1984 AquaSport express fisherman 200

[Cmstover]

Hello all, I am new here and was hoping to get some opinions on some issues I am having with the boat. Thank you all in advance.

Issue 1: bilge pump not working

I see the 2 small circles that lift up in the rear of the boat to see into the bilge and I have about a foot of water in there. I manually pumped most of it out but want to get the bilge pump working properly. So far, I have only opened the right side  and did not see a pump down in the bilge. Is there a way to access the bilge pump while the boat is in the water? (Boat is in a slip). Also, are there any common bilge pump issues with this boat. I have checked the switch, and it does get power. I would like to test the pump and float switch (if it has one).

Issue 2: motor has significantly lost performance

Motor is a 1987 evinrude outboard 200 hp. Usually, at full throttle it gets me up to 30 mph. Now, it varies between 7 and 12 mph at full throttle. The only thing I  have changed recently we’re the spark plugs. They are all new, however, I changed the gap from 40( recommended by the Manuel) to 35. I plan on changing it back, but I was not sure that small of a change looks lose that much power. If it’s not the plugs, maybe a fuel issue? Has anyone had an issue like this before?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

[RickK]

Your bilge pump should be about center in the bilge (center of the hull). Do you have access to that area?

[Cmstover]

No I don’t see anywhere to get into the hull near the center. There are 2 small holes to enter in the center but the gas tank and gauge is there. No Way to get past that to see under it.

[RickK]

By '84 I'm sure they had bilge pumps. My ole '71 did not have one nor an access to where the bilge pump would be.  They designed the hull and liner to be sealed from each other, so there was no way water could get from the deck to the bilge.
Does your boat have a splash well? You may have to decide which size access hatch you want back there and cut one in. If you look at the 222 XF, there is a hatch that is both in the splash well and inside the cockpit and if you look at the 250 XF there are two access pie plates in the splash well.


Look at the CCP models of the same year. XF and CCP share the same hull I think.

[Kam05r6]

I'm a bit late but I have an 84 200 xf    I have 2 round access plates on the splash well one is center the other is on the left side if looking aft.   It's still difficult to get to Blige pump but not impossible

[Capt. Bob]

A pic of your splashwell would help.

This is an 84 222 CCP. Not your hull but I believe the setup is similar.



The large cover in the middle was a livewell and the deck plate above it was access to the bilge pump.
The smaller plates on each side were access to the "displacement" deck drains.

[djbinding]

I have an 84 200XF. I had to cut 2 access plates on either side of wave well.  Put Bilge pump on piece of mahogany decking and big gob of 5200 on bottom of mahogany and place it down in the bildge. Takes up to a week for the 5200 to cure.  Mine works out just fine.  Long skinny arms are a bonus.  Lol