[sceptre155]

I noticed that their is a false bottom under the engine and a 1 inch gap between that and the hull. Seems like a decent amount of water could be sitting there before it was deep enough to hit the bilge pump. Anyone come up with any solutions for this? or is it just how it is. I'm thinking about dumping a bunch of simple green in their with some hot water and taking it for a ride to slosh things around a bit just to make sure its semi clean.

[sceptre155]

Does the service manual area on the forums have all the documentation for the 302's?

Wiring diagrams etc...?

[csterner]

A false bottom? My 275 doesn't have this under the engine. Mine does have a little wall that the pump is mounted to and that will hold a little tiny bit of water that comes out of the hole from the front of the boat. Is that it?


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[sceptre155]

Nope, under the motor is gel coated fiberglass which has a hole near the rear towards the transom. This hole leads to a 1 inch cavity that then leads to the transom plug. From what it looks like the entire floor under the motor is suspended about a inch from the bottom of the hull. With the only access being via the transom plug or the other 1 inch hole.

[sceptre155]

I've been reading a bit on the forums and it seems like their is a large difference between a few boats as far as top speed. I'm wondering if some folks have some water trapped. Honestly if i didn't have the motor out right now I probably would have never noticed. You'd never see it. I suspect its made the way to allow water from the bow or mid cabin area to make its way to the transom drain. The only problem is if that gets plugged up with leaves or whatever you could be running around with who knows how many gallons of water trapped. The reason it has me thinking is that I just towed the boat 1300 miles and just about every time I stopped for gas I still had water draining from the transom.

[csterner]

Wow, that is different. On mine, the water from the bow or mid cabin is funneled to the middle of the boat and then there is a 2" hole on the forward engine room bulkhead that opens up to the engine room, and is wide open to the drain plug. I agree...that could get clogged, but on the flip side it is a benefit. From when I had my hatch open for awhile working over the weekend, I get leaves and the occasional dropped wire connector or chunk of electrical tape under the engine. That would clog up my drain hole if not fished out(which I do, but it sucks to do it!). But with your design, these items would not clog your drain hole, right?



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[woodward33]

That is an odd setup. Mine is a 1999 and has the same configuration as csterners, so I'm fairly certain I'm not getting water trapped anywhere. As far as your top speed question; I have a 502 and on FLAT water, with 1/4 tank of fuel, and 2 of us on the boat I have hit 59 mph.

Biggest issue I have had with my boat so far is a damn lack of cupholders -- where were Mariah's engineers on that one???

Seriously though, this will be my fourth Summer on the water with it and the only real issues I've had have been the internal water pump needing to be replaced -- very common -- and some hairline cracks developing around the bow where the previous owner had stored the anchor and had it bouncing all around. I also replaced the bilge pump last Summer after the plastic housing broke. That was a total ***** to do. My advice to you would be to replace yours (they're fairly cheap) while your motor is out. You (and your knuckles, forearms, etc...) will be glad you did.

I also upgraded to a flatscreen in the mid-cabin last Summer.

Welcome to MOC, man. You are gonna love your boat.

[Rynovw]

Ok so I have the same water issue I was thinking I must have some thru the transom holes letting in water but ever since I have owned it every time I pull the plug at the ramp each day of use I get 3-5 Gals of water but the engine area is dry so I must have the same set up but with there only being an 1" or so under the 502 I can't see the hole your talking about. I just keep the plug out till I'm on the ramp each time to not let water hold in there. Do you have a pic with the engine out? Or maybe Oregondune may have a pic? But we both are 302... I'll follow this thread maybe I can fix mine if you find and answer. Best of luck


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[sceptre155]

I'll try and get a pic for you later tonight or tomorrow. It more or less look like a 1 inch bathtub drain that leads down a inch or so to the cavity. I bet if you shoved a coat hanger in a few feet you will not see it under the motor. I had a 32ft scarab with something similar. except they lined theirs with a pvc pipe the length of the boat. As you can imagine if the water in the middle of the boat was trapped. I'm thinking the end of this void is probably under the mid cabin floor? I noticed that its screwed down but havent looked yet. I'd be curious if anyone else has taken up that section of flooring.

[Oregondunes]

this is true. the 302's have a "hull in a hull" design.

In my boat, I cut the inner engine bay floor out neatly with a sheet rock saw about 6" x 8" and mounted my bilge pump directly the bottom hull. works perfectly and i get maybe a cup or two of water at the end of the day.

The inner hull already had a open area at the very rear of it so that any water or fluids that do end up in the inner hull immediately drain to the outer hull and the drain plug area is totally exposed so you can run the oil pan drain hose out it.

Simple fix and works great. Not to mention, it now lowers the over height of the bilge pump under the oil pan, so a person could run a deeper/bigger pan or even a bigger/high volume bilge pump without any interference.