Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

[marktwainsonic]

I have an '89 Sea Ray 4.3 Mercruiser (18 foot). The ski locker is holding water. After wet-vaccing the drain "well" and running a short stick and then a long coat hanger through the drain it still won't drain the water (the water is over the drain hole).

I did some research online (including here on iboats) that said vacuum it out or stick a screwdriver/coat hanger through the drain line . Any other ideas?

The coat hanger went in the full length of the wire and was not blocked by any solid obstruction.

Thank you in advance for any ideas.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

If your boat is built anything like mine, the fuel tank is sandwiched between the bulkhead at the rear of the ski locker and another one in front of the bilge. That bulkhead has a drain hole also. I tried snaking from both directions to no avail. Had to remove the tank anyway and I found bottle tops, cigarette packages, candy wrappers, fishing weights, leaves, mud and muck. All of which contributed to standing water and perforations/pitting in the tank. Good luck!

 

[marktwainsonic]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Dang. Thank you, foodfisher :]

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

I know your pain. When I owned my 19 foot Maxum that had a ski locker it seemed to do the same as your boat.

I'd swear it was haunted and just wanted to drive me nuts.

Mark

 

[marktwainsonic]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Thank you, gentlemen. Sigh.

 

[britisher]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

I have an 89 SR 180 BR, it may be the same model as yours. I did a full rebuild last year. Underneath the belly tank is a false floor which has a pvc pipe which runs from the ski locker to the bilge. In the ski locker, which also has a false floor there is a rectangular drain just in front of the bulkhead that is forward of the belly tank area. Water flows down to the square drain hole, then moves down the pvc tube and out into the bilge (that's the theory). The square hole can and does get clogged by various bits & pieces and installing a mesh over it, my help keep the pvc pipe free & clear. The space where the beely tank is also has a drain hole at the rear, which too drains out into the bilge.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

...The coat hanger went in the full length of the wire and was not blocked by any solid obstruction...

But did the coat hanger go the full length to the bilge?
If it didn't come out the other end, You need a longer reaming device.

 

[marktwainsonic]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

@UncleWillie Don't know how long the pipe is. Thought someone might chime that in. Others had said just use a screwdriver, so I thought hanger might have been too long...:O. @britisher, could you tell me how long a pipe we're talking about? Thanks!

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Is the hole small enough to try compressed air? I use it to clear drains for auto AC units.

 

[britisher]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Here's a pic of the rebuild job under the belly tank. You can see the faint outline of the fals floor beneath the glass layers and you can see the pvc pipe coming out at the very bottom. The pvc pipe you see above it, is the small pipe that drains the area where the belly tank sits. All I did for that was drill the hole, seal it, then inserted a small section of pipe (maybe 1" or so, then pb it in). I figured it looked neater than a plain hole. The pvc pipe under the false floor is 36" - 38" or thereabouts. If you are trying to unblock it, I'd use the hosepipe and blast it clean. We used the hosepipe method to unblock a blocked pvc pipe on our AC furnace (they clog up with crap every now and again and the damn pipe runs under the concrete garage floor (thank you builder!). The hosepipe was too wide for the pvc pipe, which was the same width as the false floor pipe. We took the smaller diameter corrugated pipe off a handpump for blowing up inflatables and inserted it into the hose end and sealed with Ductape. The corrugated pipe fitted nicely into the pvc pipe and all we did was wrap a towel round the top to soak up overspray. We then just did short full power blasts to clear the blockage. it worked every time.

 

[hostage]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

I have this drain pipe cleaner tool that i got from harbor freight, it worked well on my sink, when nothing else did, you could try this: Sink Drain Cleaner

For $4 you can't go wrong. Maybe you could use the pressure from a garden hose to force the block out?

-Hostage

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

If it will not be pushed out by a garden hose use a plumbers snake. It is flexible and long enough to go the whole way.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

... Don't know how long the pipe is... Thought someone might chime that in.... could you tell me how long a pipe we're talking about?...

It is however long it is to get from the Ski Locker to the Bilge area under the engine. Usually 3-4 feet.
You should be able to see the other opening in the engine compartment.

It is not always a full length of pipe, just a couple of short pieces that pass through the bulkheads.
The area may have been foamed and just needs a hole opened through the foam.
A piece of of 1/2"pvc Pipe, 4-6 feet long, will often fit through the 3/4"' pieces that are molded in.

Once open, a bright flashlight and a small inspection mirror will allow you to see through the opening.

 

[britisher]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

It is however long it is to get from the Ski Locker to the Bilge area under the engine. Usually 3-4 feet.
You should be able to see the other opening in the engine compartment.

It is not always a full length of pipe, just a couple of short pieces that pass through the bulkheads.
The area may have been foamed and just needs a hole opened through the foam.
A piece of of 1/2"pvc Pipe, 4-6 feet long, will often fit through the 3/4"' pieces that are molded in.

Once open, a bright flashlight and a small inspection mirror will allow you to see through the opening.

I answered the question of length in my earlier post. He has the same boat as me.

 

[marktwainsonic]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Thanks, folks!

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Other suggestions: water won't drain from ski locker

Any news/results?