96 Challenger first impressions and draining deck question

[Maciej]

Hello again guys

Well we're gearing up for our second week at a lake with our 96 Challenger. First week was awesome, totally enjoyed the boat, would love to have more power, but with fuel prices this boat is great. Found out the bilge pump was dead and after 2 days of pulling the boat out of the lake for draining I took the 45 minute drive to the nearest Canadian Tire (hardware store up north here ) and spent $20 on a new 600 GPH pump (old was 500 GPH and had a piece of rag stuck in it, blowing fuses). Install was a breeze and we were happy again. Would love to have seen what a Seadoo dealer would have charged for the repair. Fuel gauge seems to be wonky but since we've only played on smaller lakes we can easily return to base once we hit reserve.
Also destroyed a 3 person Seadoo towable due to zipper coming undone and found a similar defect in another, more expensive Seadoo towable. Both were easily returned for refund so lesson is, don't buy Seadoo towables. The first one acted like a water parachute and I thought I broke the boat cause we couldn't get up to speed with 3 little girls on it.

So my question is regarding the drain hole for the deck under the driver seat. Ours seems to have a plug in it because I can't see where the water would go through. The water on the deck eventually accumulates and we just sweep it into the storage compartment in the floor and bilge pump it out because I can't take out the plug by hand and didn't want to put any tools to it just yet. I'd like to know if there is a plug there that one is supposed to remove and if the hole is normally open (and looks open) and drains the water quickly? Is there a special tool for this plug or do you just grab a pair of pliers and open it up?

Thanks

Maciej

 

[seadoosnipe]

Challenger!.......

Yeah, I love mine too........but, I feel I got a great amount of power from the 787cc. I too tow tubes for my daughters (6 and 7).

The boat is considered a wet boat, which means, if a wave washes over the bow, it's suppose to drain through that hole in the back, under the drivers seat.
It's about inch and a half in diameter and is suppose to go through the engine compartment, out the back thru the transom. If you look inside the engine compartment, you should see a long flexible, white tube. Look from the back of the boat on the drivers side and you'll see the same diameter hole.

These drains come with flapper or check valves inside them for one way draining. Mine is missing, so, when I have a little extra weight in the back of the boat, a little water comes in...........not a big deal though.

You may have the check valve installed still, but it's stuck closed. You should be able to remove this hose through the engine compartment......:cheers:

 

[Maciej]

I should have clarified. At the back, the flap valve (black) is still there and the white tubing in the engine compartment is also there. The part that baffles me is the area under the driver's seat where it looks like there is a plug in the hole which doesn't allow draining of the water. I thought maybe it was some fancy valve but it honestly looks like water wouldn't be able to get through this thing. I would have thought it would be open like the one in the floor storage compartment that allows water to drain through to the bilge. I should have taken a picture but we've already packed her up for the trip north tomorrow. Is the drain under the driver's seat threaded so that it would allow a plug to be put in? I might take a set of needle nose pliers and try to turn it (gently) when we get back from vacation.

Otherwise the towing was great. My wife loves to waterski, as do the kids and the boat was even fine pulling my 190 lbs up. First time waterskiing for me and our friends thought the sounds coming out of me from across the lake were hilarious. My wife and one kid even dropped a ski although they were happy just to stay up at that point so no huge carving. Tubes were fine although I found our O'Brien Double O tube (like two singles spliced together) required more time to get on plane and involved some weight adjustment by the riders to get it going faster. Obviously worse the heavier the people. In that sense I should have probably gone for a flat towable instead of a double tube so it is easier to get going. We even managed to get my wife and the same damn athletic kid up on a kneeboard (not together .
For the week, and we used the boat each day, we spent about $300 on gas at $1.39/L. We had 6 kids and 4 adults up, usually 2-3 people in the boat, usually towing 2 in the tube or 1 on skis. We usually did 2 sessions a day which lasted 2 hours or so each by the time everyone went on the tubes and waterskied (or tried).

 

[seadoosnipe]

drain.....?

When I wash my boat out, the water will congregate in the back, where the seats are. I take my hose over to the hole under the drivers seat and spray a solid jet through that hole. It helps clear the leaves and allows it to drain faster.

You should have no obstructions in this line.........:cheers:

 

[robin savell lloyd]

This does seem like a poor design. I would not think that there should be any thing there that should look like a plug. I would think that it should have a hole that you can easly see. What do you think Louis? I was thinking that someone may have put some sort of a plug or a check valve there because the scupper valve was bad and filling the deck with water. They have better scuppers out there for about $10.00 they will have a plastic ball in them and will bolt up with no problem. :cheers: