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Center Pontoon Storage

Rockie69

Rockie69

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I'm curious....Is it normal for there to be water inside the center pontoon storage area? We do not get much water inside the boat and I have the underneath skinned. I'll try to get a photo of how much is down there (It'll give me a good reason to clean it out too.)
 
I don't have the center storage but I think that's why there's a bilge pump in there, just in case.
 
The just in case part I get, but I'm just curious where it is coming from.
 
Toatally normal, I always have a bit of water in mine, Condensation happens and I think it gets in through the back fuel tank lid as it rains and gets under the rear fence at times.

I always store mine with the storage lid open to get air movement through it, I had to dry claen all my life jackets last year due to the moisture build up and mold developed, since leaving the lid open with the playpen cover on it does better.

One other big reason I leave the storage lid open is I have the 59 gallon in tube fuel tank and due to what bennington calls Permiation if you have your head close to the lid or in the hole you will be over come by gas fumes. I still do not think this is right but But I have brought it up before here and didn't get anywhere with it. I think it should have a power vent or something if a cigarette ash dropped down there "Highly unlikely as we do not smoke and I would never allow it" but I know it would go up in a fire ball as the fumes are that bad, my wife refuses to get anything out of there because it is so bad, she will hold her breath and open it and throw something in but never goes down to retreive.

I usually turn on the bilge when we are launching or oading as all the water is rolled to the back on the dock and it pumps water out at times when there is enough in there at that angle.

Before putting in storage for winter I suck the last bit out with a shop vac that the bilge will not get out.
 
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Wow. Thank goodness I do not not have that issue. I plan on sleeping in there if the wife throws me in the dog house. LOL
 
I never noticed a gas smell in there in mine. I always wondered how the heck water got in there, it seemed to me to happen more often when I am tubing a lot and doing big power turns.
 
Me too. I might stick the go-pro and a light down there to figure it out, Or hire a little person camera crew...
 
Mine always has a little water in there. Condensation and water off of the things I put in there (mostly from the tube). I have not tried storing it with the lid open. I will give that a try.
 
On our 2013 2550 G B R we get wet in the storage toon to we head out dry and come back wet so ours is not from condensation but from wave action & splash. We have the ESP / wave shield with 225 hp so after some looking I don,t see a seal or gasket between the toon and the frame or floor as shown in the Bennington brochure page 54 top pic . This is one of my miner concerns we have. Our pontoon is just grand love it runs good 40/41 at 5800 rpm no slip digs in on turns well with 4/5/6 adults :)
 
Zodapop and I discussed this Saturday on his boat. I told him to try a bucket of the RV dessicant that I put under the cover during winter storage. Hope this gets figured out because my next one will have the storage. Steve
 
I checked mine yesterday and it seemed dry as could be. It also has the false floor and I didn't pull those up to check beneath. Mine is always under a lift canopy and we don't really have watersports onboard until family comes in August, so no intrusion from that. From what I saw of them during assembly at the factory, these compartments are sealed such that the only way for water to come in is from the lid or some type of condensation happening inside.
 
After leaving the door open this weekend, it appears to have been condensation... A lot of condensation. Thanks for the advice Wild!
 
Rockie69 said:
After leaving the door open this weekend, it appears to have been condensation... A lot of condensation. Thanks for the advice Wild!
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Good to know, I'll leave mine open!
 
Glad to have read this topic. I have a brand new 2013 2275 GS and I was thinking I had a leak ! I just returned from a weeks vacation and boating (with no rain) and I was surprised to find a pile of water in my center pontoon. Once I tilted the front end to push it all back the bilge pump ran solid for 3 min. I then took a vacuum and sucked up probably another 2 gallons. If part of it is condensation related, what happens in the other two tubes ? Any other great ideas out there to fix this issue ?
 
The other tubes are sealed and pressurized.
 
Well that explains it then. Thanks.

Is the storage area sealed underneath to prevent water resulting from waves from underneath getting in ?
 
Storage area is supposed to be sealed. I pulled the false floor tonight and damned of there is not about. 3 gallons of NASTY stagnate water. Soooo, I'm not sure how long it has been there, or how it is getting on. I did not see a bilge pump, so, when I take it in Wednesday, the dealer is going to give it the once over... When I posted earlier I had not opened the false floor, and I assumed the water I heard sloshing was from outside the boat, as I was in the water.
 
Rockie69 said:
Storage area is supposed to be sealed. I pulled the false floor tonight and damned of there is not about. 3 gallons of NASTY stagnate water. Soooo, I'm not sure how long it has been there, or how it is getting on. I did not see a bilge pump, so, when I take it in Wednesday, the dealer is going to give it the once over... When I posted earlier I had not opened the false floor, and I assumed the water I heard sloshing was from outside the boat, as I was in the water.
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I had to pull the false floor out and clean the manufacturing drillings out of the drain hole in the bottom center back of the compartment to get the water to drain back to the rear where the bilge is. Mine held a lot of water also before I found the hole was plugged.
 
Wild and Free said:
I had to pull the false floor out and clean the manufacturing drillings out of the drain hole in the bottom center back of the compartment to get the water to drain back to the rear where the bilge is. Mine held a lot of water also before I found the hole was plugged.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I take it to the dealer tomorrow, hopefully they figure it out. :)
 
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