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Hello, on my son's boat, there are 2 holes in the forward area of the engine compartment for water drainage into the bilge. These holes are 3-4 inches above the lowest point of the "V" Is there any reason why they are at the lowest point of the fuel tank area , not at the "V'? I don't want to drill a hole if these holes are in their place for a reason. Thank you, John

Who knows what goes thru the minds of designers?? However, on a generic note, the holes are higher on the gas tank bulkhead because usually the deck in the gas tank compartment is a little higher than the V of the engine compartment. Thus allowing water to "flow" from the bow to the bilge if ya ever get water up front. Also, it works in reverse. If you get a small amount of water in the bilge, it prevents it from flowing forward before the bilge pump can take care of it.

This of course can vary wildly depending on type/size/manufacturer/tinkerer of said boat. I would not drill new holes unless you are absolutely positive of what is behind the bulkhead annnd your sure the bilge is always gonna stay dry, to prevent forward moving water into the cuddy.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! Always glad to see another Sundowner join up. Where do ya boat at? And pics are the number one rule here.

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

I knew someone would have a good answer!
We boat and live on sunny Cape cod.
My son bought the boat in October, and we
rebuilt an engine over the winter. We are now waiting
for another rebuilt carb to get it running smoothly.
Thank you for the response. I only thought of water running
front to back. John

If you took off the cover over the gas tank compartment the reason would be clear. The tank is rectangular, so the bottom of the tank compartment is flat, not a V shape like the bottom of the hull. There is a floor so to speak built into the bottom of the tank compartment. This floor area is well above the bottom of the V in the hull. The holes you see are at the bottom level of this floor area that the tank sits on top of. The tanks of that era were rectangular aluminum tanks secured by 4 welded on tabs that are screwed into mounts that are attached to the sides of the main stringers.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Looks like dad found the forum on his own! lol

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC