Water in clean out port

[Salty Nutz]

I'm slowly getting my boat winterize and I was told to take out the clean out plug and leave out during storage. When I open the hatch and put my hand down to take it out, it was full of water. Is this normal? My boat is never left outside so it's not rain water and I didn't wash it. I checked this plug before and there wasn't any water in it.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

normal

 

[d_coyne1984]

Absolutely normal. Now weather its from water seeping past the plug under power or from the wave washing up on the transom plus wet people getting in and out of the water, that I have not determined.

 

[Julian]

Perfectly normal. Water gets in there 2 primary ways:

1. From water washing over the transom (keep in mind the top of the 2nd level doesn't need to be wet for water to have gone under the lip of the hatch and gotten in there).
2. Water being forced into the drain to the clean out tray when you come to a stop. That water will flow up the drain, into the tray, and will drain back out again, but some goes into the clean out tube holes

Water should not be blowing past your plugs....they should be sealed.

Because this is normal, it is a good practice to open that hatch at the end of each trip and open the plugs to drain the water, and to let the plug(s) dry. There is mixed opinions on if you should lubricate the plugs. I do, and I think the new twist in style should be lubricated too....especially the lock in channel for the plug - to prevent it from getting stuck. Also, keeping the lock in locations clean and free of build up is critical for good operation.

If your plugs don't go in well, there is a rebuild kit that fixes that - $85 per plug, and is money well spent.

 

[Gym]

You should be removing this plug after every use to prevent it from getting stuck in the port. Stuck plugs are a pretty common problem when they are not removed regularly.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

You have the new style plug in a 2019 boat so there is no rebuild kit nor any ez lock kit either all plugs from 2017 have the new twist in plugs but I have heard of those having the flat bar fail in a few cases so you should inspect the plug after each use. Water will sit on the plug the same as the previous plugs , they sit in a holes and collect water during normal operation of the boat

 

[Salty Nutz]

Thanks for the reply’s guys. I’m new to boating, this means a lot

 

[Weeb]

You have the new style plug in a 2019 boat so there is no rebuild kit nor any ez lock kit either all plugs from 2017 have the new twist in plugs but I have heard of those having the flat bar fail in a few cases so you should inspect the plug after each use. Water will sit on the plug the same as the previous plugs , they sit in a holes and collect water during normal operation of the boat

Just so you know there is a rebuild kit for the new plugs, I already had to do one that the rubber swelled on. I think it was around $45 and comes with everything except the top handle.

 

[Simon]

My 19 is always full after each run. I do pull them and leave them out between runs, and spray with white lithium.