Center Drain Plug Worth it?

[Stingreye]

Center Drain Plug Worth it? I am tired of water sitting in my bilge (Tige really does have a convex hull!). Has anyone installed a center drain plug? Where did you put it? Any pics?

[Iwndr]

That or add a second bilge pump under the Transmission. I noticed Tige started adding a secondary pump there.

[trent]

I basically started siphoning the water out the bilge instead of pulling the drain plug. It seems to work pretty well. I basically got some 1/4" tubing and attached to a weight. The trick is modifying the weight such that when it rests in the bilge the hose is pointed into the water. I access the bilge via the V-drive port under the seat. Anyway, I then throw the other end of tubing out of the boat and use my oil extractor to start the siphon and walk away. This was easier than removing the plug, and no risk of forgetting to put it in.

[talltigeguy]

I would find the steepest hill you can, and then crank the wheel on the jack to lift the nose up even higher and sit on the hill for 5 minutes. Then go home.

Leave the hatches open at home and you will find it completely dry within a day or two if your hill was steep enough. A boat ramp will work if you do not have busy boat ramps and can stop at the top of the ramp for a while. That probably would not be feasible anywhere in Cali.

[Ewok]

I would find the steepest hill you can, and then crank the wheel on the jack to lift the nose up even higher and sit on the hill for 5 minutes. Then go home.

Leave the hatches open at home and you will find it completely dry within a day or two if your hill was steep enough. A boat ramp will work if you do not have busy boat ramps and can stop at the top of the ramp for a while. That probably would not be feasible anywhere in Cali.

This is exactly what I do, but I have thought about adding a center plug. It would be nice to save time and be able to pull the center plug but then the question is how to access the plug. I might be able to reach it by removing the floor section, but then I'd have to remove the rear bench to be able to remove the floor section, and I came to the conclusion that it would take just as much time to park on the steep hill and let it drain.

[IDBoating]

Offtopic: Stingreye, your PM mailbox is full. I could not reply to your most recent message because the system says you have no more room in your mailbox.

[Stingreye]

@ WABoating - Cleared up.... should be good now.

So far I have done the ramp and the hill do drain it. I have to store it outside under cover and amazingly even though my cover tends to shed water pretty well, when it rains I get a decent amount of water in the bilge. To give you an idea, I have a 7L extractor and it filled it up completely and then some on one of the few heavy rains we get here (this was before I added the center bilge pump, that might have helped).

I also tried using RV jack pad and a bottle jack, I jack it up until the trailer guard hit the ground and it still wasn't enough to drain all the water (got a lot though).

Iwdndr, the center bilge has been a GREAT addition while on the water. My transom bilge rarely kicks on now and usually it will turn on first.

I have the table that connects under the center cushion. I never use the table so I was thinking about removing the screws and using that for access. My emergency shutoffs for my ballast are down there and I have confirmed I can get to them from the rear compartment if I have to but that access point there would be much more convenient.

[IDBoating]

This problem of accumulated water has really bothered me too ever since we got our first inboard. The extra bilge pump in the middle is an improvement but bilge pumps don't drain below a certain water level so it's not a complete solution. I've written up an idea for solving it but am too busy on my current project to pursue it now. Maybe someday....

[whiteflash watersports]

X3 on parking on the hill - works everytime and there are no parts to break, extra work etc. Open your hatches and you will be bone dry.

[Duncan]

... t but am too busy on my current project to pursue it now.

Speaking of ... when do we get to see this?

I stop on the ramp most every time (not a busy ramp) to pull the plug and wait for full drain.

But that does not fix all problems. Unbeknownst to me, my indoor storage place left my boat out in a heavy rain during Fall. Some water collected and sat in the bilge all Winter. I was not happy -- I have never stored the boat other than bone dry.