2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

[costew93]

Hello

I need some advice from some seasoned fellow boaters. I am new to the boating world and I am a little puzzled with a wet ski locker that seems to constantly be wet.

I store nothing in the locker and the carpet is always wet. I do have a working bilge pump and do not have any obvious leaks that we can find. All I can think is that I spent thousands of dollars on a boat that may be a constant headache.

The boat is a 2001 with about 200 hours. Boat has been well taken care of . I had it inspected and nothing came of that either.

The boat is in dry storage and does not stay in the water. I do dry out the locker and keep it as clean as possible however, the carpet in there is starting to discolor due to the constant dampness.

Is this normal for a ski locker to be wet all the time after use? Is there anything I can do to prvent this water back up? Can I simply install a removable drain plug ? Since I never use it ?

A little worried. The dealer of course said that this is a comon issue and that when drain plugs are taken out in the engine it may back up into the locker.I get the possibilty but...?

We also used a garden hose and washed out the drain that leads from the bilge to the locker and there was no issue there either.

Puzzled and need some advice.

Thanks!!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

Too many little pieces of information that do not make sense.

Water in the ski locker should drain to the bilge via gravity.

Is is getting wet in storage or in use?
Do you store it on the trailer with the bow up and the rear bilge drain plug out?

What engine do you have and why do you keep pulling the drain plugs?
How would draining the engine get the carpet wet? ... Got it! Carpet in Ski Locker!

 

[Downforce6]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

Yeah, I'm not clear here either.

Does the ski locker fill up with water while the boat is in the water?

You said it was in Dry Storage? I assume this means it has a roof over it's head. But it sounds like it's filling up with rain water and is not draining. Like Willie said, the boat should be stored Bow up with the rear drain plug out. However, you don't want rain water in it to begin with, got a rain proof cover? or buy a nice tarp? You'll need to support the tarp in the Bow or anyplace it might fill up with water. (I mean make sure it's shedding rain water)


Or do you mean it's filling up with water under way? Is the Bilge also filling up? There is carpet in the Ski Locker? or you just mean the flooring of the boat is wet too?

Cooling system drain plugs? I once forgot to close mine while in the water... The Bilge and Ski locker fills with water if they are not closed while under way.

Narrow it down for us, Ski locker is wet while boat is in water? Or is getting wet in Storage?

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

The water is coming from somewhere; so the question you must answer is "where?". What the dealer is telling you about ski lockers being wet all the time is nonsense; it should be dry unless you are introducing water into it somehow - by putting wet items in it, or drainage off the deck from swimmers, etc. I have a Stingray 195 which is almost the same hull, and the carpet in the ski locker (why do they carpet the freaking ski locker in the first place???) is always dry.

Downforce6 asks some good questions. You're gonna have to do some investigation to solve this.

 

[Zerbel04]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

If it's just wet or damp after having it on the lake I'd say pretty normal. All it takes is a couple wet skiers coming in from lake to do that. If it's filling up with water after a tour on the lake ya best look into that further.

 

[Chief9]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

I was told they carpet the ski locker and engine compartment because its cheaper than finishing the fiberglass. Not sure if that's accurate, but that's what a salesman told me

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

I was told they carpet the ski locker and engine compartment because its cheaper than finishing the fiberglass. Not sure if that's accurate, but that's what a salesman told me

My locker has a rough coat of gel-coat over the fiberglass on the inside of the hull.
I cut a piece of carpet to fit the area just to keep things from rattling against the hull and dinging up the glass.
There is always at least a quart of water sloshing through there after a day of tubing.
I cut, and glassed, a piece of plywood to fit the area to form a false floor 2 inches above the hull to let the water slosh underneath it and keep the carpet mostly dry.
The damp carpet is just hung up to dry at the end of the day.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

My ski locker had a drain that was a good 3/8" higher than the floor of the locker, so water would always collect in there. It was carpeted, and the carpet was always wet and eventually mildewed.

While I was restoring my boat, I tore the carpet out and added several layers of fiberglass to the floor to the locker so water would drain properly from the limber hole in the aft wall of the locker. Problem solved! No carpet going back in there... it's been gelcoated.

Jim

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

... It was carpeted, and the carpet was always wet and eventually mildewed.
While I was restoring my boat, I tore the carpet out... No carpet going back in there... /QUOTE]

There is the key phrase!

I use the carpet just as padding to reduce noise from the "Stuff" bouncing around in there.
It never occurred to me that the manufacturer, or anyone, would glue it in.
Instant and often removal would be a must!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

... It was carpeted, and the carpet was always wet and eventually mildewed.
While I was restoring my boat, I tore the carpet out... No carpet going back in there... /QUOTE]

There is the key phrase!

I use the carpet just as padding to reduce noise from the "Stuff" bouncing around in there.
It never occurred to me that the manufacturer, or anyone, would glue it in.
Instant and often removal would be a must!

Yup! Buy a rubber doormat if nothing else, and throw it in the bottom of the locker. Carpet in an under-deck compartment. Who thought that was a good idea?

Time got go polish the leather in my upholstered bilge now.... :lol:

Jim

 

[gtochris]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

I have almost the same boat and ripped the carpet out.

I get water in that locker- I think it comes from the windshield/ bow cover during heavy rain. I put some rubber GYM mat in their to cushion the anchor and other gear now and it works perfectly.

 

[BRICH1260]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

Obviously find the source of the water and correct the measure, but you really need to remove that carpet as you will have mildew problems. Buy a rubber mat or two and put them down there.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 2001 Stingray 190ls WET ski locker **New boat owner

Looking back at the OP's opening post..

... when drain plugs are taken out of the engine it may back up into the locker. I get the possibility but...?

We haven't heard back from him in two days so we can only guess.
The Post title says he is a "New Boat Owner".

He is in northern Ohio just 20 miles south of me, and the weather has been too cold to hit the water so far.
The local launch ramps still have the piers on shore to avoid ice damage.
Mid May is the normal start around here.

I am going to guess that he has been running on muffs in the driveway and then draining the engine block into the bilge.
So, YES! Dumping 5 gallons of water into the bilge WILL back up into the ski locker before it drains out the plug.

Once the weather warms up and freezing is no longer a concern, there will be no reason to keep draining the block.