me. I might call up the chain at searay and see what could be done.

 

[sport 185]

I guess I'm confused about your question. My 185 always has water in the ski locker when I'm level (I don't use the plug)until I crank the bow up and drain it into, and then out of the bilge. Water gets in there from anywhere water enters the boat really. My 185 only has 1 plug tho, so not sure what the 3 plugs are.

+1 , but I think I am going to drill another hole lower or just expanded the drain hole lower because when I crank up the bow my hole is still too high to let all the water drain to the bilge.

 

[mtcommander]

Here is an update. I caulked the three holes in the floor of the ski locker so if any water came in from washing or rain would not get into the foam or floor. Now the water has built up and has no where to go and has bubbled the three plugs. I released the caulking and removed the three plugs in the floor and as soon as I did that about 2 gallons of water came up thru the holes into the ski locker. I had to manually remove the water and obviously the foam is still wet. Does anyone have any clues or ideas of where this could be coming from. Also last year the dealer removed and replaced the drain in hopes of fixing this issue, it did not help.

 

[Steve Craig]

Sounds like an external leak, building up in the cavity between the outer hull & the locker floor. Mine is built similar.
Might take some time to find it but I would start by checking every external hole in the boat. By that I mean anchor locker, light mounts, cup holders, windshield mounts etc..
Some drains have tubing to the engine bay, others drain into the locker, then to the engine bay once plug is removed.
Be methodical, eliminate one item at a time.
With some patience I'm sure it will show.

 

[mtcommander]

Thanks for the reply. The part that is confusing is there was no visible water in the locker until I pulled the plugs out of the floor, then the water started to come up thru the holes. As far as external holes the two big ones are the transducer and drain plug. Could the transducer cause this intrusion into the foam without showing water on the floor?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Your boat uses a "false floor" in the bilge. What you see in the bilge is not the bottom of the boat - it's an extra liner that is put in for strength/rigidity and aesthetics. So, in essence, you have two hull bottoms with a small cavity between them. Anything that compromises that cavity could leak water in. If the transducer (for example) is sealed well inside the boat, but not so well on the outside, then water could enter that cavity without entering the rest of the boat. If anything below the waterline is leaking, water would come in while you're in the water - which should be easy enough to check.

When the boat is on the trailer, is the bow higher than the stern?

 

[mtcommander]

Right now the boat is about level on the trailer and the water is in the foam in the ski locker. There was no visible water in the bilge or the ski locker. If the boat is in the water how would you check to see if water is coming in if you cant see below the false floor into the cavity where the foam is? The problem is that the only time you notice water is when its too late and the foam is so saturated that it finally bubbles up thru the ski locker false floor. Any tips or ideas would be appreciated. By the way for the summer months I keep the boat in a slip.

 

[Lazy Daze]

If the boat is in the water how would you check to see if water is coming in if you cant see below the false floor into the cavity where the foam is? The problem is that the only time you notice water is when its too late and the foam is so saturated that it finally bubbles up thru the ski locker false floor. Any tips or ideas would be appreciated.

Simple. Dry it out the best you can on land - shop vac if you need to. Launch the boat and see what happens. If water starts to bubble again, you know it's seeping in somewhere from the outside. If you run all day and never get more water in - then it's not coming from the outside. At least you're narrowing down your possibilities.

Continue to keep your dealer informed of what's going on.

Are you in salt water? That's another easy way to tell (taste).

 

[Woody]

Simple. Dry it out the best you can on land - shop vac if you need to. Launch the boat and see what happens. If water starts to bubble again, you know it's seeping in somewhere from the outside. If you run all day and never get more water in - then it's not coming from the outside. At least you're narrowing down your possibilities.

Continue to keep your dealer informed of what's going on.

Are you in salt water? That's another easy way to tell (taste).

Ha...as if the dealer and SR will get right at it:smt043

 

[Lazy Daze]

Ha...as if the dealer and SR will get right at it:smt043

If there's a chance that Sea Ray will cover a possible repair (and I'm not saying they will - I don't work in the warranty department nor do we even know what's causing this), it's important to keep things documented.

 

[Woody]

If there's a chance that Sea Ray will cover a possible repair (and I'm not saying they will - I don't work in the warranty department nor do we even know what's causing this), it's important to keep things documented.

No we don't know the cause, source of water. What they do know is it accumulates under the locker floor until it starts rising into the locker. They do know then that there is an area that is likely always saturated with water under the locker floor...not a good thing at all...carrying extra weight...I wonder what is rotting under there. Looks like the dealer did all he's going to do. I'd go direct to SeaRay

Here is an update. I caulked the three holes in the floor of the ski locker so if any water came in from washing or rain would not get into the foam or floor. Now the water has built up and has no where to go and has bubbled the three plugs. I released the caulking and removed the three plugs in the floor and as soon as I did that about 2 gallons of water came up thru the holes into the ski locker. I had to manually remove the water and obviously the foam is still wet. Does anyone have any clues or ideas of where this could be coming from. Also last year the dealer removed and replaced the drain in hopes of fixing this issue, it did not help.

 

[Lazy Daze]

No we don't know the cause, source of water. What they do know is it accumulates under the locker floor until it starts rising into the locker. They do know then that there is an area that is likely always saturated with water under the locker floor...not a good thing at all...carrying extra weight...I wonder what is rotting under there. Looks like the dealer did all he's going to do. I'd go direct to SeaRay

There's nothing to rot.

Can't say in regards to the dealer - we'd only be guessing based solely on the limited information from that sentence. MT, this is not a knock on you - I certainly wasn't looking for a play-by-play between you and your dealer to try and help.

I'm not defending nor accusing the dealer - to do either would not be fair. Regardless, the dealer should still be his first contact and continue with them for the time being. Sea Ray, like pretty much all manufacturers I know of, is not going to get involved (or possibly cover any repairs) without double checking what's going on. They will look to their dealer network for this. Hence the need to document things with the dealer.