231 WA Question

[chishol7]

I have a '94 231 WA with a 5.7 I/O that looks to be sitting too low in the water. When nobody is aboard, in still water, with a half a tank of fuel, the center of thru-hulls for the deck drains are at the waterline.  Even one person aboard puts the thru-hulls completely under water. I use this boat to troll Lake Michigan so water burps up onto the deck while I am fishing.

I have a feeling this is going to get messy, but before I start the search for wet foam I am hoping owners with the same hull could let me know where your thru-hulls sit with respect to the waterline.

FWIW, I know that the boat has always been trailered and stored inside and the original owner claims that it always sat that low. 

Thanks in advance.

Jeremy

[231CALIFORNIA]

iT IS LIKELY OK.. inlets are above water line at deck level.
Your aft deck drain outlets are at the water line and "Bob" below in chop, the main point is that the deck itself is Above the waterline by 3-6 inches almost all the time ,except the corners , you should have anti backflow scuppers or "ping pong balls "in the drains.
my 96 since new has  about 1 oz of water shoot  up when boat is at rest and most of it goes back down, some leaks into the bilge via the motor cover bottom edge.
If my 325# fishing buddy goes to a corner water "seeps" up slowly  or if 2 people go to a corner same thing.
if you plug them, deck wont drain, maybe you want to put some inline scuppers in the drain hoses?
i think the are made by TH marine, google them if your want  as "TH marine inline scupper"

the foam in my hull seems to not absorb much water as far as i can tell but dont know for sure. closed cell?
if you do let me know  several us would like dryer decks.

[chishol7]

Thanks for the reassurance 231.  I definitely have something that acts as an anti-backflow device in the drains but can't tell whether they are balls or flappers. 

I have been plugging them because the outlets sit so low that the deck won't drain anyway unless the boat is on plane... I guess my next move will be to weigh the boat and if it is close to what it should be I will have to learn to live with it.

[231CALIFORNIA]

Im having my original 5.7 pulled next week to put a NEW G.M. marine long block in, one area that ads some weight is those side pockets that dont always drain all the water into the bilge, Sea-bob had mentioned to another person that we can drill drain holes through the stringer to drain them.
i dont think they hold a lot but at 8# gallon it could be 50-60pounds?
I have 3 batteries and a kicker so mine are at water level but they do drain themselves if i dont have boat loaded.
also check your foreward bilge under the cabin floor, either remove the deckplate 6-8 scres or the shower type drain 4 screws and check bilge pump up there and any accumulated water.
also check the limber hole in the center of your bulkhead in the engine compartment just above the bottom to see if it has water(stick a dry finger in there)

shop vac with nozzles and reducer with a piece of tubing taped to it will get a lot of this weight out if your have any.

I may also put inline scupper to supplement the ping pong drains if i have time.

[Dont Blink]

I own a 1996 231 WA. 5.7 EFI, Bravo II.
I have the same problem. The 5.7 is the largest engine for this boat.
I fish Lake Michigan, In heavy seas my scuppers bubble a little.
It did bother me for a while but I got over it.
The most important part is I keep it slipped and it drains just fine.
I guess this is a problem with this boat . For now i will live with it.
Hope this helps.
                                      Daniel

[chishol7]

I own a 1996 231 WA. 5.7 EFI, Bravo II.
I have the same problem. The 5.7 is the largest engine for this boat.
I fish Lake Michigan, In heavy seas my scuppers bubble a little.
It did bother me for a while but I got over it.
The most important part is I keep it slipped and it drains just fine.
I guess this is a problem with this boat . For now i will live with it.
Hope this helps.
                                      Daniel

I appreciate the input Daniel, I would love to stop worrying about what may be an imaginary thousand pounds of water below deck. 

When your boat is slipped, how far out of the water are the thru-hulls?

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