wharfcreek
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2009
- Messages
- 36
This is a last ditch effor before I give up...... again! I have a 15' center console boat with a 60HP Merc 4-stroke EFI motor. Had the boat for about 5 years now and I love it. That said, it has one problem I can't seem to resolve, that being that it takes on an inordinate amount of water when running up on plane, but not so much when just trolling around. I've been attempting to find the problem for the last few years, and while it's not getting any worse, it's significant enough that it concerns me. When just floating around at the 'under 6 MPH' level, the boat doesn't seem to take on any water at all. BUT.... if I push it up on plane and run around for 15 minutes or so....out to my fishing grounds and back, when I get home, I can damn near fill a 5 gallon bucket!!
To start, I've been all over every inch of the hull, both while the boat was on my lift, as well as when on it's trailer. Previously painted, last fall I pulled the boat and blocked it, and proceeded to 'strip' all the old bottom paint, and then I used the 'Goof-Off' product to remove as much of the residue and staining that I could. In the end, I got the hull both smooth and well inspected. And, not a crack or hole to be found other than the floor drains from the deck through the sides of the boat (it's a Key West 1520 Sportsman with drains out either side that require plugs on the inside of the boat while running). For the record, I've also checked where these drains exit the hull on the outside, and they're quite well sealed in that area.
Today, in what I consider a 'second-to-last' ditch effort (with this post being the 'last ditch), I have the boat on the trailer, and I 'water tested all along the rub-rail underside after getting some advice from a local marina about possible intrusion from the deck to hull seal under the rub-rail. Seems the dealer had seen that before. So, I took a hose with a high-pressure nozzle and 'squirted' water all along the underside of the rub-rail from about 5' back from the bow all the way to the stern, as well as all along the stern at the deck seam area covered in stainless. After about 45 minutes of spray, I didn't see a single drop running out the hull drain in the back. Boat was tilted 'up' just a bit, but enough that it any water at all had run in, I should have seen a few drops pour out the back.
Then there's rear splash well in front of the engine. I flooded this area hoping I might see a leak around the floor inspection hatch. Nothing!! I even ran the hose into the back end of the boat hoping that if I filled it up with water, I might see it run out some place. Again, solid as a rock!! No leaks!! The boat has two thru-hull fittings; one for draining the live-well, and te other is a water intake for the live well. I tested both of those for leaks, and again....nothing! The bottom line here is that I'm running out of ideas.....and places to try! I even tried around the engine mounting bolts, thinking maybe one of them was perhaps poorly sealed. Again, nothing!!
The possibility of the intrusion coming along the rub-rail seemed the most likely to me, particularly because there is quite a bit of water that is splashed up against the side when the boat is on plane. The fact that I get nothing when running at trolling speed would seem to support that it's GOT to be related to displaced water while on plane. But where is it coming in? I feel as if I'm covered every possible spot, both 'internally' by flooding the hull, and 'externally' by using the high-pressure hose nozzle all along the outside of the hull, and even on the splash-well area. Taking on a few gallons of water in such a short time seems like it should be a fairly easy leak to identify and plug......but so far, I'm stumped. So, here I am, last ditch effort....and hopefully some new ideas will pop up. Just one last thing: I'm NOT getting any kind of splash water into the boat while running either. Nor is anything splashing down the rod-holders and going into the hull that way. I plugged those off.......so, that I'm sure of.
It's a mystery!! Please help!! Thanks.............. Tom D.
To start, I've been all over every inch of the hull, both while the boat was on my lift, as well as when on it's trailer. Previously painted, last fall I pulled the boat and blocked it, and proceeded to 'strip' all the old bottom paint, and then I used the 'Goof-Off' product to remove as much of the residue and staining that I could. In the end, I got the hull both smooth and well inspected. And, not a crack or hole to be found other than the floor drains from the deck through the sides of the boat (it's a Key West 1520 Sportsman with drains out either side that require plugs on the inside of the boat while running). For the record, I've also checked where these drains exit the hull on the outside, and they're quite well sealed in that area.
Today, in what I consider a 'second-to-last' ditch effort (with this post being the 'last ditch), I have the boat on the trailer, and I 'water tested all along the rub-rail underside after getting some advice from a local marina about possible intrusion from the deck to hull seal under the rub-rail. Seems the dealer had seen that before. So, I took a hose with a high-pressure nozzle and 'squirted' water all along the underside of the rub-rail from about 5' back from the bow all the way to the stern, as well as all along the stern at the deck seam area covered in stainless. After about 45 minutes of spray, I didn't see a single drop running out the hull drain in the back. Boat was tilted 'up' just a bit, but enough that it any water at all had run in, I should have seen a few drops pour out the back.
Then there's rear splash well in front of the engine. I flooded this area hoping I might see a leak around the floor inspection hatch. Nothing!! I even ran the hose into the back end of the boat hoping that if I filled it up with water, I might see it run out some place. Again, solid as a rock!! No leaks!! The boat has two thru-hull fittings; one for draining the live-well, and te other is a water intake for the live well. I tested both of those for leaks, and again....nothing! The bottom line here is that I'm running out of ideas.....and places to try! I even tried around the engine mounting bolts, thinking maybe one of them was perhaps poorly sealed. Again, nothing!!
The possibility of the intrusion coming along the rub-rail seemed the most likely to me, particularly because there is quite a bit of water that is splashed up against the side when the boat is on plane. The fact that I get nothing when running at trolling speed would seem to support that it's GOT to be related to displaced water while on plane. But where is it coming in? I feel as if I'm covered every possible spot, both 'internally' by flooding the hull, and 'externally' by using the high-pressure hose nozzle all along the outside of the hull, and even on the splash-well area. Taking on a few gallons of water in such a short time seems like it should be a fairly easy leak to identify and plug......but so far, I'm stumped. So, here I am, last ditch effort....and hopefully some new ideas will pop up. Just one last thing: I'm NOT getting any kind of splash water into the boat while running either. Nor is anything splashing down the rod-holders and going into the hull that way. I plugged those off.......so, that I'm sure of.
It's a mystery!! Please help!! Thanks.............. Tom D.
