Bow is lower in the water than usual

[rkluck]

Sometimes the drain plugs get clogged as well. You may want to make sure they are open.

 

[Quad]

Sometimes the drain plugs get clogged as well. You may want to make sure they are open.

How can you tell if they’re clogged, and what’s the best method to unclog them?

 

[Quad]

Make the fat guy sit in the back.

I guess that means I’m not driving for a while.

I remember a post from someone a long time ago where they put an 800 lb ballast bag on the swim platform while wet slipped to change the angle enough to force the water to the rear.

Well, we had all 380lbs of our family on the swim platform this morning and a lot more water got pumped out from the bilge and it seems to be tilting at a less severe angle now.

Meanwhile, I’ve covered the boat, and need to continue that habit. I got lazy

 

[WestMIJet]

Well I finally found the post. It was from Zipper. He ended up with 400lbs on the back. Looks like your 380lb family was pretty close

Zipper’s post

 

[rkluck]

I had a problem where it was clogged coming out of the ski locker. Water was in the ski locked and would not drain out. I ran a clothes hanger up the hole and it cleared it out. I never had another problem with it. I guess I am just saying even with the drains open it may not be draining properly.

 

[Quad]

I had a problem where it was clogged coming out of the ski locker. Water was in the ski locked and would not drain out. I ran a clothes hanger up the hole and it cleared it out. I never had another problem with it. I guess I am just saying even with the drains open it may not be draining properly.

Which way does the tube run out of the ski locker? (or does it just go down into the bilge directly?)

 

[rkluck]

I don't recall exactly but I think I went from engine compartment up to the Ski Locker. Sorry that was years ago.

 

[Chaunceybland]

When you guys are saying the drain plugs should be open, you are talking out of the water right? Not the main drain out back, but the plugs throughout the boat. When in the water should they be open or closed. I know that sounds like an awful question! I have all plugs closed and open them all when I take the boat out of the water for the day.

 

[Beachbummer]

Opinions vary.
I think we are all in agreement that: The main "external" plug keeping the boat from ingesting water should always be *in* while in the water, keeping water out, and keeping the boat from sinking.

In regards to the other internal plugs, there are configurations preventing some water from reaching the engine and potentially compartmentalizing some leaks. I have a float with alarm and 3 bilge pumps in my boat. I keep the internal plugs all open always, and don't sweat it.

Others make great points that with certain configuration the engines could remain dry longer in a catastrophic situation. I'm sure some will chime in with that info.

 

[SandfleaDDH]

I am actually surprised these boats only come with a single bilge pump. That said, I run my boat pretty hard, and often loaded with people and ballast, and never get more than maybe a gallon or so when I pull the boat out of the water.

 

[Beachbummer]

Right, the issue is not normal operation, the issue is something goes sideways, how quickly do you find out? and how long do you have to take action before you sink?

Our boats have several holes underwater, protected by plastic thru-hulls, sealant, hose-clamps and hoses. Any of those fail, and depending on how you are equipped, and when you know about it, it could be a minor inconvenience or you could lose the boat.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Likely it's the rain as the culprit. Last week at the lake we had some thunderstorms and that means the bow gets wet. That also means the channel around the floor locker can get wet and overflow into said locker. I had mine dry one day, and the next I went out after the storm and the top of the sack was wet and there was water in the bottom of the locker.

The cure as others have said it to open that drain plug and then elevate the bow (either by getting 3-4 people on the stern or going about 11-12 MPH) and then letting the bilge pump take care of it.

When pulling my boat out of the water, there's always drainage (both Yamahas actually) from the drain plug. Heck, I drove mine from sea level up over a 7400 pass and once she got in front of the house, she was still piddling on the road.

 

[anmut]

I think there's actually two in the engine compartment

View attachment 131243

I have the same two in the engine and one in the ski locker, which confuses the f out of me. Let's lay this out for a second and you tell me if I'm right or wrong.

Ski locker drain: drains into the bottom of the hull
Engine locker plug 1 (left plug in your picture): drains from the fuel tank area into the engine locker
Engine locker plug 2 (right plug in your picture): drains from engine area into hull
GIANT MYSTERY: On my boat, the bilge pump is in the engine compartment, but it's fastened to the bottom of the hull, and the engine compartment bottom is actually cut out around the bilge.

To me this means:
Ski locker drain: only there to contain water from the ski locker to the rest of the boat
Engine locker plug 1 (left plug in your picture): only there to drain water from the fuel tank area?
Engine locker plug 2 (right plug in your picture): completely worthless if the bottom of the compartment in the engine already has a hole for the bilge.

 

[Matt Phillips]

I agree with @anmut above. The only reason I can figure they have a plug in Engine Locker #2 is to keep ME from dropping random (yet vitally important screws) down an open hole in that area -- only to be lost forever in the space between the bottom of the engine compartment and the hull.

 

[Julian]

I agree with @anmut above. The only reason I can figure they have a plug in Engine Locker #2 is to keep ME from dropping random (yet vitally important screws) down an open hole in that area -- only to be lost forever in the space between the bottom of the engine compartment and the hull.

The other reason may have to do with passing the CG required floatation test?

As for the OP I agree that rain was your culprit, and I suspect you have debris blocking your drain lines. Id take a strong shop vac to them.

 

[212s]

GIANT MYSTERY: On my boat, the bilge pump is in the engine compartment, but it's fastened to the bottom of the hull, and the engine compartment bottom is actually cut out around the bilge.

Same as mine, thought it was odd until I read about the various drain plugs and how they work. See below.

To me this means:
Engine locker plug 2 (right plug in your picture): completely worthless if the bottom of the compartment in the engine already has a hole for the bilge.

There is a "wall" between the fuel hatch wall and the rest of the engine compartment. The plug on the bottom would allow water to drain down into the bottom of the hull and either be pumped out by the bilge pump or drained out the garboard/transom plug. If the fuel hatch plug is open, it would drain to the forward section of the engine compartment and just sit there, or build up and flow over the "wall" into the engine compartment if there was enough water.

The owner's manual clearly states all the drain plugs must be installed during operation for safety. They can be opened to drain to the bilge pump or out the garboard plug when on the trailer.

 

[tdonoughue]

Consider also that water may be in your boat due to primarily 3 reasons:
1) Rain
2) Hole in hull
3) Failure of a cooling part

Rain rarely fills anything enough to be an issue; some goes out the scupper drain and the rest sits in a ski locker or bilge until another event. So cross that one off for now. Most opinions I have seen on the topic (and there are many well-reasoned ones) opine assuming that a hole in the hull is from whence the water comes. Then they say that you want the plugs open to speed that water to the bilge pump (my counter is that if the water does not stop to fill up something like a ski locker, it reaches the pump faster...).

However, you equally could have a break in a cooling line that means the water is coming from your engine into the engine compartment. In these instances, having the plugs in keeps that water in the engine compartment there by the pump (of course some will go down to the lower bilge) and does not let that water into the fuel compartment and easily forward/down in the bilge (without passing the pump).

Therefore, on the whole, I prefer to run as Yamaha suggests with all of the plugs in. That said, there may be times/situations where you will need to pull them temporarily or even run without them.

 

[anmut]

There is a "wall" between the fuel hatch wall and the rest of the engine compartment. The plug on the bottom would allow water to drain down into the bottom of the hull and either be pumped out by the bilge pump or drained out the garboard/transom plug. If the fuel hatch plug is open, it would drain to the forward section of the engine compartment and just sit there, or build up and flow over the "wall" into the engine compartment if there was enough water.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this though. The plug on the bottom is mere feet from the hole cut for the bilge, and in the engine compartment. This plug seems completely useless and unnecessary as any water coming from the fuel hatch plug goes directly to the bilge area anyway where it is either going to 1) get pumped out or 2) flow into the bottom of the hull via the cut hole and out the transom plug.

 

[jjmparsons]

I had this same thing happen to me. The bow was lower than usual, drain plugs were not clogged, ski locker was dry. I knew there was water down there but didn't know how it got in and the bilge wasn't pumping anything out. Later that day we had some ballast bags on the back, two adults and a dog and all of a sudden water started pumping out a ton of water, and I never have water pumping out or come out the drain plug after trailering. Freaked me out. I decided to call it a day. Got it on the trailer and the bilge started pumping away again. In fact, this was at the ramp. On my way to the storage shed is an even steeper hill and I stopped there and let more water come out the drain. Never happened again after that. I don't know where the water came from. I guess it reached a tipping point that day though. So, my suggestion would be to try to trailer it and get it on an a steep incline and dump it out.

@sunbyrned nails the main point here. If you are looking in the ski locker, opened the fuel cell hatch and no water is seen, where is the water coming from or being trapped at? If the water is some how escaping the ski locker and getting down into the boat hull somehow there's a possibility this problem is going to arise every time it rains. I have never considered the possibility that the ski locker or other compartments could be leaking water into the actual boat itself but its got to be pooling somewhere up front. I'm not versed well enough in boat building to know how many, if any, possible open spaces are in the hull but I imagine someone in the threads here may know a bit more about them.

To add to it.... this is kind of what I am curious about being a possibility between any of the compartments and or anchor locker. Its a different style of boat of course still a Yami but mention and show of the "gap" between the two sections has me wondering.

 

[tdonoughue]

Many things drain rain into the 'bilge' between the hull on the outside and the hull on the inside. For example:
- Most of the cup holders
- Hole in the aft of the engine compartment
- For some, the anchor locker drain which is mismade and lets water between the hulls
- If you run with the ski locker plug open, all of what goes in there gets between the hulls
- Any leakage from the wet storage by the plugs gets drained there

Certainly over time, there is lots that can get in there.

Mind you, I still question why the bilge pump (stock) on the Yammi's is up by the engines and not down in the lower bilge. Lower bilge makes more sense to me. But, there you are. Some day, I will move my second bilge below....