looking for possible leaky livewell plumbing advice

[Injury]

The boat is an '89 Stratos fish and ski.

I have water coming in from somewhere but it only seems to happen when coming off plane from speed. The amount of water coming in makes it hard to get back on plane til I sit there run the bilge pumps to clear it out. I've seen it so much as to come from the drains on the rear seat, and reach the base of the ski locker in the floor about midway up the boat.

I've had people watch to make sure it's not swamping over the back from coming off plane too fast. I've pulled the gas tank and put the plug in and filled up the rear of the boat with no leaking. Closed the drain valves on the livewells and filled them up with a hose to the overflow water held for several days.

Based on the advice from a friend I took a garden hose and started shooting water up all the fittings from the rear. There are openings for front and rear live well aerators and 2 seprate livewell drain lines. I notice with the drain valves shutoff, shooting the waterhose up one of the drain lines was producing air bubbles around the screwhole that attaches the control arm to the center of the valve, looked pretty much like a leaky bike innertube.

So obviously that valve is leaking, guess my question is would the higher pressure of water against the back of the boat coming off plane be likely to force that much water in from what seems like such a small hole? I took the valve apart and noticed some "junk" around the oring but it wasn't fractured or brittle, it did appear that the spring in there "may" have not been in the correct place. Usually when I take something apart that unknowingly has a spring in it, it takes off flying and this was just kind of laying inside.

This whole issue thus far has been a pain in the neck to test and I obviously want to be as reasonably sure it's fixed before I put it all back together to take it back out. Getting that gas tank in and out is a chore.

[Lrider]

I think I would plug off the live wells at the intake and see what happens if that is where you think it is coming from

The I would systematically pug off non essential intakes and discharges intil I found it

It is good that you know when it happens - or could you be taking on water when you are on plane

Just my humble opinion

Good luck finding it

[Outsider]

Where's the livewell? A quick stop will cause a slop of water in the well, and overflow into the bilge if the cap isn't sealed. Many are not ...

[Injury]

one well is up front under the fishing platform, other is towards the back between the two rear seats. However this does it even with the valves off, or valves open but not running the aerators to fill em (thus real low water level in them).

I came across the plug up the drain test mentioned in some other threads, was just checking for other ideas, as that would involve putting the tank back in, launching, and taking the thing back out. It really is an annoying puzzle between siphoning gas, and the twister move that two of us have to put on the tank getting it out of the opening and past wires.

thanks for the replies