05 21v serious problem

[[email protected]]

I recently purchased a 2005 launch 21v. I noticed after a little use that a crack has formed on the inside of the front ski locker. for those of you that aren't' familiar with the 21v there is some space between the bottom of the hull and the bottom of the ski locker, my problem lies in that space. The front of the boat is full of water from the crack in the ski locker, not a crack on the outside, my question for those of you who might know or have had a similar problem is how or what is the best way to get the water out?

the dealer said they need to remove the gas tank, take out the floor and drain the water, between $1500-$1800 for the fix and he said it would take quite some time. He also said it would be ok to drive, it would just be like extra ballast in the front. A second question is, how can that be ok for the boat? it seems like it could cause some problems?

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you.

[michael hunter]

Some pics would help. Is it possible to get a wet vac hose in there and vacuum the water out?

[Salty87]

you'll have to cut a bigger opening and suction the water out. a vacuum extractor like the oil pumps would work too. you'll probably have to jack the boat up/down to get the water to move to you.

since there's no wood down there, the water isn't going to do much except add to your ballast. i wouldn't want my gas tank sitting in water though.

it's hard to say without knowing where everything under the floor is.

another thought is to open an access port somewhere hidden, under a seat. put a cover over the opening and drain the hull over a period of time....fixing the leak first of course. cover it with something like this...

http://www.iboats.com/mall/image/vendor/16/big/39787.gif

[[email protected]]

The hidden hatch is a good idea. It's odd because the water is completely contained in the bow. There is no physical way for it to drain anywhere else in the boat. Its good to know they are all composite and will not rot or deteriorate.

[Brianswatson]

Pics would help because I'm confused. I actually have removed my fuel tank ( I'm replacing the skegs) from my 05' 21V over the weekend and I'm not seeing what you're describing.
The front ski locker(the area under the walk through) has a 1/2 inch hole that allows any collected water in the locker to flow to the back of the boat via flowing under the fuel tank/over the skeg backing plates and under the engine to be bilge pumped out. What I have notice on my 21v is that by design the area under the locker is the lowest point of the entire bilge and will only flow when the bow is raised...alot.
To make my long story short have you check the hole between the locker and the Bilge for an obstruction?

[[email protected]]

yeah, the problem is that all of the water is under the locker. it is full to the point I can push down on the floor of the locker and hear the water splash around. Unfortunately with pics it would look like a normal ski locker because the water is all underneath. I think the best route is to cut a hole in the ski locker floor close to the drain hole so we have access to the lowest point on the boat. From there we can install a bilge or just drain with a fat sac pump at our leisure. This seems to be a large oversight in my opinion, I know boats like malibu and mb sports actually put a bilge up front right in the lowest point of the boat for problems just like this, because no wake boat is completely water tight if you take water in the front or a large rain storm. It seems like a front bilge should be included in any $50,000 wakeboard boat with this low point under the ski locker. Dumb decision on supra's part.

[MoneyMaker]

Hey Kip... Just Pull the plug, launch it into Willard, and Drive away. "Dang it" :lol:

[Okie Boarder]

Sounds like opening up under the ski locker is a good idea. If the new Supra's are the same as the old one's the lowest point is up near the front. They may not have put a bilge pump up there to to a lack of access. If you can't get all the water out with the method you're planning, see if there is a way to get the front end up as high as possible, like park on an incline and jack it up.

I'd be interested to see if you can fit a bilge pump up there. If you cut the hole and put and access plate in, you could service a bilge if you are able to fit one there.

[Louisiana21v]

So this is an old thread but I hoped to get more info on this situation.
I have the same boat with the same problem - water between the hull layers.

I can't find where the water is getting in. The guys in Dallas said it was the balast intake flange that wasn't sealed properly from the factory allowing water to seap inbetween the hull layers. They claimed to have fixed it for free since it was factory defect. They went for test ride to align steering wheel
for the new steering cable they installed. When I got the boat home there was water under the floor of the ski locker again.

Has anyone had success dealing with a similar problem??

[jsandy]

this really might be to obvious of an idea but why not just drill a small hole in said compartment. not all the way through the bottom mind out but what could it hurt

[Louisiana21v]

Well that's kinda what I was thinking. That is how the guys in Dallas got the water out the first time. They sealed it back up and said they fixed the leak too. Now its back in there and I need to try and find where its coming from.

Does anyone know if there is a way it could be getting down there from inside the boat?
Or does it sound like its getting in from the lake?

If water is leaking past an outside flange and getting in-between the hull layers. How in the world am I supposed to see that!?

[jarodag99]

I'm having the same problem in an 04SSV. It's been sitting for about a year while I was gone (in storage) so I'm wondering if it's possible whatever sealant they use has finally failed. I'm at a loss at how to find where it's coming from but when i push on the front ski locker floor it's obvious it's full of water. I had a leak in the prop shaft seal but corrected it. There was a decent amount of water that came in from that so I guess it's possible that's where mine came from (assuming that part of the hull is the same as under the front ski locker). My next step is to put the boat at a pretty decent nose-up angle to see if I can get it to the back where the bilge is.

[Louisiana21v]

Raising the nose won't help. Once water gets in there its pretty much trapped. Even when it runs to the back it is still under the floor where the bilge pump sits. I called and spoke with Doug at Supra, he said the only way to get the water out is to cut a hole in the floor of the ski locker, remove any foam insulation that's there and pump out the water. He recommended installing a access panel in case it happens again. In my case he thinks one of the drains that let's water pass from the ski locker to the back of the boat may be leaking water down into the hull. I would have to remove the fuel tank to try to fix. For now I'm just gonna do the access port and monitor how much I have to pump out every time I use the boat.

[Louisiana21v]

Ok so I picked up a access pannel like the one pictured in this thread at my local marine store. 6 inch for $8. Yesterday I cut a hole in the bottom of the ski locker and found that there is about 1 to 2 inches of space between the floor and the foam insulation. The water was between the 2. I sucked out about 5 gallons of water with the shop vac. I did not remove any of the foam, it seems pretty thick like it goes to the bottom of the hull. I don't think there is water under there but not sure. Installed the access pannel with silicone and stanless steel screws from Lowe's. Pretty easy really, put masking tape on floor and traced around the panel with sharpie, then cut out with jig saw.

Does anyone know if there is space under the foam for water to get into? From what Doug at supra said I expected the water to be under the foam not on top. I don't want to remove more material than is necessary.

[MUNS01]

I just got my 05 21v out of the barn on saturday and read this thread on sunday, I was working on the boat today and I checked to see if I have this problem, and I do...
It seemed to me like the ski locker floor is a porus material and I think the water seeps through after a rain storm. And it looked like the locker floor may have been cut open and repaired for this problem once already.
I guess I'm gonna cut a hole to get the shop vac hose in there, which I really don't want to do but I suppose a little hole is better then having water trapped in there forever and ever

[Steve0183]

Man I posted this so long ago I thought I was the only supra owner with this issue, it gives me relief to know that my boat isn't the only one with this problem. Sounds like a design flaw from Supra. Has anyone tried to dig out the foam under the ski locker? If so how much is there and is it possible to fit a pump in to remove the water?

[SZEH]

Just discovered I have the same issue in my 2006 21V. Going to the boat show to see what they say. I found that once I was cleaning out the ski locker that some water was leaking back into it from two what appear to be plugs in the flooring and covered with a clear sealer. I'm going to the boat show this week to address this with the owners of the dealership. Sounds liek the access port may be the way to go. Also thought about drilling a small hole in the floor and using my oil removing pump to remove the water and then reseal it up.

I took a few pics and I'll try to post them to show where the water is leaking back up from under the flooring.

[skibumtx]

Dang it, looks like I have the same thing on my 06. Where did you cut the hole? Any photos?

[jarodag99]

I still haven't corrected mine but would be interested in seeing how other people have done it with some pics. My ski locker bottom seems to almost be bulging due to the amount of water in there but I did have a hell of a lot of rain over the last week (boat was in driveway with cover on it). When I hit the bilge pump, it kicked out a lot of water so I know plenty got in the boat and I think it's not stopping at the bilge but getting below the ski locker. Anyone have any luck with a dealership seeing this as a defect and correcting it on a boat NOT under warranty?

I'm thinking mine may be coming in from the bow right where the ski locker floor meets the hull at the very front. There seems to be a gap but not sure if it is competely sealed behind it. If that's not it, I'll check out the drain port at the back of the ski locker but there really isn't any way to test it that I can think of.

On another note, oil is changed, new impeller, new plugs, and new prop shaft seal...she's ready for the water this weekend!

[newJhoser]

Any pics of this? Bazaar. Is the he cut in the floor of the ski locker or in a divider between front and back. (Ya I really un-burried this thread

[DAFF]

Please take some photos and add some arrows to where the problem area is. Between everyone on the forum this should be very EZ to remidy. Lots of hull knowledge here between all of us.

[gwbronco]

I would like to see pictures as well. I am going to look at a 2005 21V this weekend and would like to know where to look for this problem.

[SZEH]

Not sure if I still have any pictures of it still, but just push on the the bottom of the ski locker where the front ballast bag is. You'll hear squishing of water under it. I've had my dealer pump out the water and reseal, but still have the problem one season later. I'm seriously thinking the access panel is the way to go, so you can easily vac it out every time it happens.

[SupraLaunch21V]

I have a 2008 Supra Launch 21V. Would this issue exist on the '08 model as well? Are they the same hull molds?

[trennaa]

Some pics would be great as I have a 2006 21 V Launch and I would like to clarify the area in question. Is everyone referring to the ski locker on the front left hand side and the floor which has the battery sitting on it, as some people are referring to under the front ballast bag which is in the middle and has no floor over it as it looks to be the back side of the hull.
Also if it is the area under the battery could water be getting in under the floor on the driver side aswell as it looks to be identicle in construction. I will be looking at mine tomorrow to see if I have a problem aswell.

[SupraLaunch21V]

I'll try to get out to the boat tonight and take pictures. The guys on the Moomba site have it pretty well documented with some videos on YouTube. I was nervous as heck checking mine, but it looks like it has already been fixed by the original owner and seems to be dry as a bone. He lived pretty close to Maryville so I think he may have had SC take a look at it. I'll post the link for the Moomba pages ( they have 39 pages of activity, mostly customers not pleased with how SC handled it, but in the end I've heard of no one's boat being sunk or adverse effects ), my pics, and the YouTube video that shows the detail of where to check and what was done. Hope that helps.

John

[Travis2308]

My 2006 must have this also. I noticed years ago the floor was squishy under the front ballast bag and never gave much thought to it. I hope it can't cause any problems because I really don't have to have to cut a hole in there and suck water out every time we take the boat out.

[SupraLaunch21V]

Sorry everyone if I've been late in getting pics up. I've only brought the boat out in the sun twice and each time I forget to take pics of the area impacted. It looks like my boat was previously worked on by Skier's Choice to remedy the problem or I've just been lucky so far. But here is the discussion ( 39 pages of blog entries ) on the Moomba site.

http://www.moomba.com/msgboard/showthread.php?13043-Water-trapped-between-hull-and-ski-locker-subfloor/page35

I'm headed out to the boat this weekend so I'll post some pics after I get more details. Sorry that its been so long since my last post.

JY

[rdlangston13]

Water trapped under floor = extra ballast!


Sent from my iPhone

[Travis2308]

Water trapped under floor = extra ballast!


Sent from my iPhone

I kinda always wondered why they never did something like this from the factory. I mean it hasn't hurt anything over the past years, what's it gonna do being stuck in there for another decade?

[big2eers]

I had a 2008 21v launch and yes I had a similar problem of not being able to get the water out underneath the front bag. I would use a shopvac to get the water out but after a rain storm the water would return. Loved the boat but that and the trailer were my two largest issues.
Just bought a 2012 242 that has a center hull drain plug.

[luke22885]

I have the same problem. Cut a small hole in it to fit shop vac but only sucked what I could on top of the foam. This weekend I plan to go through the foam to see if I can get more water out. I have a small crack that I assumed was how the water was going through. My plan is to buy a roll on sealer to seal the whole compartment but then leave a access panel to get down there if it keeps happening? And more input on cutting through the foam? Thanks

[Salty87]

And more input on cutting through the foam? Thanks

section of pvc pipe with serrations notched in the end. insert it and twist. it should chew through the foam and pull a plug out.

[luke22885]

Thanks man, thats exactly what I was looking for. Family is all plumbers so i know we have some of that laying around at the cottage. Will give it a try tonight.