Where is water coming from? (Main drain plug)

[jlcj7]

Over the past year I have noticed a lot of water draining from rear main drain plug after I use the boat. The first 4-5 years I would have almost nothing draining from main plug after a full day of use. Now I seem to have water draining for 10 minutes after each use.

I have zero water in the engine compartment. The bilge never turns on as I have no water there. I assume rain water would drain out the skupper.

Any ideas?

Also just out of curiosity, where do the coolers drain to on a 2011 sx210?

I kee my boat on a lift so I know I am not taking on lake water when not in use.

 

[jeff_s]

I have a 2017 AR210 and Ive noticed a lot of water draining from the drain plug after a full day out on the boat. Im not sure where all water is coming from?

 

[tdonoughue]

Many have reported that the rub rail is not water tight on their boats. That can be a major source of water. Best advice I have seen was the master leak-seaker @MrMoose , I believe, who recommended some baby powder in the back bilge (open the cleanout port deck and sprinkle liberally down there) then go look after you are out for 15 min and see where there are streaks of water coming in. Probably you will find it from the aft along the rub rail. Remove the rub rail, add caulk, replace rail.

 

[jlcj7]

Thanks. I will try that

 

[Bluewater272]

Check your main drain o-ring. Mine was a little loose - found a nice beefy one at the hardware store - bilge has been dry ever since.

 

[cabbie]

I found that silicone grease on the drain plug o-rings prevents the seal from bunching up and the resulting leak. If the o-rings are dry they will stretch and bulge out of the plug housing causing a significant leak.

 

[Frank Marshall]

I had the same issue. Significant amount of water draining out, after removing the drain plug. Not enough to kick the bilge pump on, but more than I thought there should be.
I greased the drain plug. I knew it was leaking. Then I opened up the larger aft access plate and tightened all the hose clamps I could find with a 5/16" socket wrench. There are bunch. Then because my clean out plug access tubes are always full, after a day on the water, I made sure the both the bottom and top hose clamps were wrench tight.

Finally, no more water draining when I pulled the drain plug!

 

[Frank Marshall]

Well I thought I had the water leaks solved, but after last time out, lots of water draining. Good news, I found the where it was coming from. I had filled the live well without turning it off before it got overfull. There is an overflow outlet which controls the incoming water situation, however that level of water is higher than the aerator connection. It appears that Yamaha failed to install that hose, so it was leaking out into the aft compartment. Hose installed no more leaking.

I think the easiest way to check this is to take a hose and fill the live well with water until it overflows. Then turn off the incoming hose water, let the overflow dissipate and then listen for water draining into the aft compartment.

 

[jlcj7]

Update: this past weekend before heading out on the boat I decided to open the drain plug to see if any water came out (we had rain this past week and I drained all water out after last use...and boat is stored out of water on lift). Water drained out for like 7-10 minutes. No water in engine compartment. I went out all day Saturday and opened the drain plug after being out all day. No water came out. So, that leads me to believe it is rain water somehow getting into the hull. I am confused because I thought all rain water should drain from skupper.

Anywhere else I am missing and should check? My Yamaha boat cover is only 2 years old but I already bought a new one as it obviously doesn’t keep water out.

 

[zipper]

@jlcj7 A few questions first. Is your boat covered while on the lift? YES. Have you noticed any signs of water in the bow forward of the ski locker hatch on the sole? I wet slip our boat and have found it necessary to add about 400#'s of water in a ballast bag, on the swim platform, to pitch the deck of the boat aft to move any rainwater to the scupper. Without the ballast, water in the bow will get by the ski locker hatch gasket, into the locker and drain into the bilge. Plug the ski locker drain and see how much water is collected there. You may have to adjust the bunks on your lift. Here is a link to what I did. https://jetboaters.net/threads/rain...w-floor-while-on-the-water.14264/#post-246353

 

[Matt Phillips]

I always have some water in the bilge when pulling the plug out. My main culprit is when wake boarding/wake surfing. When I fill up those internal bags, and then plot another 400lbs on the stern platform, the rub rail dips beneath the surface a bit and I've noticed the bilge pump runs more in those situations. It's not a worrisome amount, but it's enough that I don't leave that 400lbs on the transom when leaving the boat. I always drain it and then it doesn't run all that much.

Those are some good ideas on the silicone on the o-rings. I'll have to do that before dropping the boat in the lake this weekend.