[Gerry N.]

I have a 1998 Z260 that I have had and continue to have an issue which appears to be with water entering the boat casusing it to list to the starboard side. There are three bilge outlets which are near the waterline on the starboard side which I thnk maybe one is causing the problem.

I solved water from entering the shower pump water hold container as well as from another spot in the same area by putting in two check valves to the twodesingated bilge pumps. Water was entering via the bilge outlets near the waterline on the starboard side. You may notice that waves or if you have a heavy load on the starboard side will allow water to enter from one or more of the bilge outlets near the waterline.

My boat is still listing to starboard which I think is being caused by the one outlet hole near the waterline allowing water to come into the boat and causing it to pool on the starboard side. I think the water outlet that is causing the problem is the first outlet (there are three in a row). Any idea if there could be another source of the water entering the starboard side and where is water going to cause it to list while the bottom of the hull on the starboard side is dry by the engine?

Thanks

Gerry

[Andy b]

Water entering the outlets shouldn't be a problem!
The hoses connected inside should be looped upwards so that any water entering in through the skin fitting will just fall out again.

Take a look and see that the hoses haven't been shortened for some reason or have fallen down so that you no longer have the head height on the hose.

If it's not this then you are getting water ingress from some other source, the listing to starboard may just be down to your weight distribution being exaggerated by the added weight of the water.
Remember water will always find the lowest point to rest.

[ShabahZ280]

I know the three ports you're speaking of. I'd suggest getting in the aft cabin, pulling the panel inside the storage closet (closest to the head), and checking your thru-hull ports. If water is leaking in and causing a list, you should definitely be able to see evidence of it. Could one of your pipes have come off or cracked? Water weighs 8.34lbs per gallon, so you'd need a pretty significant amount of water to list the boat. Do you have the capability to get your boat onto the land and pull the transom drain plug? If you've got a trailer, I'd suggest doing that, and raising the jack up as high as you can, to allow all the water to drain. Let it sit for a few days to ensure all the water is out, and try the boat back in the water again.

A few dumb questions I have to ask (just to get more info):
Is the list only while you're driving, or while the boat's at rest?
Is your freshwater holding tank empty? It holds 25 gallons (208.5lbs)
Do you have a hot water heater? It holds water a few gallons of water as well.
Do you have a graywater system with a tank located under the cockpit sink?
Have you changed anything around from the factory configuration? ie battery location, etc?
Are both of your bilge pumps working properly, both when activated manually and automatically?

Let us know some more info and we'll see if we can help you out!

[Gerry N.]

Boat still lists, tried to access starboard bidge outlets to see if water is getting in, but could not gain access via aft area to the outlets. I do not have water in the black water tank or water heater, so I do not think that water om those tanks are cousing it to list.

I'm taking the boat out of the water this Sunday and well unscrew the drain plug and tilt it so the back is lower than the front to see if water comes out.

[ShabahZ280]

I'm pretty sure you should be able to get to the thru-hulls via the aft storage compartment closest to the head. See the pics below.

First pic shows the cabinet in it's normal state. (Yours may not have the hoses running through it if you don't have A/C). The small carpeted cutout is the cover for a fuse panel. What it's attached to (the larger carpeted panel) should be able to be removed. Mine is easily removed by grabbing the corner where the hose cutouts are, and grabbing the upper opposite side, and pushing at an angle. You can see the result of this in the second picture. If it won't budge, there may be screws attaching the large panel it to the smaller centered panels, so undo those as well. This should be the way to gain access to those thru-hulls, I really doubt yours is set up that different. Interior-wise, Mariah made things relatively easy...

If you can't get access to check these before you haul the boat out on Sunday, let us know how much water came out of your transom drain!

[Gerry N.]

Thanks Chris, I pulled the boat out yesterday and removed the transom drain plug and kept the boat on the ramp at an angle. It drained for about three minutes, heavy flow. The hole was pluged, just had to run a long wire, and freed it up.

Your pictures helped, I will try to remove the carpeted panel in the aft cabin on Friday adn check out the hoses. I did notice that the waste holding tank is leaking when I had it pumped out yesterday leaking on the bottom facing the helm. I assume that no water can enter the waste hokding tank because I have a shut off valve between the raw water inlet and the tollet and I have the head set at Dry Flush, so I'm not using water. We rarely use the head, so I never noticed the leak before. I notice you have a Z280, what is the capacity of the waste holding tank (I think instead of patching the leak, I'm going to buy a new one) and I assume your tank is similar to my Z260.

Thanks again for your pictures and response.
Gerry

[ShabahZ280]

I'm glad the water was drained out. That seems like a pretty significant amount of water.

Yikes, I don't envy you with a holding tank leak. I had to remove my HALF FULL tank to make way for a unanticipated repair, and it was definitely not a pleasant job! However, my tank apparently must have leaked at some point prior to me purchasing it, because it was replaced with a 20 gallon poly plastic tank. The original holding tanks Mariah put in the boats were 25 gallon metal tanks. You can replace them fairly easily with a new poly plastic one with brackets and mounts for probably around $200.