www.iFourWinns.com

we have had the boat for a copple of mouth now and have always noticed that i takes on quite a bit of water

I have notice that when you pull the boat off the plain sometime a wave of water runs up the platform. this wouldn't be a problem but becasue of the addtion on the swim platform the blower vent are almost equal in hight to the platform this means that a small amount of water slashed in. on the strabord side (the intake for the blower) the bateiry sits bellow. last Sunday when my dad was taking it out this casued a short.

one solution someone had was to run a simular to the exharte of the blower. to the bulige this would stop the shorts but not the fact that it is leaking in the first place

It is good to know what the problem is now as i can avvide coming of the plain too quickly

Has anyone else had this problem
or do you have the same model boat and can't find where the things leaking have a look at this problem next time you go out.

HappyBoating

If you're going up to the battery to cause a short, that's not backwash in a tiny little hole. Just drop the boat in the water and don't drive it, let it sit there turned off. If it fills up, the drive bellow cracked.

$50 part and ungodly amounts of labor.

I would also invest in an automatic bilge pump no matter what. To own a boat without an automatic pump is like driving a car without a seatbelt on in a demolition derby.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Hi thanks for the reply

we have an automatic bulge pump thank fully

and if we leave the boat on anchor it dosn't leak

this small hole as you cal it is atualy 2 5cm(2inch) roughly and is just above the battery
if i try to pull the boat up suddenly it gets about 5 letres of salty water pored over it.

If i could just pipe this water past the battery and lower in the bildge. i Think the budge pump would take care of it.

If the boat has other vent holes, take off the outside cover to that vent and secure in a very soft/flexible piece of plastic that covers the hole to act as a 1-way flapper valve, and put it back together. Let's air out, but nothing back in. It won't be a perfect seal, but it will stop 95% of the water coming in.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Hi the problem with that soultuon is that it is an air intake vent and would just suffercate the engine bay of freah air

What year is the boat? Most hull designs have two holes. One just open and one with the blower hose

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

What year is the boat? Most hull designs have two holes. One just open and one with the blower hose[/quote]

2010 180H
and the hole that the problem is the open one

Well, time to start making something that diverts the water!


Or.. slow down slower. It sounds like you're just going from cruising speed to idle on the stick. It might feel okay to you slowing down fast but watch your passengers, they fly forward and water flies over the back of the boat. They might have more fun if you come to a gradual stop. That would also stop the water issue.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

We don't just pull the stick to idle, it is becasue if the extra large swim platform with have installed. It sticks out around 3/4 of a meter behide the boat.
We will just have to slow down really slow an keep in mind that the swim platform catchs the wake as you pull up.
The big 190hp engine doens't help ether, as this makes the back sit even lower in the water. than model in your signitrue.

I will also make some pipeing to divert the water just in case it happens say and emergenciy stop to stop me hitting a swimmer

Thanks for you help but i think it is just a problem with the design of the boat and the addtion of the swim platform to the 2010 edtion

I can vision exactly what is happening with the slosh of water coming up the extended platform, and right into the vents. We don't have the problem because we don't have the extended platform or the extra weight of the 4.3.

Sunny, I would try building a water diverter out of a piece of Starboard/marine board, and mount it above the battery, tiled towards the engine block and bilge. The trick would be having it long enough to cover the battery, but short enough that the water coming off the diverter does not splash over the engine block and starter.

Perhaps a box below the vents, along with a hose attached to the box, draining down to the bilge?

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

The flipper, you would need a lot of air moving to keep it open. I just would not do it, more for safety reasons!! The best way would be to move the vents higher, but that may not be piratical. I don't know the model, so for give me, but off the top of my head. I would add or replace the vents, as in http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1240329 The come in ALL shapes, colors & sizes, some will be better for you to let less water in.

The vent holes are in the back, none on the sides like old school. The 2010 is a little different then my 2000, but also very much the same. The difference is placement. The holes on my boat are closer to the center and it's impossibru to get water on the battery.

Folded aluminum flashing from the home depot with short screws as to not penetrate the outside of the deck could be fashioned up very easily and quickly as a water diverter.

Oh, The 4.3 is the lightest engine available. http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines/mercruiser/

Engine weight:
3.0 = 1040lb
4.3 = 758lb
5.0 = 862lb

Inline engines always weigh more then V engines. More material and less hollow spaces. It also makes them naturally stronger, hence why industrial diesels are inline, not V. That's also why 4 banger cars utilize more aluminum in their engine construction to save weight. The 3.0 is a "weak" boat engine because of crappy parts like cast rods and cheap rod bolts. The design itself is bulletproof. Throw in some forged pistons/rods on a 3.0, there would be nothing you could do short of running it without oil to break it.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Yup, you could do the diverter out of Aluminium too.

Geeze Ric, that weight you have for the 3.0 is brutal, no denying what they show on the Merc website, but I think they have it posted wrong. I seem to recall it being just under 700lbs for the package (engine/transom plate/drive). The bare long block is under 400lbs....

http://gmpowertrain.com/Libraries/Marine_Engines/Vortec_3_0L_I-4_Marine.sflb.ashx

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

I was wondering if when you come of the plane you still have the drive trimmed out. If so, before coming of the plane, trim the outdrive in and see if that helps. Something else that might help is moving some of your passengers forward from the rear seat further forward.
hope this helps

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Ardy
Adelaide South Australia
Red H180 3.0 Merc

im sure they sell battery boxes around your area.....

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1988 freedom 160 3.0