Seeping G Ballast

[nyryan2001]

Hearing we gotta pay to have this fixed, some type of check valve spliced in to stop the overnight seeping. Rationale provided was they are equipped with seacocks. Very minor.... But rather dissapointed that they aren't taking ownership in this defect. 1000s of lbs of seep fill ballast not a defect?

If I lived lakefront with a boathouse and a lift it'd not be an issue. I guess I'm a low rent guy here lol... Boat goes in the water on Fri and stays in till Sunday eve.

[aoblak]

I agree if the valves are not holding the. It should be a warranty issue

[Rogue14]

I'm more low rent than nyryan I guess, just an 8 year old SV211 but my boat goes in May/June and stays in until Sept. I'd have a serious problem I think. I don't leave my bilge pump on when I'm away for 1-3 weeks. It doesn't rain much and when it does, the cover sheds it pretty well but a leak from below would be a problem. I'd be unhappy if that was not covered on warranty for a 6 figure boat. That surprises me. I've had a few warranty issues and they've helped me even when I was a bit out of warranty period.

[nyryan2001]

The seepage is into the ballast bags, they will fill to near max... It's wierd... It picks different bags each time, and different seep levels.
.... Not the hull, so it is contained.... Again, minor, but a PITA to deal with when you wanna get out on the water and you arrive to the dock and your G is gangsta leaned over to one side. Or, you gotta remember to close and open seacocks every time. Forget to re open them, head out and you can burn up a Jabsco when you go to fill.

Imagine morred or anchored somewhere overnight... Bow ballast seeps full, takes a nose down stance and takes rollers over the bow.

[scottb7]

My fear even with a boat lift is somehow it ends up where tanks are more full then gauges show due to gauges are based on time, right? And then I would put the boat on the boat lift and it weighs too much and breaks the lift. I really like that I can pop my rear storage on the 210 and be sure the sac that I replaced the tanks with are empty. Very reassuring when you can poke the bags to check water level.

Bottom line is that if you can't get to and see the bags easily then crap like this has to be bullet proof.

Darn right they should put in 3 or 4, $10 check valves for free.

[nyryan2001]

Not sure that's a problem on a G. With where the pumps are located... You can hear them. By the first 20hrs most any G owner knows what it sounds like when it's still pumping water, when it's getting close, and when it's sucked dry. Very distinct sounds for all 3.

About the only way you get on a lift with ballast unknowingly is if you were out for 8-12hrs... It seeped in the sacs, you didn't notice(most would by handling) and you didn't check drain all 3 to confirm empty.

[NautiqueJeff]

This has been a problem since the G was introduced. All three of mine have done it if left overnight in the water. For those of you who have been around for a little while, it's the Flow-Rite situation all over again!

[vision]

I fortunately do not have this issue but use to in other boats where the Jabsco pump is located below the water line. In my other boats, swapping out the stock impellers for the much stiffer impellers resolved the issue. Does this not work in the G boats?

[nyryan2001]

Vision... Which impellors are you referring to? Do you have a link?

[Adam Greer]

Hey Guys,

The wider tolerance/stiffer impellers will not fix the issue for G boats. This is a much different problem than what others have experienced in the past. There is also a risk of over current faults when first turning the pump on because the tighter fit will increase the in-rush current at start up.

[scottb7]

Moving from the yellow to green impellers fixed the old problem, I think.

[nyryan2001]

Sounds like Adam tested them and the current G wiring will trip breakers pulling higher mili-amps by using the different impellors creating more friction inside the pump.

[JoeA]

Ryan,

As you know I am new to the G but I do recall you talking about this last season.

It's my understanding that there are three pumps on the G series boats as opposed to one pump to fill and one to emply like on a Malibu. So if that is true how does the check valve allow water to flow both ways if the boats just have three pumps that are reversible. I'm not calling you out on this I just wan to understand as a new owner.

[NautiqueJeff]

Good point. I can't see how a check valve would work here either. I think a better solution would be similar to what I did on my old '03 210 -- electronically-actuated valves. They open when the pump is turned on (fill or empty), and close when the pump is turned off. See the Flow-Rite link above.

[nyryan2001]

Yep Gs have 3 reversible pumps like you described. I don't know the specifics about Nautique's approved repair other than the generalization I described in my first post above.