Water in my pontoons - How do I get it out?

[billyman]

Hi, I have a 1995 Fisher pontoon w/ hollow logs. One of my toons has got a pretty good amount of water in it (Im guessing 2-3 gals) but I don't think I have any leaks because when I took the plug out of the top, there was pressure that released.

Anyway, I went to Lowes and bought 15' of 5/16" clear vinyl hose thinking I'd drop it down the tube at the top of the log, but there's a bar in the center of that tube & I can't feed the hose down inside.

I have thought about drilling a 5/8" hole in the top of the log, siphoning out the water, then putting an expansion plug in to plug the hole, but I don't wan to drill any holes if I don't have to.

Does anyone have any other ideas I'm not thinking of?




Thank you,

Billy

[billyman]

Bump for a second look. My main concern is drilling a hole in the logs. I don't want to compromise the structural integrity of the logs.

Thoughts?

[lakerunner]

What section is water in?

If in back I would drill a small hole in back plate, let drain and use a SS screw with a rubber washer.
In middle I don't see any problem drilling your own hole and using a transom plug to seal it off.

[HandymanHerb]

Sorry I been thinking it over myself, most people are able to get down to the bottom of the toons as the sealing plates are on the ends of the chamber and mine are open on the bottom to allow the water to run out back drains.

How far down is this plate your running into, if you know some one good at welding aluminum you can drill and hole in the bottom of the toon, drain it and have it welded back up and sanded smooth.

[billyman]

Thank you both for your replies:

lakerunner, I'm not certain that my logs are sectional. I store my boat on its trailer in my backyard. I set the tongue of the trailer on the ground so at rest the nose points down. When I lift the trailer tongue, it seems like the water runs from the front of the log all the way to the back. Is there any definative way to tell if my logs have multiple chambers?


HandymanHerb, I don't believe my logs have "sealing plates". I have 1 "tube" (maybe 3/4" in dia.) right in the center at the top of the log which has a plastic screw-in plug in it. The first time I removed that plug, air gushed out. I tried to feed the vinyl hose down this tube, but it's got a bar across the opening about 2" down (like they put it there to keep people from sticking things down it). Oh, and I do not know anyone who can weld aluminum.

Thank you both again for your replies. Do either of you (or anyone else) have anything additional to ask, add, suggest?

[HandymanHerb]

What I'm talking about is a bulkhead inside the pontoons, to hold air in case you punch a hole in one, you have separate cambers inside but most have a opening at the bottom so water can run out, but traps air at top.

So jack it way up and see if runs to the back, do you have rear drain plugs on both toons, if so take out the plugs and let the water run out.

If the water runs to the back and you don't have drain plugs have a welder put you some on.

[lakerunner]

If you do have sections it might also have a way for water to flow through. I would do the screw hole in back at bottom of log. Then seal with a SS screw with rubber washer

[dockholiday]

My old toon had plugs in the top of each section, think there were four. These were individual chambers. The toon I have now has one plug in the bottom of the log at the rear. These sections have partitions between the chambers but have a hole (about three quarters of an inch) in the bottom to allow water to drain front to back. Not sure what your siphon hose may be hitting. Might try removing the plug an putting a spot light on the bottom of the toon. Not sure if it would work but would try that before drilling holes. If the bottom was heated it might aid in the evaporation of the water. I had a leak on the old toon, rigged up a testing device an pressurized to 4 psi an never found the leak. It seemed to always carry the same amount of water, which was about what you described. Not really any help in this post just wanted to relate my experience with a leaking chamber.
doc

[Bamby]

Personally I would have someone do some welding on the back of the pontoon so that a plug could be utilized. But maybe you would rather use one of the methods mentioned on this thread. http://www.pontoonstuff.com/forum/forum ... PN=0&TPN=2

[slingshot]

Why don't you try calling Fisher, They're still in the business and have been for over 30 years:

Fisher Boats
Customer Relations
(417) 873-4555
Monday - Friday
8:00 am to 5:00 pm CST

You may want to rethink the SS screw idea on aluminum hulls due to Galvanic corrosion. Galvanic corrosion requires an electrolyte. You can have a dry bin of aluminum and stainless fasteners... no big deal. Immerse them in water, you have an electrolyte and corrosion will occur. This is why galvanic corrosion is a big deal for marine applications. When possible, keep water away from metal. When not possible, try to use the same metal. There are other techniques like sacrificial anodes that I don't think would be help out if you were to stick a SS screw into your aluminum toon.

[billyman]

Slingshot, I tried calling Fisher (that was actually the first thing I did), but they were bought out in 2000 and they have no info on anything prior to the buyout.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for your ideas and suggestions.

[toondog]

How many plugs do you have on top of the tubes? If you have more than one, you probably have separate sealed chambers. If you only have one you have baffled chambers.

[billyman]

Toondog, I have one plug (tube) on top of each pontoon log.

[toondog]

Some pictures would help. I'm really curious what you are hitting that is keeping your siphon tube from going in all the way.
You probably have baffled cambers. Like described above, baffled chamber have small holes at the bottom of each divider. This would allow you to install a drain in the back of the tube and drain the whole thing.
I myself would not do that if it had sealed chambers. Give the manufacture a call to be on the safe side.

[WaltF]

I have 2 of those plastic plugs on each toon.
Last month when i unscrewed those plastic thingies i heard air wooosh too... but still found just a little bit of water.
Such a small amount im not gonna sweat it...
The way i figured it out was to take some strong thread and a couple fishing split weights squished on, and lowered it into the toon then pulled it out to check for water.
I never hit anything on the way down though and could hear it hitting the bottom....