taking on water in the bilge ,,, got in touch with Lonnie

[rhino]

I bought my 2170 in March and I have only had a few times to take it out since but I am beginning to notice that I have alot of water in the bilge when I get back or this last time the pump came on twice . The plug is in when I go out , but the boat is stored outside as of right now with no cover . My garage should be built within the next couple of weeks . I just put 10 hours on it so I'm gona get in touch with the dealer . Anybody got any ideas where all this water is coming from ?

[Butch]

I had the same problem, and found out that the water was entering through the anchor locker drain, than through a hole in the anchor locker which led into the bildge. My dealer fixed it and I haven't had any problem since.

[rhino]

Butch , I talked to my dealer . That is exactly what he said thhat it might be . He asked me if I might test the idea by plugging the anchor locker drain , fill it up with water , scribe a line and see if the water falls . Seems simple enough . I hope it aint no plumbing , it looks like alot the tubing was cut too short with a machette . I don't know how much hose bard is in there but it can't be to much , there is a mile of exposed barb down there .

[Bryan Foti]

Boy, I can write a book on this topic!!! I am 42y/o and have been involved around boats since I was a little kid, making my first bluewater trip when I was in the 4th grade. Unfortuneately, I have had the chance to see some things over the years that just make me scratch my head.

An old friend of mine once had a Redfin center console boat that went back to the factory for some interior glass work. When it came back, he ask me to come run it with him since the boat had been sitting up. Well, after about 30 minutes of running, we stopped the boat and it would not get back on step. That's when I noticed water coming out of a hole in the floor of the boat. I checked the bildge to see it completely full of water. We hit the pump, and I jumped in the water and pulled the plug. He thought I was nuts and just knew he was going to sink. We kept the engine running and made it back to the launch. Once on the trailer, we had to let the boat empty since it looked like his single axle trailer was going to break and axle. It took us almost 2 hours to get the boat secured. Investigating it we found that the hose leading forward to the front livewell drain was not connected at all, so it was just flooding the boat.

I have seen more problems with hoses and tubing under the floor of boats than I care to talk about. And no matter the make or model, if they have plumbing under the floor, they are at risk of having something happen! I fished with my attorney for quite some time out of his Triton Sea Flight 22'. One day he calls me on the radio and said "please come help me, my boat is sinking". Well, we scream over to where he was fishing about 10 miles away and sure enough, the water is coming over the transom. I hooked on to his bow, got him and his family on board with us and drug him for what seemed like forever. By dragging him, I was able to get most of the water and weight to the back of the boat and roll out over his already low transom. The pump was able to keep it out long enough for us to get him to sand bar. We found a plastic "T" which connected 3 - 5/8" poly hoses had broken and had flooded his bildge. This boat was not rigged w/ a isolating valve like Blazer Bay boats, so I had to rig a plug and seal the hole from the outside. (smashing fishing corks together with your foot will close a hole quickly)

Last year I was part of a 3 man and one woman (my wife) crew for a maiden voyage of a 31' Contender in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a $250K rig and yep you guessed it, on the first trip offshore in flat calm seas, we had problems with the plumbing. This boat was equipped with an isolation valve and is was not a problem, but I found it early and the owner thought I was nuts for making him stop after running for 20 minutes for me to check the bildge. He could not believe his new boat would have this problem, and more amazed I wanted to look for it.

As you can see, I had several incidents with plumbing in the bottom of boats. As I write this, I am taking a break from rigging up my own 2400 that has yet to hit the water. Besides all the elctronics and gadjets I installed, I took the time to go through the bildge, which was great timing since the motor was not on it and made access somewhat easier. I found that my own boat had not one, but two of the very same plastic "T's" that I found broken on my buddy's boat a few years back. I took pictures of these, removed them, and replaced it with a brass set up. It cost me about $45 dollars to make the conversion, but I have the piece of mind knowing that 5 years from now, they won't break during a trip!

Anytime someone tells me they are having water enter their hull and can't find it, I immediately ask if they have a valve in the boat to close their intake to the livewell pumps and washdown. If they do, I tell them to take the boat out with the valve closed and if no water enters the boat in that scenario, then the problem is in the plumbing. If they do not have a valve to close it, I tell them to get a plug and plug it from the outside while on the trailer. Hope this helps and I will post pictures of my rig out soon so everyone can see what I did in my boat.

[rhino]

This is beginng to test my patients . And I don't have very much patients . I did everything that my dealer has told me . I shot water up the anchor locker drain scupper and out of it hoping that might clean out any piece of glass stuck in there and vacummed out all the fiberglass left at the bottom . I don't think it's a scupper at all .
I called my dealer , Crown Leisure Biloxi Ms , yesterday on the way back from fishing . Philip told me to plug it up from the inside with silicone . I describe to him that I can't get to the drain , it's bellow the glassed bottom of the anchor locker . The bottom has a 1/2 " hole drilled in it , I guess that's the drain . He did'nt know really what I was talking about , same response with a knowledgeable friend of mine who has a 2020 . They say it's a new design with this self cleaning anchor locker .
So then he goes on to tell me that he's to busy to deal with it and that I should call Lonnie at Blazer . Called twice . Voice mail . I got the feeling I'm fixin' to get dicked !
I think I'm gonna just shoot a bunch of silicone up that anchor drain , which sould be renamed F@ckin hole in boat !

[Bryan Foti]

I feel your pain and understand how frustrating it is not to get the answers you need in a timely fashion. My previous boat before this 2400 was a 2220 that had a locker drain which went straight through the hull. I never had problems with mine, and when the boat was sitting in the water, w/ my fat butt on the deck, the compartment would hold about 4" of water since that is how far the hole was under the waterline. So I can see how water would get into your boat. However, I am not completely clear on what you have to look at. Mine did not have a scupper valve or anything of that nature. It was a hole that had a vent cap on it, nothing more, nothing less.

Why don't you take a picture of it and post it here when you have time so we can see what you have and just maybe through trial and error members of the board can give you a hand. I would try to "temporarily" plug the hole some kind of way, to begin the process of elimination. If it is not the hole leaking, I would leave it plugged and look for another mode of water entry.

Interesting topic.....keep us posted!

[Capt. Eric]

Bryan,

I have a 2005 2420 and I to was taking on water when I got the boat. There were 3 trouble spots that were hard to identify , but easy to fix. First was my anchor locker. I have the clam shell style drain that has a back side that it screws into. I pulled the drain, cleaned the hole, filled it with 5200, and re-installed the drain. It no longer is an issue. Second was my rear scuppers. While I was running, water would come in around the scupper, they had not been sealed at all. I fixed this the same way as the anchor locker drain. I removed the scuppers, cleaned the entire area, filled with 5200, and re-installed he scuppers. This is no longer a problem. Third was my live well pump. When the filter canister was attached, the o-ring had gotten pinched between the filter housing and the body of the pump. This allowed water to free flow into the bilge even when the pump was not running. I simply unscrewed the housing, reset the seal, and re-installed the filter making sure not to pinch the seal again. The boat is now bone dry all the time. Hope this helps.

Capt. Eric Lucas
reelflysportfishing.com

[Bryan Foti]

Thanks Capt. Eric,

I know Rhino will appreciate the help and I will hopefully have a dry 2400 after we have sea trials next week.

[rhino]

Thanks Cap't Eric , Bryan . Sometimes I get a little fruststrated and patients start running thin . I talked to Lonnie just a few moments ago and he explained what is going on under that anchor locker . Apparently there is a void under the anchor locker where the anchor locker drains into and sea water comes into the void from the clamshell into the anchor locker to clean out the dirt and mud and all that . When ya get on step I guess it all drains out . The problem is , as Lonnie says , there must some pin holes in the glass that seperates the void from the bilge . So now I guess I'm going to Pensacola ! Got to bring it Blazer get it fixed right . I told him that I was thinking about filling it up with silicone temporaryily , but he said that would make it more difficult to fix . I guess in the site prep.
Well I took some pictures this morning , I'll go ahead and post 'em show ya'll what is going on . Hopefully when I get to Blazer they'll give me the nickel tour and maybe a free hat !

OK , I tried to post pics but it's just not working out . Ya use photobucket right ? Which codes ?

[rhino]

Why is it no one at Blazer asked or told me about an alternative from having to trailer my boat from Baton Rouge to Pensacola ? I found a factory warranty certified glass man by calling Blazer dealer near the house . I don't want to go to Pensacola unless they are paying my bills , which they haven't offered .