I think we need a pic. Our 240 and 260 had the same problem in both the forward and aft floor locker. ….but it was from us so it was predictable so you could clean it out after.

 

Hmm...I'd probably say "nope". There's a reason Sea Ray designed it that way. All of our boats allow for a bit of standing water before the pumps kick on. I tend to think they knew what they were doing nine times out of ten...

 

No for sure this was a bad design…. I have seen sea Ray attempt to fix over model years but could never get it right

 

If you are going to do this, fit and epoxy in Coosa Board then glass it in with cloth and waterproof it with Gelcoat.
But an awful lot of work to keep a bit of water out of the ski locker.

 

I'm thinking of doing something crazy... Somebody stop me!!

TOO LATE! You already bought a boat!

 

Did that in my bilge when the motor was out, got rid of that pocket in front of the drain plug. Searay creating standing water pockets by design? Yeh sure

 

I'd love to see a picture of how this came out! Thanks for sharing.

 

I cleaned and put in a carefully fitted mat but found her ski would no longer quite fit and the shifting of the mat made it worse. Just jack up the tongue and clean it out with the garden hose. Incidentally, no product I know of will adhere in the long run.

 

That's a huge ordeal when a simple sponge will do the trick.

 

I don't know if I would call it a "huge" ordeal, but to your point - it's an ordeal. Maybe I should start with leaving a permanent sponge in that space and see if I find it acceptable to sponge it out after each water excursion.

 

Give this little guy a try:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V4G41K...07V4G41K4/?coliid=I27TWFRN7W39DF&colid=3LZTXZ90V14V4&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

I have the same problem in my ski locker. The drain to the bilge seem to be at least a 1/2" above the low spot in the floor. The drain has a plug, but I never put it in, not sure why you ever would anyway. I've thought about drilling a small hole at the low point so that last little bit of water could drain through there but I've never actually done it. Guess maybe it's not that big of a problem after all.

 

I don't want to drill a hole as I believe that would allow water to leak into the space between the upper fiberglass shell of the boat and the hull - thereby reducing its floatability (which seems kinda important - haha). But I like that someone above tried the epoxy. Seems like it's the least expensive permanent fix... So far... Thanks folks!

 

It might be easier during manufacturing, but a good reason that the drain is above the floor is to separate the ski locker from the bilge - decreasing the amount of nasty bilge water coming forward.

 

It could also be the purpose of the plug, to prevent bilge water from coming forward.

 

I just learned the answer to this in another thread but forgot which one. The plug is a safety requirement to keep gas fumes from entering the forward section of the boat. I never knew this and always wondered what the plug was for too.

 

That's definitely true for boats with living spaces. I'm not aware of this being true for open boats - but I don't know it to be "untrue", either - can you site where that info came from? For example, the specific CG requirement (as opposed to just someone else in some thread)? I'd like to know for future reference.

 

Too late the engine is blocking the view. Worked well, I used the West system epoxy not polyester but since there is no flexing in that area that should be fine as well. I also hogged out all my limber holes that were up too high. I don't like standing water.

 

Dennis, I wish I could remember. It was only a week ago or so. It was someone on this forum that is much smarter than me. It was in a thread about remodeling the bilge to eliminate all water I think. He quoted ABYC standards if I recall. I'm sure Sea Ray wouldn't have installed a tied down garboard plug if it wasn't a requirement. It does make some sense. Fuel vapors could enter the ski locker and forward through this drain hole and collect in this area. Open the ski locker with a lit stogie and never need a hair cut again.

 

Dennis, I found it. it was a CG reg. that Hughespat57 quoted:

 

Thanks for taking the time to find that, Ray. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I still wonder (playing a little devil's advocate here) if this is intended to apply to an open boat's ski locker or does the "isolation bulkhead" refer ONLY to a cabin/living space? I'm not saying I'm right - or that anyone is wrong - just kinda wondering outloud...

I'll do some more digging, too.

 

I looked on the ABYC website and they make a reference to it. I don't have a membership so I couldn't read the actual rule. It's the best explanation for why that plug is there that I've heard. Why you would want to keep water from draining from bow (anchor locker) and the ski locker to the one bilge pump is beyond me.

 

Another option for the standing water problem is to buy or build a dry bilge pump system. Basically they are small self priming diaphragm pumps hooked to a pickup with sponge. Here’s one example https://www.westmarine.com/buy/seaflo-marine--dry-bilge-system-12v--19797125
I’m finishing up making my own, I 3D printed a simple pickup that uses a piece of plain old kitchen sponge. I picked up a cheap diaphragm pump on Amazon and wired it to my accessory switch, I will just manually run it as needed. It seems to work well I’m just waiting on some fittings to tee in the 5/16 line to my 1-1/8” bilge pump hose to finish it up. Eventually I may add a second pickup in my bilge as well. My 270 SD relies on a bilge pump to empty the ski locker, it doesn’t have a drain to the bilge. I finally got tired of the small amount of rank water that is always in there.