Constant filling whilst in motion of ballast in my 2004 210 Team......help!???

[SNP]

Gidday all, wondering if anyone can help me. I've recently purchased a 2004 210 AIr Nautique Team addition. Boat runs ok, doesn't launch super hard, which isn't the worst result as I have small kids, but the main problem I'm having is the port and starboard ballast tanks filling constantly whilst in motion. I've turned the valves off manually, behind the rear seat, but both keep filling with water. The control levers under the helm are extremely difficult to move, so perhaps these are causing the valves to stay open.......maybe cable is bound up or stuck?
This filling only happens when in motion, doesn't fill whilst stationary. The dealer here is saying it needs new pumps, but the pumps pump out the water no problem, so that tells me they are working ok. It appears to me that the pick up valves are constantly open or are getting forced open in motion. I'd be happy to just shut them of completely for the summer, as I said, I have small children, so safety is a huge issue for me. Does the boat require both the valves at the helm and the manual shut offs in front of the motor to both be turned off? Any help or advice whatsoever would be awesome. It's been suggested to me, by the dealer mechanic here in Australia, to run a hose with hose clamps from each of the port and starboard pumps so the intake just goes straight back out, so run with no ballast, but I don't really love the sound of that either.
Cheers.

[beach]

The valves at the helm are known for leaking. You could get replacement ones from nautiqueparts, but I'm not sure if those stop the leaking. Some people replaced those valves with electric solenoid valves and wired them in parallel with the fill pumps so that the valves only open when the pumps are running. Also, it sounds like you need to replace the cables, but you could disconnect the cable on both ends and see if it is still difficult to move. This way you can see if it is the cable or the valve that is stuck.

Closing off the valves behind the rear seat should completely stop any water from going in. Those brass valves are there so that if you get a leak, you can stop the water flow inside the boat. It sounds like your valves aren't fully closing. I would try removing them and open and closing them a bunch to see if maybe they are getting stuck before they fully close. If you can't free them up, then you should replace them.

I would troubleshoot the brass valves first.

[SNP]

Thanks for this Beach. I'll investigate.

[NautiqueJeff]

Here's 16 pages all about this topic.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/fo...ballast-valves

[SNP]

The valves at the helm are known for leaking. You could get replacement ones from nautiqueparts, but I'm not sure if those stop the leaking. Some people replaced those valves with electric solenoid valves and wired them in parallel with the fill pumps so that the valves only open when the pumps are running. Also, it sounds like you need to replace the cables, but you could disconnect the cable on both ends and see if it is still difficult to move. This way you can see if it is the cable or the valve that is stuck.

Closing off the valves behind the rear seat should completely stop any water from going in. Those brass valves are there so that if you get a leak, you can stop the water flow inside the boat. It sounds like your valves aren't fully closing. I would try removing them and open and closing them a bunch to see if maybe they are getting stuck before they fully close. If you can't free them up, then you should replace them.

I would troubleshoot the brass valves first.

Hey beach , so I tried a bit of WD40(lubricant here in Australia) on the brass valves, and it really seemed to free them up a bit.....Well they seemed to turn further to the hard right than they had previously. I haven't had a chance to drop the boat in water to check if problem still occurs, will find out end of next week as have a week on the water over Xmas. Here's hoping!
Cables are fully jammed and I didn't get a chance, as yet, to disconnect them. The turning further, this could just be in my mind, of course, of the brass valves has given me a fair bit of confidence. Cheers for your suggestion.
Thanks also NautiqueJeff , made for a good read that forum. I'm going to have to replace the pumps in the Winter I'm thinking. Any suggestions on the best pumps to upgrade to?