Drain Plugs....Dealer removed and did not replace! Whose responsibility??

[Ironcross25]

Buckeye Sports in Peninsula, Ohio. 30 minutes from Cleveland

I take mine to boathouse marine in Ravenna by west branch. They are a master craft dealer. They put the plug On my steering wheel with a big sign. Also have one by the tongue. I Live by the Akron canton airport so either one is the same drive but never liked Buckeye. Had a few bad experiences.




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[wario]

Fair enough I can see that. Living down here on the Gulf Coast I guess I am just anal about making sure I don't get any mold or mildew in the bilge or compartments. I imagine it is not as bad in some of the drier climates. I always pull the T- Handle drain plug when I get out of the water and when I store it I always have the floor access panel cover off as well as I open the trash/battery compartment and pull the tray out and leave it open to let there be some air flow in the bilge.

A bit of environmentally friendly dish soap in the bilge will also help keep it fresh. The kids will also get a kick out of the bubbles produced when the pump kicks on.

[korey]

My auto bilge goes off probably twice an hour if not more when out and about. Even with just two folks on board. Always thought it was from water leaking in slowly by design (drive shaft etc.) or cutting power abruptly after a surfer is down and the swell hitting the back.

I’ll have to take a look just after putting around the marina before watersports or ballast is turned on and see if there is an unusual amount of water and trace the source if so.

Ignorance was bliss

That definitely sounds like a problem.

My boat had a hole in a ballast line when new and it put quite a bit of water in the boat until i figured it out and had the dealer fix it. Also the first time i took it out and filled it up, I didn't realize that all of the bag vents were shipped open, so I got some water in the boat...

Since then, the bilge pump has run once when we got caught in the rain. We use a private ramp and rarely have anyone waiting on me so I pull the rear plug while still on the incline and whatever is in there comes out. It's usually just a couple of ounces.

[FamilyMan]

Well likely something was leaky from the get go....but now that I’ve modified my ballast who knows if I’ve made it worse and the dealer surely would assume it was me (likely was anyway).

Tracking a leak down doesn’t seem easy out of water and less than ideal when in the water....looks like I’ll have to sacrifice a nice morning to do it (maybe put food coloring in a bag and check, as well as visualize my pump connections? All suggestions appreciates). I don’t seem to lose any ballast when I infrequently check the bags....but I’m guessing losing even a 5-10 gallons wouldn’t be noticeable especially if I had a leak on both sides.


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[korey]

Mine was a hose between the pumps and inlet/outlet in the hull on the starboard side. remove the carpeted panel behind your ballast bag and you can see the nightmare mess of hoses. Mine had a screw from the transom remote driven into the hose!

[trayson]

I wish my LSV had a center drain plug.

+1, I wish my XLV had a center plug also.

That said, I never take out my rear plug. Even when winterizing, I don't bother. Oh, except for last winter I guess, because guess what happened when I put the boat in the water for the first time this year??? Yep. I was that guy. However, as soon as the bilge pump kicked on, I knew exactly what happened. I didn't get more than 100 feet from the dock, because I was paying attention. (always good that the bilge output is on the starboard side where the driver can see it).

[BrentC5Z]

+1, I wish my XLV had a center plug also.

+2. There's almost no way to get the water out of the midship bilge. My trailer even has an oversize aftermarket drop leg jack.

There's a nice little hill next to my shed I can pull up, but it's a pain to deal with.

On original post: That wasn't the best way to handle it by the dealer. I'd have been pissed too. But, probably after I checked and saw they left it out.

[crr1876]

Interesting to hear so many people never remove their drain plugs. Here in Texas we have a problem with zebra mussels in many lakes and are supposed to remove the drain plug at the boat ramp otherwise could get a ticket. Is that not the case most other places?


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[trayson]

Interesting to hear so many people never remove their drain plugs. Here in Texas we have a problem with zebra mussels in many lakes and are supposed to remove the drain plug at the boat ramp otherwise could get a ticket. Is that not the case most other places?


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We don't have the muscles here in the PNW where I do my boating.

And like others have said, the drain plug doesn't do much to get all the water out. Not too mention I have aerator pumps and there's basically no way I'll ever get all the water out of my ballast bags... I'm not saying I'd break the rules, but they design of my boat and ballast system would makes it really really hard to follow them.

[Isaguel]

19 Max...only 10 hours, always a little water in the middle over the drain plug. Dealer said it was good for the boat, should have a little in there. And there always is. Pump turns on when it gets too high. We haven't even gotten out of the boat while on the water, just cruising. This sound correct?

Haha, I had to laugh out loud at this one. This is the funniest dealership comment I've heard in a long time. They're either messing with you or just throwing some dumb comment out their A** because they don't want to deal with you. But something like this, you really cant even get mad at the guy, I would've just laughed right at him.

That being said, it's a V-drive, there is a hole going through the hull, there's seal rings and packing, but also, its water and it is a HOLE. There is no way we are not going to have water intrusion. I always have water, never enough to trigger the bilge pump though. If, you are getting a lot of water and your bilge goes off frequently, then the dealer may have to replace that packing ,which only lasts so long and has the be replaced periodically anyways.