Howdy, Lou.
Welcome to iboats.
Let's first eliminate the most common, and easiest to fix, cause of water intrusion in the foot: Failed gaskets under the drain/fill and vent plugs. Some people don't recognize that those are crush sealing gaskets, not washers, and don't replace them every time they service the lower end. If your gaskets were replaced on the last service that should be okay; if not, or if you don't know, replace them and test to see if water intrusion continues.
Re-sealing the gearcase is not difficult if you have a factory Service Manual and basic wrenching ability.
Good luck.