OK guys, here’s the deal……
My Z-7 is 5 yrs old. I’ve taken pretty good care of it, and while it has been stored outside, it has always been covered. I even have people asking me if it is new it looks so good. I always pull the drain plug as soon as the boat is on the trailer so the bilge can drain, even thought the design of it never really drains completely.
Well, I went to check all the pumps this year before I went out, and the livewell recirc pump didn’t work, so I decided to delve into the problem, while I was at it, I’d put in a 2nd bilge pump just in case. Ok, I got all the parts, the bilge is cleaned out, I have had a fan running in the bilge area all night to dry everything out, and I am ready to go….or so I think.
I remember 2 weeks after I got the boat in Mar 2008, I had to get them to fix the auto bilge pump, because it would not turn off. The problem was they mounted the sensor lower than the pump at the factory, so it would turn it on, but the pump would not turn off when the water got below its level because the sensor still had water where it was.
Then, 3 years ago, the temperature reading on the original lowrance unit in the dash stopped working, and they replaced the transducer in the boat since the temp & transducer wiring was the same. I mention this due to the fact that they had to remove the old transducer.
Ok, fast forward to yesterday, and I notice that the screw holes from where they removed and relocated the sensor were raw wood, no sealant of any kind. I also notice that it appears they used a grinder of some kind to clean the area where they epoxied the new transducer in, because the corner of the wood pad that is glassed in for bilge pump mounting has been worn away just like a grinder or power tool would do.
Now, here is issue #1…..in the middle of the ‘worn away part of the wood pad’ is a crack & void in the resin, which is filled with water from the bilge. I mean if you put pressure on the wood pad, water comes out of the crack. If you move/shake the boat, water comes out of the crack/void. This has me worried, as I know that wood pad is soaked inside the fiberglass.
Issue #2….the drain hole was mounted using screws from the outside, and it does not appear that any sealant was used on them either
Issue #3….the rear walls of the livewell box where they meet the floor are cracking/delaminating very bad since there is no way for water to drain from that area due to the crappy design. There is a low spot right where the wood of the livewell box meets the fiberglass flooring, and there is no way to drain water out short of a towel.
And the kicker, issue #4…..I get to looking around, and notice the rear most screw hole for the screws that hold in the aluminum battery support plate looks wet & black. I take my trusty shop vac and vacuum the water out of the screw hole, or at least I try to. Hmmm…..I also notice that if you shake the boat, the water seems to move in the screw hole, and if you put pressure on the floor of that area, the water level in the screw hole rises. If you smack that area, water shoots out. OK…this has me really concerned now.
I switch the shop vac to blow (small vac, not much pressure) and blow air into the screw hole, thinking it may show me where the water is getting in from, and I almost get blasted in the face with a very strong stream of water coming from the stbd side transom sponson flotation box from a void in the glass around it. This hole is 3” above the floor level. I now wonder just how much water is in the hull on that side, as I have noticed the boat has gotten slower the past 2 yrs, and seemed to be more portly when she moves. I blew out almost a gal of water in no time, and I have no way of knowing how much more is there, or what kind of damage has been done.
The only holes involved are the factory ones, and the ones from the void. No other damage is visible anywhere, and the additional screw holes I have put in the floor are NOT leaking or wet at all.
How bad is this ??? am I screwed, or will Tracker/Nitro fix this ??? I’m thinking, gut feeling, the only way to fix this is to take the topcap off and completely disassemble the boat.
My Z-7 is 5 yrs old. I’ve taken pretty good care of it, and while it has been stored outside, it has always been covered. I even have people asking me if it is new it looks so good. I always pull the drain plug as soon as the boat is on the trailer so the bilge can drain, even thought the design of it never really drains completely.
Well, I went to check all the pumps this year before I went out, and the livewell recirc pump didn’t work, so I decided to delve into the problem, while I was at it, I’d put in a 2nd bilge pump just in case. Ok, I got all the parts, the bilge is cleaned out, I have had a fan running in the bilge area all night to dry everything out, and I am ready to go….or so I think.
I remember 2 weeks after I got the boat in Mar 2008, I had to get them to fix the auto bilge pump, because it would not turn off. The problem was they mounted the sensor lower than the pump at the factory, so it would turn it on, but the pump would not turn off when the water got below its level because the sensor still had water where it was.
Then, 3 years ago, the temperature reading on the original lowrance unit in the dash stopped working, and they replaced the transducer in the boat since the temp & transducer wiring was the same. I mention this due to the fact that they had to remove the old transducer.
Ok, fast forward to yesterday, and I notice that the screw holes from where they removed and relocated the sensor were raw wood, no sealant of any kind. I also notice that it appears they used a grinder of some kind to clean the area where they epoxied the new transducer in, because the corner of the wood pad that is glassed in for bilge pump mounting has been worn away just like a grinder or power tool would do.
Now, here is issue #1…..in the middle of the ‘worn away part of the wood pad’ is a crack & void in the resin, which is filled with water from the bilge. I mean if you put pressure on the wood pad, water comes out of the crack. If you move/shake the boat, water comes out of the crack/void. This has me worried, as I know that wood pad is soaked inside the fiberglass.
Issue #2….the drain hole was mounted using screws from the outside, and it does not appear that any sealant was used on them either
Issue #3….the rear walls of the livewell box where they meet the floor are cracking/delaminating very bad since there is no way for water to drain from that area due to the crappy design. There is a low spot right where the wood of the livewell box meets the fiberglass flooring, and there is no way to drain water out short of a towel.
And the kicker, issue #4…..I get to looking around, and notice the rear most screw hole for the screws that hold in the aluminum battery support plate looks wet & black. I take my trusty shop vac and vacuum the water out of the screw hole, or at least I try to. Hmmm…..I also notice that if you shake the boat, the water seems to move in the screw hole, and if you put pressure on the floor of that area, the water level in the screw hole rises. If you smack that area, water shoots out. OK…this has me really concerned now.
I switch the shop vac to blow (small vac, not much pressure) and blow air into the screw hole, thinking it may show me where the water is getting in from, and I almost get blasted in the face with a very strong stream of water coming from the stbd side transom sponson flotation box from a void in the glass around it. This hole is 3” above the floor level. I now wonder just how much water is in the hull on that side, as I have noticed the boat has gotten slower the past 2 yrs, and seemed to be more portly when she moves. I blew out almost a gal of water in no time, and I have no way of knowing how much more is there, or what kind of damage has been done.
The only holes involved are the factory ones, and the ones from the void. No other damage is visible anywhere, and the additional screw holes I have put in the floor are NOT leaking or wet at all.
How bad is this ??? am I screwed, or will Tracker/Nitro fix this ??? I’m thinking, gut feeling, the only way to fix this is to take the topcap off and completely disassemble the boat.
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