Problems with Triumph's in the water 24/7 ?

[fourbigs]

I recently purchased a new 2004-190 Bay. I will not be trailoring the boat.
It will be docked in salt water 24/7, for about 5-6 months per season.

There seems to be leakage problems associated with the hull, all of which are solved by pulling the boat out of the water and let it drain. I'm wondering if I made the right decision to purchase a Triumph with the intention of keeping it in a slip. Can these boats handle being in the water all the time? Is anyone else out there who keeps their boat on the water 24/7? Should I be concerned
Thanks !!!

Fourbigs

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

Water Intrusion Is Relative To Each Boat And How It Was /is Rigged Out. If The Boat Is Properly Sealed At Each Accessory Add On Point, You Should Be O.k. There Are Those Of Us Like In My Case Where I Have A Crack Behind The Megga Storage Below The Console And Can't/don't Want To Remove The Console ,t-top Ect, To Get To It To Fix And I Need The Drains To Get Inner Water Out.this Is On My Current 210cc. The 01 Logic 186 Bay Which Is Your 190 Now Didnt Have A Problem And It Didnt Have The Drains Installed.
I Think The Factory Has Addressed The Water Issue In The Newer Models But I Am Speaking From My Experiances And You Might Want To Do A Search For This Topic Cause Has Been Kicked Around Forever On This Site In Different Boat Sections.
Not The Answer But You Needed But Some Insite I Hope
Tight Lines
Robert

[Genelie]

Also check your bait tank pick up and bait tank drain...Mine is leaking at where in is cut thrugh the hull...I think if that is the case should be under warrenty...

[Eddie]

I keep my 2000- 210 in the ocean in Maine 6-7 months each season no leeks for me in 5 years .

[MolarBoater]

Add a gardern hose gasket to each of the transom drain plugs and crank them tight with a cresent wrench. Seal all seams on the 190 cockpit with Rule elastomeric. While on the trailer, water test with a garden hose to see if you can create any leaks at thru hulls and bait tank. Today, I did just that and was amazed to see water coming out of my inner hull drain, drip by drip but definitely water is getting in there with just a hosing off of the boat. The transom plugs held water fine so in the water they should keep it out too! I would install a second starting battery with a switch to run both or one at a time and have one or two bilge pumps...possibly the second...a little higher up than the first with an audible alarm. Run both batteries while the boat is left unattended in the water and make sure the bilges will run on any battery combination. Also, the boat will not sink, but would swamp if flooded and the motor head will remain out of the water...as long as the batteries are also high enough....I made a pressure treated wooden cradle to keep the batteries elevated and sit flat as well as installed ss hinges so the seat flips up and forward exposing the entire battery compartment. Good luck and keep the batteries charged.

[fourbigs]

Do you keep your bilge pump on auto the entire time? If so, do you have any problems with the battery?

What, if any precautions have you taken to keep it in the water?

Thanks,

fourbigs

Originally Posted by Eddie

I keep my 2000- 210 in the ocean in Maine 6-7 months each season no leeks for me in 5 years .

[MolarBoater]

I always keep the bilge on auto, in fact there is no way to turn off the automatic bilge. It either is on auto, or on constant/auto. Unless it is unplugged from the battery or a fuse has blown/came loose. I have only kept my boat in the water for 4 days continuous so can't say long term how long 2 batteries will hold up. All water that gets below the deck has to fill up a "dead" section in the middle of the boat (2002 Bay 190) before there is enough water to gravitate to the bilge for removal....so you will always have a few gallons of water come out of the transom plugs...The only time I didn't was when I sealed the entire deck, pulled up all grey boards and sealed them down and placed extra ss screws. Takes a case of large caulking gun size Rule elastomeric ($60) but well worth it. Double check all worm clamps for tightness and sealant, double clamp if there is enough room, add sealant around thru hulls. I have a second non auto bilge pump and hosing spliced to battery clamps so I can use my trolling batteries and toss it into the bilge if my Rule Auto bilge clogs or fails or starting batteries die. Paper will clog it for sure and you have to be able to back flush the transom thru hull....hard to do w/o raw water wash down or another pump. I had a bilge pump failure due to paper clog and leaking transom plugs as well as a leaky deck when I first got the boat. I headed out into the gulf, took a few waves over the bow, spent 6 hours trolling, got back in the bay, hit the throttle and the boat would hardly go beyond 8knts (Zuk df 140 4 stroke). Completly "swamped", if it were not "unsinkable", it would be a reef now. But it floated almost normal with motor head clear, battery was tilted and partly submerged in rear box but fxnal. Limped to a dock, back flushed the bilge thru hull and it ran and ran for 30 min. until I got it hauled out and water drained out of the transom plugs for 30 miles....many gallons of water and really, no problem. Do the mods to seal up the boat(let the scuppers handle the deck water) and if you are leaving a boat unattended for long periods of time, have a redundant system or two as back ups like a trickle charger to the starting batteries, two starting batteries, a second "emergency" bilge pump ready to take over if you are not present, something noisey to know something is up down at the boat (RadioShak can help you with a piezo alarm). I have heard of several brand new $100k+ catarmeran boats sinking 50-100 miles offshore due to a failing bilge pump, if one pump goes bad on them, the battery compartments can flood killing electrical and once one pontoon fills with water, in 3 minutes, it is capsizing and heading for Australia. I'd much rather be in a Triumph.....I guess a Whaler would be OK, but too much upkeep and cost. Put the money into the motor and electronics.
Good luck on your decision, Emery

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

in lieu of garden hose washers , i find that 3/4x1x1/8 o-rings seal the best . the "dash" size for this size o-ring is 210 .it is the smallest size that is 1/8 " diameter. it is what i would use if i were to keep it in the water. i put a 2nd float style pump in my '01 186 and had it discharge into the splashwell. on that boat the factory had mounted the raw water washdown pump inside the console . i moved the pump to the port side under the splashwell i just couldnt see having water wetting all my electrical if the hoses became unscrewed from the w/d pump.
the washdown pump discharge hose outlet was mounted in the port side of the splashwell. so i bought a similar outlet and mounted it on the starboard side of the splashwell and tied the new bilge pump to it. this pump was mounted higher in the bilge and if it ever came on i would have a good visual and know i had rising water beyond normal. there was enough room on the starboard side to mount a 2nd battery for electronics /accessories with a/b switch mounted in the floor between them.
i also had a set battery jumper cables long enough to reach from the trolling batteries which had their own ownboard charger up front to the start batteries.
i bought agm style batteries which could be used for trolling and starting. that was in 01 and i kept them and still use them on my current 210cc worth the money for life you get out of them.

redundant for the redundant and another option if those fail!!!!!! you cant have too many options
tight lines
robert
question???? how long between trips to the dock. is there power to run on board charger at the dock ?

[nashbrent]

My 186 Bay and my 17 cool both take on some water between the foam core and the hull. I think in comes in at the forward hatch drain holes common to both models. I've talked to the Fatory and they seem like they really don't think its a problem. (Edited by NCangler)

[China Boy]

I keep my little 15 foot Triumph in salt water all summer
long with no problem. The little bilge pump kicks on every few minutes to check for water and so far, so good. This is not a dry deck boat...all rain goes directly into the bilge, and
sometimes there's 2 weeks before I get to starting it up and charging the one battery...which I moved out of the bilge and installed in the console (a dual console style).
BTW, I also installed self-adjusting Smart Tabs to help stabilize this thing and they work great...and you don't have to keep fooling with switches.

ChinaBoy