Looking for an Owners Manual

[foreverstrung]

Hey, new to the site. I've just inherited an '00 Aquasport 215 Expolre with a Mercury 200 saltwater OB. I've never owned my own boat before and though I've got years of time afloat, this is my 1st.

I need to find and I've had no luck, locating an owners manual. Anyone got a line on this?
Appreciate ya

[Blue Agave]

Welcome aboard  

Sorry, I can't help with the owners manual.

[seabob4]

Welcome Forever!  The 215 is a great boat, several members here have one.  Either one or two will be along, Pete or Capt. Bob, think they have an owner's manual in PDF form for the 215...but it probably won't do you much good.

Pictures of any problem areas will help.  I was working on the line next to the one where your boat was built, so I know a good bit about her...

[pete]

like I said above,Pm me your email address and I will send you a PDF copy of one,Bobs' right,not much useful info in it,here are some of the best pages from mine...viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7552

[foreverstrung]

Thanks guys. My names Dave.
     Pete, appreciate the pages you posted. On my 215, the fwd bilge is not draining. My console has 2 bilge pump switches, plus the live well pump. I didn't have the cover on the other day and we got pounded with 2 days of heavy rain. Went to pump the bilges and the aft bilge I can hear whirring and see the discharge on the port side aft, but the fwd bilge, in the cabin was slightly overflowed and I ended up hand-pumping it.
     Slowly I've started looking for the one bilge pump that I've heard and seen discharge, but I've yet to locate it. Any suggestions in getting into the bowels of this girl would be appreciated. I was hoping the manual might have something on this. Also, the fishwell pump I hear whirring as well. Here again I'd like to locate it if nothing else to see the  make and model.

[pete]

sorry but the owners manual won't help you with any of that.get a good voltmeter and start by checking voltage at the switch,not sure about the forward pump but someone else will know.

[Capt. Bob]

Dave,
Was the boat on the trailer when it rained?

Explorers have a hull design (yours is a re-badged Wellcraft) that allows for a little more depth in the cabin area and will trap water in the forward bilge when sitting on a trailer or water. I believe the bilge gravity drains to the rear bilge/not sure if your model has a pump up front but.....

The live well discharge may be on the starboard side thru hull. One of those two storage boxes behind the helm seats is the well and the other is a cooler. Both should drain overboard. Water should enter the well from a pump attached to the "seacock" that is attached to a thru hull fitting under the boat (hopefully). That may be the noise you hear or possibly it's a pump out for the fish boxes in the cockpit deck.

Here's a great place to start reading and Trace has the same model so he is probably the best current source on yours. He'll chime in when he reads this thread.

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Good luck.

[foreverstrung]

Thanks Bob. I'm thinkin it may not have a fwd pump and that there is some sort of blockage keeping the water in the cabin bilge from draining back. So is this bilge pump located aft between the batteries and oil? I saw a pic in the owners manual that Pete sent along and it says it's here, but how the hell does one get too it?

My Dad had a loose, Wayne 1/4 HP utility pump in the boat locker. I wonder if he used this to pump the fwd bilge, manually

The boat was and is, still in the water. I'm going to put it on the trailer this weekend and flush it real well and give here a good cleaning. As I said in another thread, the slip she's in now has no running water

[Capt. Bob]

There may not be a blockage, rather the water drains while underway (bow up). The "plump bow" was advertised as allowing more cabin space (headroom?) in EX models. It is not uncommon to find water in this forward bilge. When you have the boat on the trailer, try and find a slight grade so that the boat is facing uphill. Check your drainage back to the rear bilge. That should tell if there is a blockage. Personally, I blocked off my front bilge to keep water from entering the fuel tank area but that's another story.

I'm sure Trace (or other 215 EX members) can walk you through how you get at these. The older (early 90s) EXs have a large removable deck panel which allows access. Beginning in 94 the Euro transom changed all that and in 96 (I believe) your model came on line (it was already in production as a Wellcraft 210 Coastal). We have several active members with this model that should be able to provide you with the answers you seek.

[T Race]

Thanks guys. My names Dave.
     Pete, appreciate the pages you posted. On my 215, the fwd bilge is not draining. My console has 2 bilge pump switches, plus the live well pump. I didn't have the cover on the other day and we got pounded with 2 days of heavy rain. Went to pump the bilges and the aft bilge I can hear whirring and see the discharge on the port side aft, but the fwd bilge, in the cabin was slightly overflowed and I ended up hand-pumping it.
     Slowly I've started looking for the one bilge pump that I've heard and seen discharge, but I've yet to locate it. Any suggestions in getting into the bowels of this girl would be appreciated. I was hoping the manual might have something on this. Also, the fishwell pump I hear whirring as well. Here again I'd like to locate it if nothing else to see the  make and model.

Dave,

   Once again, a very BIG welcome to the site   I'm seeing two questions 1) where is the forward bilge pump and 2) where is the fishwell pump.

    1) I have the switch for a forward BP, but I have no further evidence that there acutually IS one.  If I close that switch I hear no motor actuating...in the cabin under the port cushion is an access panel I have never removed... there might be a forward BP in there, but I remain skeptical

    2) Concerning the fishbox pump, I have a slightly different layout (I would guess) in that I have an IO model.  The Livewell/Washdown pump is accessed by lifting the cover and removing the plastic tray.  The fishbox pump is accessed by lifting the engine cover and the pump is attached to the forward engine compartment bulkhead, starboard of centerline. See photo below.



I hope this is helpful.  I have replaced both of these pumps.  I have upgraded the fishbox pump with a run-dry macerator pump and it is quite the thing.  

Good luck, Dave, and enjoy your new boat !!

By the way, does this boat have trim tabs?  If not, start saving your pennies... trim tabs, dollar for dollar, will be the best money you can put into the boat, IMO, humble though it be.  

[foreverstrung]

Thanks T Race. The trim tabs I'm familiar with. My bow raises way high as it is and a friend of mine in So. Cal recommended them. There not that pricey, but I do plan on looking into them here shortly.

Also, under the cushion on the port side in the cabin, I removed this while exploring. Mine has nothing. It's like a smugglers bin, LOL. Just an empty cargo hold that's not very user friendly.

[Capt. Bob]

Dave,
I do not see a thru hull drain for the forward bilge on the starboard side. The port side I can't be certain but if one was on either side, it would be forward of the two you have amidships. As I posted earlier, those should be for the cooler and live well respectively.

If a bilge pump was present, I would think there would be an access plate in the floor of the cabin in the general area where you step down into same.

[wingtime]

On my 245 Explorer the forward bilge pump is under the pie plate in the cabin that you can see in Capt Bobs pic.  Keep in mind they just used stock dash panels on these boats so you may have a switch that is not used or used for something else.  On my 245 the "windshield wiper" switch actually turns on the spreader lights!

[T Race]

On my 245 Explorer the forward bilge pump is under the pie plate in the cabin that you can see in Capt Bobs pic.  Keep in mind they just used stock dash panels on these boats so you may have a switch that is not used or used for something else.  On my 245 the "windshield wiper" switch actually turns on the spreader lights!

 

Ditto on mine.  I already know at some point I want to install windshield wipers.  

I wonder if I will have to re-wire that circuit (as in heavier wire) to power the wiper motor plus the two LED spreader lights. Hmmm.

[seabob4]

On my 245 Explorer the forward bilge pump is under the pie plate in the cabin that you can see in Capt Bobs pic.  Keep in mind they just used stock dash panels on these boats so you may have a switch that is not used or used for something else.  On my 245 the "windshield wiper" switch actually turns on the spreader lights!

 

Ditto on mine.  I already know at some point I want to install windshield wipers.  

I wonder if I will have to re-wire that circuit (as in heavier wire) to power the wiper motor plus the two LED spreader lights. Hmmm.

No, Trace, those spreaders draw like nothing.  .5A, if that's what you need to know.  1A for both...