---

how much water enters the splashwell in calm seas with the plugs out? before i moved the engine onto the jackplate, I would leave the plugs out when moored so the water would drain. The one time i didn't i had a panicked harbor master calling me, telling me my boat was sinking and they were looking for a pump. I told them to stop looking and i would drive over and fix it, which i did by pulling the plugs. Once the engine was on a jackplate, so the splashwell drains were below the waterline, the bilge pumps when in and the battery went on a solar trickle charger. Never had a dead battery or a swamped boat. I would often leave the sump drain plug out and only use the bilge pumps on the splashwell