258 Vista Bilge Question

kitos · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:35 am

Thank you guys , hope to do it and fix it

Off-Piste · **Posted:** Tue Mar 20, 2012 11:52 am

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6237 I've dealt with this for a year. Sealed the anchor locker, repaired the shower drain, checked the AC, frig does not seem to give off water, water system seems ok (no antifreeze in the water), it is not seawater. See what happens this year.

shuman · **Joined:** Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:37 pm **Posts:** 93

I/VE just bought a 2000 268 vista the previous owner removed the shower sump i assume he's thinking the soapy water could'nt hurt the bilge might even help keep it clean

Shuman :mrgreen:

booray · **Joined:** Tue Dec 27, 2011 3:52 pm **Posts:** 5

I have a 1994 258 Vista, and there is water under the floor in the main cabin. It drains very slowly somewhere (I think my forward bilge compartment where the shower sump pump and the forward bilge pump are). For the life of me, I can't see an easy way to access this compartment (i.e., without cutting the carpet and maybe the flooring itself) to identify where the water is coming from. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Sat May 05, 2012 1:11 pm

I regestered today to reply to you. I have a 1994 vista 258 with the cobra 454 too. I have recently ripped the the floor out of my Vista because I couldn't get the floor dry. I purchased the boat this winter at a pretty cheap price. Now I realize why it was so cheap. Everything on the boat requires TLC. To be expected I suppose.

Back to the subject.

The previous owner had vinyl wood looking stuff on the cabin floor. I didn't like it so I pulled it. During the removal stage I realized the floor was wet and sticky(carpet glue and his crappy glue for the vinyl). On the cabin floor when I was cleaning the glue I realized under the layer of fiberglass the wood was wet. I started striping the thin layer of fiberglass to expose the wood layer to dry it off and realized that the wet wood started from the bottom. Out of irritation I cut a hole in the floor and realized that the cavity is completly full of water. Not good! After I seen that I cut the floor out and seen that the foam was completly saturated and the bottom of the floor was rotting. So I thought the worst was over at that point but I was wrong. I noticed that the Aft panel on the table cavity was saturated with water also. I ended up cutting out the panel and noticed that that cavity was full of water too. I only pulled half the foam out of this cavity and I am currently letting it air out.

So we have been getting plenty of rain in Northern Michigan and I climbed in the boat today to see how things looked and of course things looked wet. So my next project is to find where the rain water originated from? I already caulked the anchor storage area and pulled the front board to see where the leak came from and I am unsure at this point. I think maybe the anchor storage top plate(where the latch catches) might be the issue or the water fill fitting is leaking. I think this is what caused the compartments to fill with water.

Like I wrote before I have plenty of issues and this is just one. I am interested in helping you.

James

booray · **Joined:** Tue Dec 27, 2011 3:52 pm **Posts:** 5

James,

Thanks for hopping on. I don't think the water is coming from the anchor locker:

1) I pulled the fresh water tank from the bow and it is sitting on fiberglass. Any water from the anchor locker would have to come through that compartment to get to the bottom of the main cabin. After pouring gallons of water into the locker, the fresh water compartment remained bone dry.

2) I think the water is somehow coming from the aft bilge. The leaking gets worse if people are in the cabin, the weight of whom levels out the boat, which moves water toward the bow. My aft bilge gets a lot of water--too much I think, and I'm not sure my bilge pump is up to the task.

That's where I am at now. I'll update when as I find progress or rule things out.

Regards,
Chris

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 9:57 am

Chris,

Happy to help. I too am fighting the forward bilge aft panel leaking issue. I took a screw driver and scraped open the the bottom of the board. From what I can tell is the fiberglass that was put down to seal the the panel was a single layer of glass with not enough resin to keep the AFT bilge from leaking to the forward bilge. Was it suppose to be open and someone got lazy during manufacturing? I am not sure what to do myself. Do I seal the bottom of the panel or leave it open? I have read on this forum board that the front of the boat needs to be up real high to get all the water of the the boat. I am not sure how to get the boat higher than what my jack can do. I have kids and dogs that make me hesitate on lifting the front of the boat higher than the jack. I have tried a floor jack with wood blocks to lift the boat higher but it was not stable at all.

Whats your thoughts?

James

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 9:57 am

Chris,

Happy to help. I too am fighting the forward bilge aft panel leaking issue. I took a screw driver and scraped open the the bottom of the board. From what I can tell is the fiberglass that was put down to seal the the panel was a single layer of glass with not enough resin to keep the AFT bilge from leaking to the forward bilge. Was it suppose to be open and someone got lazy during manufacturing? I am not sure what to do myself. Do I seal the bottom of the panel or leave it open? I have read on this forum board that the front of the boat needs to be up real high to get all the water of the the boat. I am not sure how to get the boat higher than what my jack can do. I have kids and dogs that make me hesitate on lifting the front of the boat higher than the jack. I have tried a floor jack with wood blocks to lift the boat higher but it was not stable at all.

Whats your thoughts?

James

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 10:03 am

Use the floor jack to lift the bow as high as you need. Then block the stern of the boat on port and starboard sides so it is stable.

SundayDinner · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 10:30 am

Well, judging by the responses and the age range of the boats affected, this seems like a pretty common problem. I have to agree that it seems like this is water that is getting forward from the aft bilge, but then gets trapped. In the next couple weeks, I'm going to be installing a bilge pump underneath the cabin floor. I'm going to tie it in with the existing shower sump, so that when it pumps it will discharge through the same outlet. I'll post some pictures once I get the project completed.

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 10:58 am

My boat has a bilge pump and a shower pump. The issue with the bilge pump is it can't get all the water out. I have been using towels to get it completly dry. I had it completly dry for about 2-3 weeks then we got a bunch of rain and the bilge was wet again. I had a mooring cover on and everything on the upper deck seemed dry but I started leaking again thru the bottom of the panel.

Do you guys think I should just seal the panel? I know the hull can't rot and the bilge is made to be be wet. Probably need to get the nose up and see much water comes out.

So much work I need to do still. Floor, uphostry, bottom paint, reseal port window, Painting the cabin floor, figure out EDO gauge issues, trailer brakes and probably much more. It needs to warm up and stop raining here in northern Michigan

James

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 11:01 am

Good luck. The VDO gauge issue may end up being the most challenging.....

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 11:18 am

Thats what I have read too. Seems like the gauges sort of work. Everything seems to move on the gauges but everything is way below where they should be except oil gauge. Oil gauge was good 3/4 when running. Guy seemed more interested in putting leds under the water and loud horns instead of taking care of the boat. cosmetically the boat looks nice.

James

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 11:21 am

You will get it all fixed up I'm sure. Just keep doing one thing at a time. I'll look for you out on the water this summer. We hope to try a few lakes up north this year.

fatherturtle · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 11:27 am

thanks for the support. Torch is great. Me family and friends stay on the sandbar almost every weekend. We will have to meet up if you ever get to torch and I can get the boat sea worthy. LOL

www.iFourWinns.com

258 Vista Bilge Question

Who is online