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Go Back   WakeWorld > >> Boats, Accessories & Tow Vehicles Archive > Archive through February 15, 2009

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Old     (loonytik)      Join Date: Apr 2008       12-23-2008, 3:43 PM Reply   
Another in a series of things I am doing to my boat during the off season. This is on a 2003 Moomba Mobius LSV. During almost all of last summer I had a problem with my bags not being able to empty. To my knowledge, this is not the factory setup for the ballast system.

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/3132122362_e0c6f8879c.jpg?v=0

The red arrows indicate water being pumped out. The blue is water pumped in. I have two separate pumps for removing the water from my bags and only one that pumps water in (underneath and probably cant be seen in these pics). The empty pumps merge the water at the PVC "T" and pump out of one hole in the hull. My plan is to remove the large PVC "T" in the center and drill a new hole in the hull and pump the bags out separately.

I am wondering what size hole I need to drill in the hull and what type fittings are necessary to seal up the hole?

(Trying to get more detailed pics but wakeworld seems to limit the size to 150KB.)
Old     (talltigeguy)      Join Date: Sep 2003       12-23-2008, 4:57 PM Reply   
Personally, I would run the discharge hose to the side of the boat. That would allow you to see when it is done draining. Then you would not need any check valves or shut off valves. Nice and simple. Plus you can turn on the pump to spray people off after a run and they are wiping down the boat.

If you decide to go to the 2 hole underneath discharge system, then you will need to get a mushroom style through hull and you should put a manual valve on it so if the hose pops off, you don't sink the boat. You could stop the flooding. You can get a mushroom through hull from boatfix.com, or several other places. The trick is making sure the sizes are correct as that some people talk about the inner diameter (ID) of the hose and others talk about the outside diameter (OD).

I hope that helps. I agree that the current system looks...flawed.
Old     (nauty_tique)      Join Date: Nov 2005       12-24-2008, 5:37 AM Reply   
So would it not empty, or just slow to empty? If just slow to empty, I agree with TTG. Empty out the side and doing away with the T should help.
Old     (denverd1)      Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tyler       12-24-2008, 8:36 AM Reply   
3rd the higher, more visible drain.

Also, move your pumps closer to the bag if they're not draining completely.
Old     (loonytik)      Join Date: Apr 2008       12-24-2008, 1:04 PM Reply   
Mike....

Sometimes it would be very slow to empty, to the point that I would just take the hoses off and muscle the bag over the side of the boat. Other times it would not empty at all.

Its not a pump problem....I have take the pumps completely out of the system and tested them. They could pump water through a concrete wall. I think it has to do with "T" not allowing enough suction from one bag to the other....I dont know.
Old     (talltigeguy)      Join Date: Sep 2003       12-25-2008, 12:24 PM Reply   
Is it both bags that do not empty?

I imagine if one bag has a shorter hose, the pumps could actually be trying to pump into each other's bags rather than out the discharge hole.

The T looks like a recipe for vapor lock as well, the way it is set up. If you get air bubbles in your pumps, then they can get locked in there, and you will not be able to get it to prime. Given where the pumps are, the bags should just drain themselves when you get on the ramp...it is all downhill, right?
Old     (loonytik)      Join Date: Apr 2008       12-26-2008, 6:10 AM Reply   
The pumps are "downhill" from the bags but the exit hose travels back uphill to be pumped out of the boat. I think the "T" is my main problem and it will be eliminated. I just plan to make each bag independent of each other and drill another exit hole. Does anyone have a pic of the fittings I need after I drill the hole through the hull?
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       12-26-2008, 6:33 AM Reply   
Here's what I see: The aerator style pumps being used do not like to draw/suck water, they like to push. With the Drain pump being mounted remotely from the sacs and fed bu a hose, may be a contributing factor. The other thing is, the 2 drain pumps are feeding into a common drain that looks to be only 1" dia. I think that is a huge restriction as these bumps aren't designed to produce pressure, just move volume.

I would relocate the 2 drain pumps to as close to the sacs as possible, without having them higher then the drain port on the sac. Next, as talltigeguy suggested, run the drain hose off each pump right to a thru-hull in the gunwale above the water-line. This gives them a restriction free drain and allows you to know when they are done emptying.
Old     (loonytik)      Join Date: Apr 2008       12-26-2008, 8:42 AM Reply   
Maybe the drain picture is deceiving. The water is pumped out to the side of the boat, above the water line. It has the black rubber fitting on the outside just like the bilge pump. I just dont know the type of fitting to put through the hull when I drill the hole.
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       12-26-2008, 8:59 AM Reply   
Yeah, the pic and description are deceiving, "pump out of one hole in the hull" sounded like it was exiting out the bottom, sorry.

For a above-the-waterline thru-hull you can use just about any barbed thru-hull fitting. Stainless Steel being my first choice, then bronze, last plastic.
Old     (sacmule)      Join Date: May 2007       01-07-2009, 11:21 PM Reply   
I completely re-plumbed the back end of a buddy's 03 Supra SSV last year; for the most part it looked similar to your picture, but was a lot cleaner looking on the drain side. His system used a single pump to fill the two rear bags, with a 3-way switch for each bag to control the solenoids (the gray sprinkler valves). Each rear bag had a drain pump installed just below the floor behind the engine with the tubing running to the rear of the boat behind carpeted panels. The center ballast had two pumps one to fill one to drain. I would start by cleaning up the piping and install a header made of 1.25" or 1.5" rigid Tees on the fill side of the bags, this will cleanup the tubing and make better use of the very little room in the area you are working with. Install a thru-hull drain port for each ballast bag to drain through (right out the right, left out the left), be sure to drill with the drill in reverse this will be slower but will save your gel coat; drill from outside in and check that the fitting are spaced properly before you begin drilling (in reverse). I purchased the majority of the fittings and accessories at a local West Marine store (www.westmarine.com). Replumbing is not very difficult it just takes a lot of time. It appears as though this was a factory ballast system and that all through hull fittings are already installed. Sorry for the long post, happy to help if you have additional questions.

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