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Author Topic:   21 foot conquest

peter welch posted 03-03-2002 10:24 AM ET (US)
I have just started my hunt for a new boat and a used Conquest 21 caught my eye. It has a lot of the features I'm looking for but I am wondering why BW has dropped it from production. Also, it seems like there are a lot of late model Conquest 21's for dale. Is there something I should know before I buy one? Many thanks! Peter
dscew posted 03-03-2002 11:54 AM ET (US)
Hopefully, it will have trim tabs and the biggest engine available. They are a bit sluggish to plane and need the upper range of RPMs to stay up there. The 225 Opti or EFI would be good choices. O/W they're pretty nice boats. I'm not sure whay they're not around anymore.
dauntlass 18 posted 03-03-2002 12:59 PM ET (US)
My 21 ft Conquest runs great on a 200hp optimax.I first put a dole fin on brought planing rpm down to 2400 to 2600 rpm. I than put on trim tabs { Bennett } you do not need them on my boat they make only a small improvement in the performance.My Conquest ran fine even before the tabs were installed in my opinion the dole fin helped to get boat on plane at lower rpm.My only problem with boat is some deck cracks in anti skid surface.We run boat all day long at 3600 rpm by gps 28mph app. 6 gal per hr. I think one with factory hardtop is best model.I really like mine.feel free to e mail if you you have any questions.
Riparian posted 03-04-2002 10:27 AM ET (US)
My 21 Conquest does not have a hard top and jumps out of the hole immediatley with a 200 Opti. I don't think a larger engine or a fin would be necessary unless you get the hard top. That think has got to be heavy, but man are they nice looking. Beware with the hard top however. At 6 foot tall, If stand up behind the wheel my line of sight is blocked by the electronics box. That would really annoy me in the long run if I had gone that route. Look at the Whaler catalogs over the years and you will see models come and go that were pretty darn nice. They didn't make the 21 Walkaround for more than three or so years either. Love my boat. Fit and finish is great and it feels oh so solid. The bunk seats in the cuddy are nice too. Don't get that in the 23. Good luck.
Gigabite posted 03-11-2002 09:33 AM ET (US)
How does the 21 Conquest handle 2-3 foot seas? I am looking to trade up to one of these at the end of the summer.
blackdog posted 03-11-2002 02:43 PM ET (US)
Riparian,
Don't like the 23? Why not
jjf posted 03-11-2002 09:58 PM ET (US)
Riparian, I'm looking at 23s right now. I curious why you don't like them as well.
jjf posted 03-11-2002 09:58 PM ET (US)
Riparian, I'm looking at 23s right now. I'm curious why you don't like them as well.
Riparian posted 03-14-2002 02:32 PM ET (US)
Hold on now. The 23 is an excellent boat. I do like the 23. Since winter set in I have been having second thoughts about passing on the 23 and getting the 21 instead. As I recall from my visit aboard the 23, nothing about the hardtop obscured my vision, (ex. electronics box). I may very likely have bought one of those, but price difference was huge, if you consider around $20,000 or so, (or more with hard top) to be huge. And I trailer a lot so that kind of freaked me going from a 16 foot to a 23 on a trailer. My original post comment was directed at the cuddy cabins of both the 21 and 23. The 21 like the 23 has a cuddy filler that forms a full V berth. If you look at both the 21 and the 23 cuddy, they are about the same size also. The 23 may be a bit bigger, but not by that much. But the one thing the 21 cuddy does that the 23 did not do was that inside the 21 cuddy, port and starboard sections of the V berth fold down and form port and starboard seats that face each other. This allows two people to sit up inside the cuddy for whatever reason, even if you are 6'1 or so tall, with the bow section of the V berth still intack covering the porta pottie. Without this option inside the 23, you don't have that kind of sitting headroom. Not a real big deal, but a difference my wife reminds me of every time I talk about a 23 with hardtop.
dauntlass 18 posted 03-15-2002 04:14 AM ET (US)
The 23 Conquest appears to have too much lost deck behind the stern seat used as swim platform.Whaler needs a cuddy model smaller than the 25 they now offer to round out the cuddy cabin line.Maybe without the step down side profile they are now useing and sunpad on cabin roof.
peter welch posted 03-25-2002 07:45 AM ET (US)
The boat I'm currently looking at does not have a hard top but comes with a really nice looking set of full curtains that should be fine for cold weather use. Also, it is equiped with a 200 hp Johnson salt water series motor. Any thoughts on this motor? I would also have to buy a trailer for this boat. Comments on choice of trailer and approx. price would be appreciated. Many thanks. Peter
dauntlass 18 posted 03-25-2002 07:10 PM ET (US)
Go with a DFI or EFI engine other than Johnson or Evinrude.I am not sure but I think the Johnson engine is a carb. engine.I may be not to wise in my choice of engines but I have had two optimax engines with no problems I passed by several Conquests till I found one with Mercury Optimax power.So far now in second year of ownership no engine problems and fuel economy is really great.I have a Load Rite trailer made to fit Conquest??The trailer works fine but I may go to the yellow heavy duty rollers I had to replace several rollers.
David Ratusnik posted 03-25-2002 07:55 PM ET (US)
Peter- The Johnson is fine. Old, reliable technology. Beat the owner up on the old tech in order to drive the price down abit. Statistically speaking, the Johnson will last longer than you will own the boat. I have a friend who bought a 225 carb Evinrude 2 years ago and it is flawless (virtually same engine as one you are looking at). If you want to unload it, I'm fishing. e mail .03 David
fd3 posted 04-23-2002 07:43 PM ET (US)
Peter, your original post goes back awhile so you may have already found a boat. Still, I�ll share my experience with our 21 Conquest. The boat lives on the Potomac River in the summer and there are few other Whalers on the river, at least not where we are. Aside from some annoying chop from time to time there�s just not enough water there to challenge a Whaler. We do, however, take it to Florida in the winter and use it in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic down in the Keys. About the worst water we have been in was probably 4-5 foot swells on a reef off Key Largo. It wasn�t pleasant and it slowed us down but I never had any concerns for the boat. It seemed happy to be there. We have the 200 Mercury Optimax on ours as well. I have no complaints about the performance although I wish it would stay on plane at a little slower speed. I should probably look at a Doel Fin. The only issue I have with the boat is with minor workmanship things. Just this week I went to open the port in the cabin and the little plastic handle broke off. A hole was drilled in the windshield frame for the wiring for the running lights and it wasn�t sealed. The overhead in the cabin was saturated with water before I noticed it. We�ve always had a problem with water on the cabin floor. It comes in from the bilge under a screwed in bulkhead. I�ve sealed it and the dealer has sealed but I guess the bulkhead flexes enough to break the seal over time. Yes, this small stuff but we bought it new and it is a Whaler � I would have expected a little better. The other thing is the canvass. Fit and finish is not great and the isinglass is of pretty poor quality. Very distorted view with the curtains up. It�s not Mills canvass so I might also recommend passing on the canvass option and ordering from Mills. All in all I�d give it a 99 out of a 100 though in spite of its minor flaws. Every boat I�ve ever had has had some problems and these are really minor in the big scheme of things.
Good luck!
TRAFFICLAWYER posted 04-25-2002 08:25 AM ET (US)
I have a 2001 21' Ventura, same hull as the outrage, runs fine with a 200 yamaha hpdi,
could definetly use trim tabs, Im taking it on the edgewater rendevous this year.
Riparian posted 04-25-2002 09:39 AM ET (US)
fd3, could you explain in a little more detail about this hole that was drilled in your windshield frame for running light wiring that allowed water in and saturated your cabin overhead. Where exactly was the hole? Could you see the hole upon a simple, visual inspection of the windshield? When you say cabin overhead, are you referring to the cuddy cabin "ceiling" that was saturated with water? How did water, and so much of it, get in this hole? From rain, washing the boat, etc? Help me out so that I can understand this problem and check for it on my Conquest. Sincerly, I.R. Paranoid.
fd3 posted 04-25-2002 12:28 PM ET (US)
Riparian, On the outside of your windshield, along the bottom edge where it attaches to the deck, there is a piece of black foam rubber that presses in to the channel where the attachment screws are. On the starboard side, pull this piece of foam out of its channel. Don�t worry about just pulling it out, it presses back in very easily. You should be able to see the wires running from the base of the anchor/nav light mount to the point where they pass through the bottom of the windshield attachment channel and into the cabin. This is the hole that was not sealed on my boat. The foam in the channel does not create a watertight seal. It is only cosmetic to hide the mounting screws. The point where the wires come into the cabin is above the box that hides the back of the electronics box at the helm. I was in the cabin one day uploading waypoints from my laptop to my GPS and noticed water dripping from the bottom of the box. I took the box down (four screws, plastic caps hiding the heads) and discovered it was full of water. The material that covers the box, as well as the rest of the overhead is vinyl with foam backing. This foam had been acting as giant sponge and absorbing the water for quite some time before it finally became saturated and started dripping through. It�s a cumulative thing. Any water that gets into that windshield channel, be it from rain, washdown, spray or whatever will eventually get though that hole if it�s not sealed. Getting the foam dried out is a major pain since the vinyl covering seals it. I put a large round inspection plate in the bottom of the box before I put it back up. Now I can look in there periodically to check that it�s dry. Sealing the hole requires only a couple minutes with some silicone. I hope yours was sealed at the factory!
dauntlass 18 posted 04-25-2002 02:18 PM ET (US)
FD3 my Conquest had a leak into the same box cover built into headliner.My boat is equipped with a factory hardtop, Whaler cuts a hole in cabin roof app. one inch in diameter to run wires to hard top electronic box it was not sealed at all.One of the hard top supports covers hole I had to losen all hardtop supports and fill hole from outside with silicone sealer trying to seal from underside would not work.
I also get water on cabin floor I thought it may come from hole in cabin roof which I just repaired.Which bulkhead have you sealed the one at anchor comp. to cabin or one at cabin door? My boat is kept on a trailer and over winter cabin floor filled with water.
I still also give boat a nine rateing and would buy another one.
fd3 posted 04-25-2002 03:59 PM ET (US)
Dauntless, I met a fellow owner in Florida this past winter who also had a 21 Conquest and had the water on the cabin floor problem. I guess it�s problematic to the model. I�ve sealed the bulkhead under the cabin door. I hadn�t thought about the anchor locker. I don�t see how water could get from the anchor locker to the cabin floor directly. I think it could, however, contribute to the water getting into the bilge which ultimately ends up in the cabin. I�ll have to take a look at that. A hard rain always translates into water on the cabin floor. We�ve put a couple of pieces of Dry Deck on the floor. It helps when there�s only a little water on the floor. At least you don�t step into it when you go below. Sometimes though the water is several inches deep.
dauntlass 18 posted 04-25-2002 07:12 PM ET (US)
FD3 I can not figure out if there is any bilge area under cabin floor.The anchor locker has a through hull drain very small which I think drains it and only it. The bulkhead between v bunk, porta potty area of cabin is aft area of anchor locker. I think the cabin floor is the hull structure.The term bilge area starts at the cabin door and goes aft.I try to keep drain in anchor locker clear other wise due to small drain hole it cloggs with debris very quickley.I sealed cabin roof hole two weeks ago and have washed boat once no water on cabin floor[I still think I have not corrected leak 100%].I have tilted the front of trailer up very high and let boat set with plug out of cabin bulk head, cabin floor water will not drain totally out of cabin floor and to stern of boat.It is a mystery to me.Still it is a great boat.
Riparian posted 04-26-2002 02:07 PM ET (US)
fd3, thanks for the response. I figured the hole had to be somewhere under that rubber stripping. I'll have to check on the water on the cabin floor also. When we first got the boat there was a little water on the cabin floor, but since then we have for the most part had the filler cushin in, so I have not looked down there. I had thought that the water was just sloshing up from the bilge at times through a finished hole that is located directly under that little step in the cabin just under the cabin door and seems to go to the bilge area. I have not looked at it this year, but I was under the impression when I first saw this hole that one of my plugs would fit the hole and solve any water in the cabin problem. Sincerly, Riparanoid.
David Pendleton posted 04-28-2002 12:22 AM ET (US)
I have a 99 Conquest I/O.
I have the same water problems, and my hatch leaked too. I had to remove and recaulk.
dauntlass 18 -- I also have water leaking in via the hardtop mounts into the 'box' in the cuddy ceiling. I tried removing the four screws, but the damned box would not come down, I tried to force it (gently) but it offered enough resistance to make me give up for fear of damaging something. Any ideas?
Regarding the hardtop, did you loosen _all_ the mounts? I'm a little reluctant to do that...
In spite of the problems, I'm still very happy with the boat.
Thanks.
David
fd3 posted 05-02-2002 03:41 PM ET (US)
David, I had some problems getting the box down also. I think that when the boat was in production they put the box up before installing the electronics �glove box� at the helm. Anyway, the ceiling material was glued and stapled to the inside of the box. It had to have been done from above. I had to very carefully cut away some of the material making sure there was enough so that when I put the box back up it would overlap the cut material. Is your Conquest a 21 or a 23? I knew they made a 23 I/O but I�ve never seen a 21 with an I/O.
Riparian, I too thought installing the plug in the bulkhead would solve the problem. As a matter of fact, I had e-mailed BW when the boat was fairly new and asked about how to solve the water problem. They suggested installing the plug and, failing that, sealing the bulkhead. I tried to find the original exchange with BW but alias, it has gone to e-mail heaven! One of these days I�ll find the cure for the water-in-the-cabin blues! When I do, I�ll post it.
David Pendleton posted 05-03-2002 04:35 PM ET (US)
It's a 23. I think I'm the only one here with an I/O of any model.
dogface posted 05-07-2002 12:45 PM ET (US)
Was getting water on cabin floor, it was coming from bow anchor locker when I washing the boat. Pulled the anchor rode, sealed the bulkhead and no more problems. The drainage hole isn't big enough to handle all the water poured on while washing.
Dave
dogface posted 05-07-2002 12:45 PM ET (US)
Was getting water on cabin floor, it was coming from bow anchor locker when I washing the boat. Pulled the anchor rode, sealed the bulkhead and no more problems. The drainage hole isn't big enough to handle all the water poured on while washing.
Dave
fd3 posted 05-23-2002 08:52 AM ET (US)
I haven�t been to the boat for a while so I wasn�t able to check the issue dogface suggested with the anchor locker. I was at the marina yesterday and filled the anchor locker with a hose. Yes, you can put water in faster than it runs out through the drain hole. I filled mine well above the bulkhead to the cabin. Alas, that does appear to be the source of water on the cabin floor for my boat.
fd3 posted 05-23-2002 08:58 AM ET (US)
Whoops! Make that last sentence does NOT appear to be the source of water on the cabin floor for my boat.
dauntlass 18 posted 05-23-2002 10:06 AM ET (US)
Since mid April when I sealed hole in cabin roof at hardtop support I have had no water on cabin floor.It has rained very hard in my area over the last month several times and I have washed boat several times.For now I think cabin roof hole was cause of water on my cabin floor.
HappyTime posted 05-23-2002 12:37 PM ET (US)
I have the same mysterious water leakage into the floor inside the console of my 1999 Outrage 21, it took me a while to find out where the leakage was from, it's the thru
hole fitting where the forward storage is drained thru the hull. I actually had to craw inside the console while my boat was on the water and found the water slowly sipped in at the fitting. I took the fitting out, resealed it with 3M 5200 and the problem went away ever since. BTW, you can buy the wrench for the thru hole fitting from a hardware
store, look for plumbing tools.
Treypescatorie posted 12-30-2002 12:10 PM ET (US)
I have a 2000 21 conquest that I purchased in 2001 as a left over. Hade the same leak in the head liner coming from the wire from the anchor light. Talked to whaler they had no idea of any previous problems. It seems like they never bothered to alert anyone on this problem.
Also had the leak in the cabin floor. I fixed it by putting a plug in the hole and sealing the partition under the step.
tully_mars posted 01-09-2003 04:18 PM ET (US)
Hey all,
One more thing to check for where you are getting water on your floor. My VacuFlush head leaked water at the inlet under the pedal. There is a brass stop that screws onto a PVC pipe with a spring in it for the pedal valve. There was no sealant on the threads so and when the fresh water was on it would drip water onto the cabin deck which ends up in the floor. Disassembled and sealed (while standing on my head) and no more water on the deck.
I had to find this because it was a beautiful sunny day, and my boat sits in a boat house so there could be no water leaking in from above. We had been crusing around and there was water on the deck, so I began to investigate.
Tully Mars

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Author	Topic: 21 foot conquest
peter welch	posted 03-03-2002 10:24 AM ET (US) I have just started my hunt for a new boat and a used Conquest 21 caught my eye. It has a lot of the features I'm looking for but I am wondering why BW has dropped it from production. Also, it seems like there are a lot of late model Conquest 21's for dale. Is there something I should know before I buy one? Many thanks! Peter
dscew	posted 03-03-2002 11:54 AM ET (US) Hopefully, it will have trim tabs and the biggest engine available. They are a bit sluggish to plane and need the upper range of RPMs to stay up there. The 225 Opti or EFI would be good choices. O/W they're pretty nice boats. I'm not sure whay they're not around anymore.
dauntlass 18	posted 03-03-2002 12:59 PM ET (US) My 21 ft Conquest runs great on a 200hp optimax.I first put a dole fin on brought planing rpm down to 2400 to 2600 rpm. I than put on trim tabs { Bennett } you do not need them on my boat they make only a small improvement in the performance.My Conquest ran fine even before the tabs were installed in my opinion the dole fin helped to get boat on plane at lower rpm.My only problem with boat is some deck cracks in anti skid surface.We run boat all day long at 3600 rpm by gps 28mph app. 6 gal per hr. I think one with factory hardtop is best model.I really like mine.feel free to e mail if you you have any questions.
Riparian	posted 03-04-2002 10:27 AM ET (US) My 21 Conquest does not have a hard top and jumps out of the hole immediatley with a 200 Opti. I don't think a larger engine or a fin would be necessary unless you get the hard top. That think has got to be heavy, but man are they nice looking. Beware with the hard top however. At 6 foot tall, If stand up behind the wheel my line of sight is blocked by the electronics box. That would really annoy me in the long run if I had gone that route. Look at the Whaler catalogs over the years and you will see models come and go that were pretty darn nice. They didn't make the 21 Walkaround for more than three or so years either. Love my boat. Fit and finish is great and it feels oh so solid. The bunk seats in the cuddy are nice too. Don't get that in the 23. Good luck.
Gigabite	posted 03-11-2002 09:33 AM ET (US) How does the 21 Conquest handle 2-3 foot seas? I am looking to trade up to one of these at the end of the summer.
blackdog	posted 03-11-2002 02:43 PM ET (US) Riparian, Don't like the 23? Why not
jjf	posted 03-11-2002 09:58 PM ET (US) Riparian, I'm looking at 23s right now. I curious why you don't like them as well.
jjf	posted 03-11-2002 09:58 PM ET (US) Riparian, I'm looking at 23s right now. I'm curious why you don't like them as well.
Riparian	posted 03-14-2002 02:32 PM ET (US) Hold on now. The 23 is an excellent boat. I do like the 23. Since winter set in I have been having second thoughts about passing on the 23 and getting the 21 instead. As I recall from my visit aboard the 23, nothing about the hardtop obscured my vision, (ex. electronics box). I may very likely have bought one of those, but price difference was huge, if you consider around $20,000 or so, (or more with hard top) to be huge. And I trailer a lot so that kind of freaked me going from a 16 foot to a 23 on a trailer. My original post comment was directed at the cuddy cabins of both the 21 and 23. The 21 like the 23 has a cuddy filler that forms a full V berth. If you look at both the 21 and the 23 cuddy, they are about the same size also. The 23 may be a bit bigger, but not by that much. But the one thing the 21 cuddy does that the 23 did not do was that inside the 21 cuddy, port and starboard sections of the V berth fold down and form port and starboard seats that face each other. This allows two people to sit up inside the cuddy for whatever reason, even if you are 6'1 or so tall, with the bow section of the V berth still intack covering the porta pottie. Without this option inside the 23, you don't have that kind of sitting headroom. Not a real big deal, but a difference my wife reminds me of every time I talk about a 23 with hardtop.
dauntlass 18	posted 03-15-2002 04:14 AM ET (US) The 23 Conquest appears to have too much lost deck behind the stern seat used as swim platform.Whaler needs a cuddy model smaller than the 25 they now offer to round out the cuddy cabin line.Maybe without the step down side profile they are now useing and sunpad on cabin roof.
peter welch	posted 03-25-2002 07:45 AM ET (US) The boat I'm currently looking at does not have a hard top but comes with a really nice looking set of full curtains that should be fine for cold weather use. Also, it is equiped with a 200 hp Johnson salt water series motor. Any thoughts on this motor? I would also have to buy a trailer for this boat. Comments on choice of trailer and approx. price would be appreciated. Many thanks. Peter
dauntlass 18	posted 03-25-2002 07:10 PM ET (US) Go with a DFI or EFI engine other than Johnson or Evinrude.I am not sure but I think the Johnson engine is a carb. engine.I may be not to wise in my choice of engines but I have had two optimax engines with no problems I passed by several Conquests till I found one with Mercury Optimax power.So far now in second year of ownership no engine problems and fuel economy is really great.I have a Load Rite trailer made to fit Conquest??The trailer works fine but I may go to the yellow heavy duty rollers I had to replace several rollers.
David Ratusnik	posted 03-25-2002 07:55 PM ET (US) Peter- The Johnson is fine. Old, reliable technology. Beat the owner up on the old tech in order to drive the price down abit. Statistically speaking, the Johnson will last longer than you will own the boat. I have a friend who bought a 225 carb Evinrude 2 years ago and it is flawless (virtually same engine as one you are looking at). If you want to unload it, I'm fishing. e mail .03 David
fd3	posted 04-23-2002 07:43 PM ET (US) Peter, your original post goes back awhile so you may have already found a boat. Still, I�ll share my experience with our 21 Conquest. The boat lives on the Potomac River in the summer and there are few other Whalers on the river, at least not where we are. Aside from some annoying chop from time to time there�s just not enough water there to challenge a Whaler. We do, however, take it to Florida in the winter and use it in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic down in the Keys. About the worst water we have been in was probably 4-5 foot swells on a reef off Key Largo. It wasn�t pleasant and it slowed us down but I never had any concerns for the boat. It seemed happy to be there. We have the 200 Mercury Optimax on ours as well. I have no complaints about the performance although I wish it would stay on plane at a little slower speed. I should probably look at a Doel Fin. The only issue I have with the boat is with minor workmanship things. Just this week I went to open the port in the cabin and the little plastic handle broke off. A hole was drilled in the windshield frame for the wiring for the running lights and it wasn�t sealed. The overhead in the cabin was saturated with water before I noticed it. We�ve always had a problem with water on the cabin floor. It comes in from the bilge under a screwed in bulkhead. I�ve sealed it and the dealer has sealed but I guess the bulkhead flexes enough to break the seal over time. Yes, this small stuff but we bought it new and it is a Whaler � I would have expected a little better. The other thing is the canvass. Fit and finish is not great and the isinglass is of pretty poor quality. Very distorted view with the curtains up. It�s not Mills canvass so I might also recommend passing on the canvass option and ordering from Mills. All in all I�d give it a 99 out of a 100 though in spite of its minor flaws. Every boat I�ve ever had has had some problems and these are really minor in the big scheme of things. Good luck!
TRAFFICLAWYER	posted 04-25-2002 08:25 AM ET (US) I have a 2001 21' Ventura, same hull as the outrage, runs fine with a 200 yamaha hpdi, could definetly use trim tabs, Im taking it on the edgewater rendevous this year.
Riparian	posted 04-25-2002 09:39 AM ET (US) fd3, could you explain in a little more detail about this hole that was drilled in your windshield frame for running light wiring that allowed water in and saturated your cabin overhead. Where exactly was the hole? Could you see the hole upon a simple, visual inspection of the windshield? When you say cabin overhead, are you referring to the cuddy cabin "ceiling" that was saturated with water? How did water, and so much of it, get in this hole? From rain, washing the boat, etc? Help me out so that I can understand this problem and check for it on my Conquest. Sincerly, I.R. Paranoid.
fd3	posted 04-25-2002 12:28 PM ET (US) Riparian, On the outside of your windshield, along the bottom edge where it attaches to the deck, there is a piece of black foam rubber that presses in to the channel where the attachment screws are. On the starboard side, pull this piece of foam out of its channel. Don�t worry about just pulling it out, it presses back in very easily. You should be able to see the wires running from the base of the anchor/nav light mount to the point where they pass through the bottom of the windshield attachment channel and into the cabin. This is the hole that was not sealed on my boat. The foam in the channel does not create a watertight seal. It is only cosmetic to hide the mounting screws. The point where the wires come into the cabin is above the box that hides the back of the electronics box at the helm. I was in the cabin one day uploading waypoints from my laptop to my GPS and noticed water dripping from the bottom of the box. I took the box down (four screws, plastic caps hiding the heads) and discovered it was full of water. The material that covers the box, as well as the rest of the overhead is vinyl with foam backing. This foam had been acting as giant sponge and absorbing the water for quite some time before it finally became saturated and started dripping through. It�s a cumulative thing. Any water that gets into that windshield channel, be it from rain, washdown, spray or whatever will eventually get though that hole if it�s not sealed. Getting the foam dried out is a major pain since the vinyl covering seals it. I put a large round inspection plate in the bottom of the box before I put it back up. Now I can look in there periodically to check that it�s dry. Sealing the hole requires only a couple minutes with some silicone. I hope yours was sealed at the factory!
dauntlass 18	posted 04-25-2002 02:18 PM ET (US) FD3 my Conquest had a leak into the same box cover built into headliner.My boat is equipped with a factory hardtop, Whaler cuts a hole in cabin roof app. one inch in diameter to run wires to hard top electronic box it was not sealed at all.One of the hard top supports covers hole I had to losen all hardtop supports and fill hole from outside with silicone sealer trying to seal from underside would not work. I also get water on cabin floor I thought it may come from hole in cabin roof which I just repaired.Which bulkhead have you sealed the one at anchor comp. to cabin or one at cabin door? My boat is kept on a trailer and over winter cabin floor filled with water. I still also give boat a nine rateing and would buy another one.
fd3	posted 04-25-2002 03:59 PM ET (US) Dauntless, I met a fellow owner in Florida this past winter who also had a 21 Conquest and had the water on the cabin floor problem. I guess it�s problematic to the model. I�ve sealed the bulkhead under the cabin door. I hadn�t thought about the anchor locker. I don�t see how water could get from the anchor locker to the cabin floor directly. I think it could, however, contribute to the water getting into the bilge which ultimately ends up in the cabin. I�ll have to take a look at that. A hard rain always translates into water on the cabin floor. We�ve put a couple of pieces of Dry Deck on the floor. It helps when there�s only a little water on the floor. At least you don�t step into it when you go below. Sometimes though the water is several inches deep.
dauntlass 18	posted 04-25-2002 07:12 PM ET (US) FD3 I can not figure out if there is any bilge area under cabin floor.The anchor locker has a through hull drain very small which I think drains it and only it. The bulkhead between v bunk, porta potty area of cabin is aft area of anchor locker. I think the cabin floor is the hull structure.The term bilge area starts at the cabin door and goes aft.I try to keep drain in anchor locker clear other wise due to small drain hole it cloggs with debris very quickley.I sealed cabin roof hole two weeks ago and have washed boat once no water on cabin floor[I still think I have not corrected leak 100%].I have tilted the front of trailer up very high and let boat set with plug out of cabin bulk head, cabin floor water will not drain totally out of cabin floor and to stern of boat.It is a mystery to me.Still it is a great boat.
Riparian	posted 04-26-2002 02:07 PM ET (US) fd3, thanks for the response. I figured the hole had to be somewhere under that rubber stripping. I'll have to check on the water on the cabin floor also. When we first got the boat there was a little water on the cabin floor, but since then we have for the most part had the filler cushin in, so I have not looked down there. I had thought that the water was just sloshing up from the bilge at times through a finished hole that is located directly under that little step in the cabin just under the cabin door and seems to go to the bilge area. I have not looked at it this year, but I was under the impression when I first saw this hole that one of my plugs would fit the hole and solve any water in the cabin problem. Sincerly, Riparanoid.
David Pendleton	posted 04-28-2002 12:22 AM ET (US) I have a 99 Conquest I/O. I have the same water problems, and my hatch leaked too. I had to remove and recaulk. dauntlass 18 -- I also have water leaking in via the hardtop mounts into the 'box' in the cuddy ceiling. I tried removing the four screws, but the damned box would not come down, I tried to force it (gently) but it offered enough resistance to make me give up for fear of damaging something. Any ideas? Regarding the hardtop, did you loosen _all_ the mounts? I'm a little reluctant to do that... In spite of the problems, I'm still very happy with the boat. Thanks. David
fd3	posted 05-02-2002 03:41 PM ET (US) David, I had some problems getting the box down also. I think that when the boat was in production they put the box up before installing the electronics �glove box� at the helm. Anyway, the ceiling material was glued and stapled to the inside of the box. It had to have been done from above. I had to very carefully cut away some of the material making sure there was enough so that when I put the box back up it would overlap the cut material. Is your Conquest a 21 or a 23? I knew they made a 23 I/O but I�ve never seen a 21 with an I/O. Riparian, I too thought installing the plug in the bulkhead would solve the problem. As a matter of fact, I had e-mailed BW when the boat was fairly new and asked about how to solve the water problem. They suggested installing the plug and, failing that, sealing the bulkhead. I tried to find the original exchange with BW but alias, it has gone to e-mail heaven! One of these days I�ll find the cure for the water-in-the-cabin blues! When I do, I�ll post it.
David Pendleton	posted 05-03-2002 04:35 PM ET (US) It's a 23. I think I'm the only one here with an I/O of any model.
dogface	posted 05-07-2002 12:45 PM ET (US) Was getting water on cabin floor, it was coming from bow anchor locker when I washing the boat. Pulled the anchor rode, sealed the bulkhead and no more problems. The drainage hole isn't big enough to handle all the water poured on while washing. Dave
dogface	posted 05-07-2002 12:45 PM ET (US) Was getting water on cabin floor, it was coming from bow anchor locker when I washing the boat. Pulled the anchor rode, sealed the bulkhead and no more problems. The drainage hole isn't big enough to handle all the water poured on while washing. Dave
fd3	posted 05-23-2002 08:52 AM ET (US) I haven�t been to the boat for a while so I wasn�t able to check the issue dogface suggested with the anchor locker. I was at the marina yesterday and filled the anchor locker with a hose. Yes, you can put water in faster than it runs out through the drain hole. I filled mine well above the bulkhead to the cabin. Alas, that does appear to be the source of water on the cabin floor for my boat.
fd3	posted 05-23-2002 08:58 AM ET (US) Whoops! Make that last sentence does NOT appear to be the source of water on the cabin floor for my boat.
dauntlass 18	posted 05-23-2002 10:06 AM ET (US) Since mid April when I sealed hole in cabin roof at hardtop support I have had no water on cabin floor.It has rained very hard in my area over the last month several times and I have washed boat several times.For now I think cabin roof hole was cause of water on my cabin floor.
HappyTime	posted 05-23-2002 12:37 PM ET (US) I have the same mysterious water leakage into the floor inside the console of my 1999 Outrage 21, it took me a while to find out where the leakage was from, it's the thru hole fitting where the forward storage is drained thru the hull. I actually had to craw inside the console while my boat was on the water and found the water slowly sipped in at the fitting. I took the fitting out, resealed it with 3M 5200 and the problem went away ever since. BTW, you can buy the wrench for the thru hole fitting from a hardware store, look for plumbing tools.
Treypescatorie	posted 12-30-2002 12:10 PM ET (US) I have a 2000 21 conquest that I purchased in 2001 as a left over. Hade the same leak in the head liner coming from the wire from the anchor light. Talked to whaler they had no idea of any previous problems. It seems like they never bothered to alert anyone on this problem. Also had the leak in the cabin floor. I fixed it by putting a plug in the hole and sealing the partition under the step.
tully_mars	posted 01-09-2003 04:18 PM ET (US) Hey all, One more thing to check for where you are getting water on your floor. My VacuFlush head leaked water at the inlet under the pedal. There is a brass stop that screws onto a PVC pipe with a spring in it for the pedal valve. There was no sealant on the threads so and when the fresh water was on it would drip water onto the cabin deck which ends up in the floor. Disassembled and sealed (while standing on my head) and no more water on the deck. I had to find this because it was a beautiful sunny day, and my boat sits in a boat house so there could be no water leaking in from above. We had been crusing around and there was water on the deck, so I began to investigate. Tully Mars