Draining a 22 SSV

I have a 2002 22 SSV and my neighbor has a 2003 gravity games edition of the same boat. We both seem to have trouble with standing water in the center compartment. Even when the rear plug is removed and the the trailer is tilted as bow high as possible we both end up using a shop back to suck out several gallons from the center compartment each time to go to the lake. The water does not appear to be making it back to the center bilge pump. I have ran a rod through the drain hole but to no avail.

Does anyone have a suggestion for repair of this problem? It is frustrating to come home and have to break out the shop vac each time.

[dnapusher]

I have a 2002 22 SSV and my neighbor has a 2003 gravity games edition of the same boat. We have both noticed that we have standing water in the center compartment after returning from the lake. This after removing the rear plug. allowing the boat to dry in the loading dock, and then raising the trailer as high as it will go when returning home. We usually end up breaking out the shop vac and sucking out several gallons from the center compartment right near the drain hole. Water will not drain out of the hole.

I have ran a rod through the hole but to no avail. I am wondering if others have experienced this problem and if there is a fix that someone would suggest.

[IndyMatt]

There are a few things to try but first I think I need to comment on the "Several Gallons" remark and ask is that at a time or are you speaking collectively? If your dealing with large amounts of water you need to start thinking about sources. You may need to have the shaft seal repacked, check the manifold quick drain hoses, raw water cooling system and plugs for leaks. You should have some water (few drops a minute) from your shaft seal when running but after a full day that shouldnt be more than a gallon. Regardless here might be a few things to try; Remove your drain plug while your still on the ramp (out of the water obviously) but at an angle and allow to drain, keep removed while trailering. When you unhook open your midships drain and lower the tongue instead of raising. If your still having problems consider a second (float style) bildge pump in the area of collection. You can wire it to your exsisting pumps 12v breaker and plumb it to the exsisting hose with a length of rubber hose and a 'T' style adapter. Or you can drill a new drain and install a new thru hull fixture for the second pump, whatever is easier for you. I hope that gives you some ideas but I would really research the source of your leak.

[dnapusher]

The water will usually fill my 5 gallon shop vac maybe twice. Since I nosed the bow into a couple of wakes and took on water I am fairly confident that the water is coming from that and not a leak. I have attempted to let the boat sit stern downhill on the loading ramp and remove the rear plug. Only a small amount of water will come out and I will still have standing water in the center compartment, even on the down slope of the launch ramp. I make it routine to remove the rear plug after each use. Today I tried to blow air through the center drain hole with my vacuum and it would not allow air to escape. Frustrating!

I unaware of any other drain plug on the boat. I am interested in that suggestion and maybe you can help me locate the midship drain. Please I am open to any other suggestions.

Thanks

[DKJBama92Mariah]

dnapusher,

When you talk about the center drain hole, are you speaking of some sort of tube that leads from the center compartment to the rear of the bilge? Not sure about yours, but every older ski boat that i've seen, including my '92 Mariah, has a thru-hull drain fittiing just aft of the ski pylon. Forgive me, I'm and old salt, so i need some clarification on the new stuff.

DKJ

[sthull]

I've got a 2003 SSV and have the same problem. The center forward compartment holds water. On my boat, the under-seat cooler drains into this compartment. The lower section of this compartment is sealed from the rear transom area of the boat except for a drain port that appears to discharge into the rear half of the bilge just in front of the under floor gas tank located at the middle of this boat.

Like the other postings, I've tried to put a wire hanger through the drain port to see why the wwater doesn't drain, but have had no luck.

I'm really interested in hearing the results since this water causes my ski cases to get wet and just causes more cleanup than necessary...

Scott

[IndyMatt]

Now I understand, I think... your saying that water is collecting in the ski locker & not draining. I wasnt understanding that by your first post. Obviously a leak in the cooling system wont flood this area & yes it would be silly to put another pump there since your exsisting bildge pump is only a foot or so away (aft). There should be a midships drain right in front of the stabilization fins on the bottom of your hull. The access is very easy in the direct drives as it is right in front of the motor. Im assuming the drain is still there, you may have to look around for the access; that being said, that drain is still aft of the ski locker. One common problem is that after the boats come off of production there are still little pieces of carpet scrap, wire ties...etc loose in the bottom of the hull. As these get wet (water over the nose) they all float to the drain & collect in front of the water pressure. My guess is that you have a pretty good clog in the drain that should be shifting the water into the aft hull and on to your bildge pump. See if you can find the other side of the drain and just work somthing more ridged through to clear. The other issue is that sometimes the jig gets offset during production and the hole for the drain doesnt get placed in the lowest part of the locker, your dealer may have suggestions.

[texas_21V]

Same issues with a '05 21v. The new V-drives only have one plug/drain and that is at the stern of the boat. We don't have a midship drain like the direct drives or Mastercraft X-2's (v-drive), etc. I have considered what the impact would be to put one in, but just don't have the gumption to cut a hole like that in my boat. Shop vac is the current solution, although I am in agreement with everyone else that it is a tiresome way to drain the water form the center locker.

Jon

[myturndad]

Has anyone found how to resolve this. I went out this last weekend and yesterday I opened the playpen (locker) and found about 3 inches of water in the bag area. I am sure some of this came from the great ice chest.

There is a drain plug in the back of this area but the water is not draining into the bilge.

Can someone from SC chime in on this.

[silvtongdvl]

What does the dealer have to say about this??? I have an 03 SSV - mine drains. There must not be a space between your fuel tank and the hull. The hole you see has the tank on the other side. Make sure your bag is pushed alittle forward as not to "plug" the hole.

[myturndad]

Silvtongdvl, I got off the phone earlier with Mr Brian Raymond, and that is what he thinks. I am going to remove the floor and take a look.

I will keep all of you updated. Should be able to do it tomorrow since it is suppose to rain all day.

I have placed several calls to the factory on this issue. I am currently playing phone tag with Rob Loucks who I hope is able to help me resolve this issue. I have removed the floor, and can see no fix to the problem. i fear it is going to requie the removal of the gas tank. The aft drain hole in the ski locker is still plugged water tight. Still using the shop vac for now. I am concerned about the safety of this issues since the boat tends to take on water over the bow during rough water periods. I cannot carry a shop vac on the boat to suck this water out.

Oh well in the mean time it makes for a great fat sac, without the sac.

Dude, did you think to run the bilge pump?

OK, here is what I have found out. The problem seem to plague many of the SSV boats but not all. As the gas tank expands and retracts it will sometimes slip forward causing the drain hole to become clogged. The fix as I understand is fairly easy. Remove both floor panels and loosen the tank, and push it a couple of inches aft. then place a rubber block of some sort on the front of the tank to prevent it from slipping again. You can then clear out the drain channel and all should be well.

This is what was explained to me. I have my boat at the dealer right now having the repair done. I will post what the cost of my repair is so that you can compare labor hours involved. You can then decide if you want to do this yourself or take it to a boat shop.

Dude of course I ran the bilge pump. The water is standing in an area where there is no bilge pump. I hope this post will help others with this problem.

I ran into the same problem with my 03'. What I ended up doing was removing the floorboard so I could see what I was dealing with. After that I used a metal flexible rod and pushed it through the hole in the center ballast area until it popped out near the fuel tank. What I discovered and suspected is that there were lots of carpet fibers/pieces that were plugging up the drain. It has worked fine ever since however it is not that quickly to drain. The drain flow doesn't appear to be a straight shot through. The water I was getting in the compartment was from my center bag.

[hlewis12]

I actually did the same exact thing yesterday in my 02 22SSV. I had about 2-3 inches of water in the center compartment. Most of it was from the center bag because the fuse on the center drain had blown and I had to use my external pump to empty the bag until I got home and realized that it was just the fuse.

I removed the floor and took a water hose and shot it straight through the center drain. Only a very small amount of water was coming out into where the gas tank is. I shoved a coat hanger into the hole from the compartment side and got it all the was through but then when I checked with the hose again I still only had a tiny amount of water coming into the gas tank compartment. We've been having some problems with drain flies in my house and we recently purchased what looks like a huge pipe cleaner. I would guess that the bristles are around an inch long. I took one of those and forced it through the drain hole and then pulled it out and did this a couple more times. Each time it seemed easier and easier to get it into the drain. Then finally a big chunk of crap and the bristles popped through the other side. Immediately the water in the compartment started to drain into the gas tank compartment and all of a sudden I could hear water draining out of the back of the boat onto the concrete.

I also took a spade shovel and slid it down in between the gas tank and the boat. This allowed me to get a little leverage on the tank and move it around slightly. I was actually able to raise the tank in the boat an inch or so and then water really started flowing from the font compartment to the back of the boat. I even went as far a filling the front compartment with fresh water out of the hose just to let it drain out the back to hopefully wash any crap underneath the tank out and to help prevent this from happening again.

Oh and while I had the floor out I redid the valves and manifold for the ballast system with new orbit valves from Lowes and all PVC pipe as well as another intake pump. I already had the two intake pump and one new valve from lowes on my surf sack but now everything has been upgraded. I can't wait to try it out.

[Sluggo]

Would love to see a couple pics of your work.

Just looked up the Orbits valves on Lowes.com as this was the first I had heard of them and they look just like my originals on my 2005. They only thing that caught my eye was that they say they are for standard 24 volt sprinkler systems. So you did not have an issue that they are 24 volt, or do they have 12 volt ones as well?