Water forced up thru deck holes while underway

[SirVive]

I am a first time pontoon owner with a used 2013 22SFX with 90 Yamaha motor.  I have been in the water 3 times now (on the boat) launching on the Bogue Falaya River running from Covington, LA to Madisonville, La at Lake Pontchartrain.  I am already a devoted follower of this forum and its wealth of information for tooners.  I have no experience with large boats; only 14-16 ft flatboat fishing rigs.  I have learned a lot from this forum and YouTube videos and some other research in my two months of ownership.  We are loving the boat as we learn how to do it.   I am getting about 26+ mph per my handheld GPS at about 6100 RPM which I understand is about where I should be.  I replaced my beat up prop with a new identical one which smoothed out the engine (13" x 13.8p).  At about 20mph or greater, I am getting water coming in thru the openings thru the deck where the front (upgraded) fishing seats are mounted and around the base where the table is mounted. From the paperwork, I think these items were installed with the original boat order.  there is no protection at all under the deck where these holes go thru.  I am attaching some photos.  My questions are: Should there be some factory shielding around them?  And is this a normal looking install method under deck? I also note that there are splash guards only on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th cross members underneath.  Warranty on the toon is in process of being transferred by a dealer for me, and I have extended the Yamaha motor warranty for three years.  This issue should be covered by warranty.  I am going to have the dealer install a trolling motor and look at these issues after the July 4th holiday. Local dealer is not the original seller but has serviced the boat for the previous owner.   I was considering adding under deck sheeting myself even before I noticed the leakage.     Thanks.

 

[Link]

SirVive [although I prefer Sirloin of Beef] I also had a problem with water coming up.  They can be caulked however when I added the express toon package the underdeck skinning was included.  The underdeck skinning provides such a better ride because it prevents surging; that is the waves splashing up and against the underside of the boat.  I paid to have it done but I would think it could be a DYI project for someone who is handy. 


One of the best things I have done to improve the boat

 

[Maynard G. Krebs]

As they say, "Well, there's your problem Vern!"  Having that hole right next to the splash guard is going to force water up to the deck continuously.  I also have fishing seats but the bases stick through the hole and they aren't located right at the cross channel.





I'm surprised you're getting water at the table mount as well. It's far enough back so it should be out of the splash zone, but on the other hand it's still close to the support channel so I guess it's possible. Here's mine.





I didn't have any water intrusion even before I added the underskin.  If that's the only two places you're having issues with you can just add small sections of aluminum to cover those areas if you don't want to deal with skinning the whole thing.

 

[SirVive]

Thanks for the replies and pix.  I can't imagine Bennington installing an obvious something like that undone, so it could be a sloppy add-on done after the fact.  I can plug it if the dealer does not take ownership.    I like the idea of the underskinning too.   Maybe later.   

 

[Maynard G. Krebs]

If you're looking for a quick fix you should be able to affix some short (3") pieces of 2.5" diameter pvc pipe with end caps into the holes.  2.5" pipe has an o.d. of 2 7/8" which should be the same diameter as the holes in your deck. Tub and tile caulk is strong enough to hold the pvc in place but can be removed for underskinning at a later date.

 

[Link]

Nice fix Maynard

 

[SirVive]

Good suggestion... the seat holes are 3" and the table base hole is 4".    I will use pvc.   

 

[cwag911]

Underskin the boat and you won't have any more problems.

 

[SirVive]

Update:   Dealer sent pix to Bennington and they will install plates with silicon on the G-seats pedestal bases. No offer of a fix for the table mounting hole.  I will have to fix that one, and I may also use a version of Maynard G's suggested fix. I still want the holes under the deck plugged. I also asked the dealer to check on them underskinning the boat or getting the alum for me to install. He was not sure if Bennington offered it for my boat, but I thought it was available.   We will see.