putting the boat away for the season

[jrobertson]

So the time has come up here in Maine to put the boat away for the season. This is my first time putting away the RZ2. Where I leave the boat for the season is down a hill in my back yard in a shelter. Something I noticed while backing down the hill I thought I would share. So my boat has been sitting in my driveway for a week or so with the plug out and the trailer cranked up all the way to keep water out. As I was backing down the hill I noticed in mu mirror there was some water coming out of the drain plug hole, so I stopped and walked back to see how much would come out. Well to my surprise I stood there for almost 15 min while water was pouring out at full speed. I know these boats have a convex hull so I would think there would be some water in ther, but not that much. Here in Maine it gets well below zero in the winter. I have never pulled the sub floor on my boat, so not exactly sure what damage could have been done, but glad I got all that water out.

Anybodyelse ever purposly completly empty their boat prior to winter storage?

[jwanck11]

Yes! When I dropped mine off last week, I made sure to park on a steep enough grade to get the water completely out. As mine is wrapped, any water remaining in the boat will liklely cause an even worse mildew problem than I all ready have.

It amazes me how severe the convex shape is... it does not look that much on the trailer!

[JreisRZR]

We tried to, but were storing it over at long lake this year so i would think it would be taken care of, another thing that bothered me was the fact that all that water sits in the hull while our boat is on the lift, is that going to be a blister concern? i dont understand why there isnt a forward bilge pump considering the hull shape. we pulled the floor a few times to change a fuel filter oil and there was a good 3-4 inches in the bottom of our hull under/around the fuel tank and ballast pumps...

anyways im sure you got all the water out when you went down hill, i wouldnt worry too much about it

[jrobertson]

We tried to, but were storing it over at long lake this year so i would think it would be taken care of, another thing that bothered me was the fact that all that water sits in the hull while our boat is on the lift, is that going to be a blister concern? i dont understand why there isnt a forward bilge pump considering the hull shape. we pulled the floor a few times to change a fuel filter oil and there was a good 3-4 inches in the bottom of our hull under/around the fuel tank and ballast pumps...

anyways im sure you got all the water out when you went down hill, i wouldnt worry too much about it

I am SURE I got all the water out of mine, but I was planning on calling James today to see if that is part of their routine. If not seems like it should be.

[BrownClown]

I get it on a steep hill and vacuum out all of the water with a shop vac. I especially do this before she hibernates for the winter. I've never had any mold or mildew issues since I've done this.

I would like to put an additional bilge pump or even a plug at the lowest point though.

[skippabcool]

vacuum out all of the water with a shop vac

x2

[talltigeguy]

This probably is not a serious problem. Frozen water in the bilge probably won't hurt anything, but it still just don't feel right.

Tige needs to have a hull drain at the lowest point. My Malibu and MC both had it and the convex is not as extreme on those boats.

On my 24V, I could not find a hill steep enough to get all of the water to the back of the boat. But my truck hitch was probably a little low. So I would stop on the hill, crank the trailer jack all the way up, and I was still never quite comfortable that I got it all.

[laserfish]

I don't know when they stopped putting in the center drain, but my 2000, 21V has one and it drains it dry. Easy to get to through the table mount hole (I do not have the table). I never even bother with the rear plug any more. Sounds like something they should go back to.

[jwanck11]

Tall - It can become an unmanageable mold/mildew problem if the boat is shrink-wrapped when it might still get warm enough in the fall and in the spring prior to unwrapping. Once the mildew gets into the cushion material (under the vinyl), it will continue to bleed through.

I usually shop vac mine, and the place that winterizes and wraps the boat uses dryers and ties a moisture bag to teh steering wheel prior to buttoning her up.

[rushin]

This has been a concern of mine for a long time, water in there because of the way the hull is shaped. It's a PIA getting it all out.

The 22i has a center drain plug.

It amazes me how severe the convex shape is... it does not look that much on the trailer!

X2

Tige needs to have a hull drain at the lowest point.

You would think this would have been thought of in the design.

[IDBoating]

I shop vac mine completely dry. I was amazed during winterization last Spring just how much water was in there. I completely filled my shop vac several times (to the point of its auto-valve cutting in).

I've also been looking around for a secondary bilge pump to add in the Spring. The problem is that most such pumps won't evacuate the last 3/4 to 1 inch of water, and in our shallow-angle hulls that's still a LOT of water left in there.

An impeller pump with a cleverly mounted pickup could get down pretty far, but then you have the problem of running it dry. Most pump switches can't detect shallow water levels, so it would have to be manually operated. Forget once or twice and it's goodbye impeller.

There is a pump company in Ireland called Whale Pumps that has a line of bilge pumps designed specifically to draw the water down to a minimum depth, and even it leaves 3/8ths of an inch:

http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product_list/8/55/

I've thought about a center drain but I've got enough holes in my hull already.

[Vicseek]

Yep, definatly alot of water in there. Here in New Mexico we're under a possible freeze warning so I just quickly pulled the engine and tranny/gear plugs. ALL the water just sat around the gas tank. These Hulls are deep in there!

[JreisRZR]

im not really concerned about getting water down there, keeps the bilge clean(and extra weight ) but i do wonder if it could penetrate the fiberglass somehow from the inside... i doubt it but you never know and so long as its out for the winter

that said installing abilge pump would be a major pita, youd probably have to pull the gas tank to get it out

just another problem with having a big wake

[jrobertson]

[QUOTE=JreisRZR;550711]We tried to, but were storing it over at long lake this year so i would think it would be taken care of,

Just spoke to James and he assured me they tip all the Tiges up prior to storing

[JreisRZR]

Just spoke to James and he assured me they tip all the Tiges up prior to storing

good, theyve got a solid operation going up there, hopefully the rzr's already packed up in their barn, snow is heading our way