water getting in. help..........

hi everyone...... need help trying to find were water is getting into my boat. 21 foot Sea ray bow rider with a 5.7 Mercruiser. had new bellows 2 years ago but getting about a gallon an hour coming in when the boat just sits in the water. no cracks in the hull and the boat only has 182 hours on it. can,t see it coming in so what do i do? hoping some one can help
thanks all......

Re: water getting in. help..........

I'd say you should inspect it much closer. Any thru-hull fittings,engine fittings,bellows,livewell,any and all spots that it could be. A good strong light and a mirror help alot.
Grub

Re: water getting in. help..........

With the boat in the water on the trailer get down in there with a flashlight, mirrors, digital camera and look/listen where water might be entering.

My Sea Ray had a similar issue, not quite that much water, but found the garboard itself was leaking and removing that and re-installing with new sealant and screws cut down quite a bit of the water entering.

The gimbal housing to transom seal can also shift that will allow water entering along with the shift cable and ujoint bellows.

Mark

Re: water getting in. help..........

A gallon per hour? have you checked that your motor is not leaking somewhere? Your sea/fresh water pump? 1 gallon per hour is pretty minimal, it could even be wet swimmers getting in and out of your boat, so I think we need more info, are we talking 1 hour of running time, 1 hour of sitting, amount of in and out traffic etc..

Re: water getting in. help..........

just 1 hour of sitting in the water on the trailer motor not running.

Re: water getting in. help..........

on the trailer even? wow, ok then I think that I would fill your bilge with water and see where it comes out, probably the easiest, I would look for a transducer or something like that but don't be surprised if the intake hose for the seawater pump is not tight or needs attention, it doesn't need to be running to leak, further up from the seawater pump shouldn't be an issue per the conditions you described though, also it would be worth it to check your gimbal seal.

could be tough to find, your best bet may be to go around everything and tighten it up, your not looking for a large leak.

Re: water getting in. help..........

stjoeislandkid said:

just 1 hour of sitting in the water on the trailer motor not running.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... With a Gusher like that, you oughta be able to find it,...

As noted above, a digital camera, flashlight, 'n mirrors are the Tools for the job,...

Ya might also have to remove various piece of the "Boat" to gain access,...
Anything that can be unscrewed, 'n removed, Should be,..

Ya don't mention the Vintage of the hull, so I'll guess the transom is Rotten,...

but, til ya Find the leak, it's All just Guesses,...

Re: water getting in. help..........

Another vote for fill the bilge and look for the leak.

That can be the most sure way to find a leak you describe.

Re: water getting in. help..........

And I'm gonna toss up a vote AGAINST filling the bilge..... your starter will be under water long before you reach most of the likely leak spots plus you stand a very good chance of overloading the trailer and/or doing damage to the boat.

That idea is better suited to a small aluminum outboard boat with leaking rivets n such


As stated above back it in the water and use the tools mentioned above to find the leak...

Also add a towel to the list... if you wipe the water up and look to see watch to see where it appears first you will be getting closer to the leak.

If the above tools don't get it then look into a bore scope... It's basically a small camera on a long flexible stalk with a hand held screen... they can be bought relatively cheap at home improvement stores.... I have a ryobi and LOVE it....It has saved the day many times