Great advice, guys... I seem to have the same thing going on...

You said that you dont think that those last few inches of water will drain if you drill the holes ....and it wont the way i did it was in the step when you first walk in the cabin in my boat there is a carpet lining and i took that up and there is a hole under the carpet and if you use a wet vac just about all the water should come out.

I continuously have water in the area under the step, it seems to come from the forward bilge. I didn't see any opening going toward the rear from the step. It is HOT and dry in Lake Havasu right now,so I am hoping that everything will dry out and then I will see where the water comes from and where it goes.

Did you drill from the step toward the rear?

OK i am kinda lost on this one. Out of curiosity i looked under my step in the cabin and sure enough I have water under the step, beneath the plug. So where exactly are you drilling a hole? And anything else I shoud check? Pictures would be nice.

not a paying member sorry no pics ....... but im not drilling in the cabin im drilling in the engine compartment through the fire wall at the very bottom of the bilge but in yall's cases with newer boats and yall are possible first owners then there should be two holes already on both sides of the center stringer in the engine compartment .......that is where i drilled

If that center compartment is anything like my 32', that is the gas compartment. There are no holes down low there because the only way water can get in is if the boat has water at floor level and it fills in from the top side, or if water is 1 ft deep in the bilge to the point water will run in the 2 drain holes inside of the outer stringers (which is open into teh gas tank area a couple inches higher than the tank.)
The cockpit side drains drain into the outside of the outer stringers to the holes down low by the batteries. The front bulkhead doesn't have drain holes either into the center compartment. By allowing water to enter in there by way of the low in the bilge, you might be taking a chance of soaking the foam that holds the tank, and that chit doesn't dry out.

I assume this may only apply to the newer boats that don't have drains for that center compartment down low. They must have done it for a reason. The bilge pump in the cabin step is supposed to hadle the water up front because it can't run towards the back. I have been told the reason there are no drains from front to back is to prevent gas fumes from entering the cabin by way of hull drainage system as gas fumes lay low, hence drains done away with.

My A/C pump hose runs thru the gas tank compartment drain holes. Notice it is a good distance up, compared to the very bottom of the vee, which is not shown.

Just my thoughts and hear say.

I just got off the phone with Tony Vick, who is the tech guy at Fountain. He pretty much confirmed everything that US-1 just stated. The compartment where the gas tanks are located is sealed at both ends in case there is a leak, it can't get to the cabin or the engine compartment (USCG requirement).

The ice chest and the cockpit floor drains go to the area below the floor, but outboard of the engine stringers. There should be drain holes down low outboard of the engine stringers, and then at the rear of the boat (not visable with the engines installed), there are drains from the outer stringers to the center bilge.

The front bilge does not drain to the back, but has it's own pump.

I think things are much clearer now, I will need to check my boat next time at the lake.
David

So there is a bilge pump up front? What year was the first year for that?

That's exactly how mine is done. I was pretty sure the rupture tank was a possible reason for the sealed ends, but wasn't sure enough to say so.

This winter while working on mine, I did find that the 2 outermost side drains into the bilge at he bulkhead where somewhat sealed off with FG matting. They install a short peice of PVC in the hole, then glass it in place (w/o covering the open ends hopefully), then the white paint. I ran a hole saw in the pipe, then resealed the edges with epoxy just in case. PLus a lot of building trash left behind to hinder draining. She's all free and clean now!

My '99 had it. So at least by then. My '94 didn't. I removed mine for more storage space (plus it was broken) and I don't get any water up front. It's mounted in the cabin step.
Bad thing is it needs a couple inches of water to operate, and doesn't pump it all out. My pump was actually mounted to a raised pad that was glassed to the hull bottom. Been better if it could be in a recessed pit, but that's not possible.