Draining water from the bracket on a 228G

[fathergoose]

I strongly suspect that my bracket has a large amount of water in it. So I started to loosen the drain plug and to my surprise it turned very easily. I discovered why it was turning so easy when the head turned off of the plug. Now I have a plug with no head to turn it out with. By the way it is the two piece plug. My plan now is to pump the water out by hand through the inspection opening then try to turn the plug out from the inside. Does anyone have a better plan. I'm not looking forward to pumping 50+ gallons of water by hand!

Thanks

 

[DennisG01]

From the outside, use a chisel or even a flat screwdriver (or something similar) and a hammer. Put the chisel into the outer edge of plug and tap with the hammer to 'unscrew' it. The idea is to get the chisel to dig in a little for "grip".

 

[Ky Grady]

Mine has a plug and outer ring. Plastic drain plug. I pull mine occasionally to see if I have any water, usually not. PO had put a Pilates ball in it and inflated it so if water did get in, it wouldn't be much, due to the ball taking up the space. Good idea, so I left it in.

I'd do what Dennis is saying and try and get it out, then go back with new.

 

[fathergoose]

Mine has a hex head on the outer plug. I think I will use the screw driver method to get the existing plug out. I may still pump the water out since I can't get the new plug until after the weekend and I'm anxious to see how it performs with the water removed.

 

[wrxhoon]

I would just drill it out and destroy it. You then have 2 options do what KY has done in his or use a normal rubber plug like you have on your fish tanks . I never got any water in my old boat that had same bracket as your boat. Make sure the plate on the top seals .
If you want to keep it stock you can buy the 2 piece plug from your local dealer but you will need a long and thin arm to reach inside the bracket so you can do it up the very first time .If you replace it with a stock 2 piece plug when you want to check for water don't undo it all the way .

 

[fathergoose]

I did as Dennis suggested and the remaining portion of the plug came out very easily. But much to my surprise there was no water at all in the bracket. I have a problem staying on plane below 4000 rpm and my top speed is much lower than it should be. I was really hoping that the bracket was full of water and causing the problem. I guess that I am going to have to break open my wallet and spend some money on a new prop.

 

[Ky Grady]

So what condition is your prop in? Odd that you can't stay on plane below 4K, especially with a F250, as they are known for great mid range performance. I'd have a prop shop check it out and see how much cup you have and if the pitch is in fact what it's supposed to be.

 

[fathergoose]

So what condition is your prop in? Odd that you can't stay on plane below 4K, especially with a F250, as they are known for great mid range performance. I'd have a prop shop check it out and see how much cup you have and if the pitch is in fact what it's supposed to be.

I just got it back from the prop shop and it checked out perfect. I’m going to try a 15.25 x 19 and see what is does. I’m getting 6100 rpm at WOT so I think that I might be under proped