203 OB - First Wash - Floor locker slow to drain & general pooling

MNDaveC

Enjoying the utility and comfort of our new 203 OB overall... but had the following observations to share. Would appreciate any tips to ease some of these quirks.

Just gave my new 203 OB its first deck wash down on the trailer, I jacked up the front of the trailer to get the boat level in hopes of helping the drains do their work.

The biggest issue I found that water from the front deck drains into the front ski/rod locker... not a big deal, but I soon found the ski locker to be holding water and building up. Checked back a half hour later and about half of the water had receded. A couple of hour later I re-checked the locker and it was mostly drained with some moisture and soap bubble residue left behind. Is this expected for the ski locker? Drain clogged?

I also noticed a few places where water tends not to drain off that could be future improvements... 

> Bow point due to the lip on the edge of the deck.. this also seems to pool rain water as the cover has a cutout for the bow light

> Ladder compartments as the stowage area is not slanted outward

> Battery compartment door does not have any drain-off path other than down into the compartment.. This compartment also gets rainwater in it as it is not enclosed by the boat cover. My batteries have been getting wet and the sponge foam holding the carbon filer is getting wet in recent rains.

> Drainage channels under seat cushions and around ski locker don't seem to have any slant to them

> Several drain holes seem to be too small to quickly shed water and could be easily clogged.. 

> Drain holes raised above surface instead of recessed to drain off final amounts of water.

Capt_Steve

Hey Dave...as you know, that's a brand new model, so I've put your comments under the nose of the engineer on that project. I'll get back to you ASAP with his comments. Glad to have you here!

MNDaveC

Thanks!  

Capt_Steve

Dave...here are the comments from Jeremy...who was the engineer on that project: 

It sounds as if his ski locker may have some debris clogging up the hole. I would take the garden hose and force a little water in the drain hole direct to see if that is true. As far as the other items go, we will look into these to see if there is any changes that can be made going forward, but the items mentioned were designed into the mold. If any of these can be improved on we will let you know. Thanks for the info.

Tampabay473

I noticed Jeremy never responded to the flaws in the design. It's apparent by the design in 2015 most of the drainage issues were resolved. Those of use with the "NEW" 2013 model are suffering with many water retention issues causing bacteria, mold and odors. Heck, my live well has a 2 inch separation allowing water and "LIVE BAIT" to penetrate the hull. Not a smell and clogs the drainage holes. Please let us know of the acknowledged changes and remedy as this $40K boat I purchase last year is driving me nuts.

89checkmate

My only problems I've found on my 2015 is there is an open space in the area under the helm, anything you put into that area through the access door ends up in the ski locker after driving around a bit, and the anchor locker has no bottom in it, not knowing my wife tossed my prop wrench in there to day we got the boat and I never did get it back...