Front ballast sack removal

Iam in the process of winterizing. I opened the front ski locker to vacuum and found the piece of carpet that goes under the sack (to protect it I guess) slimy with mold. Now I have noticed a little water in there before but try to park the boat with the nose up to help drain it. My question is there is a hose attached to the front of the bag (fill or vent I guess) but I cant figure out were to disconnect it because it is way up under there. Thanks to daylight savings it is dark by the time I get home so i was wondering if anybody has done this before. By the way it is a 06 Sanger V215. On the second note i wanted to replaced the carpet (sponge) to keep water from sitting in there. My idea consists of removing the carpet and replacing with a rubber mat and also possibly a 1" piece of pcv pipe in between the mat and the "v" in the hull to allow water-air flow. Any help would be appreciated.

My supra has a rubber mat that has big holes in it (front locker bottom). Similar to what they use on restaurant kitchen floors. works great.