Leaky boat

[JohnKorte]

I have had this 1999 tracker fish and ski boat (deck boat)for several years now. Most times when I trailer it after a day at the lake I will drain about 5 gallons of water from the engine compartment. I cannot visually see water coming in while floating or moving through the water. The kicker is occasionally no water or very little water will accumulate.? It is not coming from the engine or the drain plug or the transom. Any ideas out there?

 

[Chris1956]

What kind of engine? If I/O, there are lots of places for water to leak into the bilge. If outboard, there are less places for leaks to occur, with the engine mounting bolts, and thru hull fittings being the most likely. Also, look for small cracks in the hull. The strake on my SeaRay cracked and the only way I knew about it was when water bubbled up thru the bottom of the ski well.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most likely the plastic lines and fittings for the livewells are cracked or leaking.

The good news, that is fairly inexpensive to repair yourself. The bad news is you have to disassemble nearly the whole boat

 

[airshot]

Aluminum of fiberglass hull ?? Each has there own areas where water can leak in. 5 gallons is a lot of water, should be no issue seeing that much coming in.

 

[JohnKorte]

3.0 mercury inboard, aluminum hull.
As stated I have watched carefully while still in the water and moving slowly. I have looked around the engine and the transom area where cables come in. It takes 3-6 hours of trolling, with faster speeds going to and coming from fishing area. I guess i can start taping live well drain ports... the seam down the middle? If so how would it be fixed? It's frustrating because you just don't see water coming in.

 

[Chris1956]

I/O engines can leak water when they run, when they are tilted up, and of course, when they just sit. It would be helpful to know if she leaks under any of those conditions.

A good plan of attack would be to launch the boat, motor out for a few minutes and then turn the motor off and monitor the water in the bilge. If no water accumulates, then the hull is probably not leaking. Run the live wells, washdowns or whatever you have.

Now trim the motor up and monitor the bilge, some more. If no water then, the bellows are probably not leaking.

Now trim the motor down, start it up and troll while watching the bilge. Check the joints between the riser and exhaust manifold, check the circulating pump weep hole, check the power steering cooler (if you have one) and the raw water intake hose. Finally check the other hoses to the thermostat housing and manifold and riser.

Finally, on an aluminum boat, especially one that has a riveted hull, stress on the hull from cruising can slightly open a seam, allowing water in.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Bilge pump. problem solved.

 

[briangcc]

I'd be curious...what's the difference between most days and the days where you have no water in the boat? Are you fishing instead of swimming/tubing/skiing?

 

[airshot]

Does your transom have wood in it ?? Old wood in a transom will seep water in from the wood compressing over time. Tightening the mounts only makes the problem worse. Often you find folks caulking around the transom mount in an attempt to stop the seep. This is a sign the wood needs replaced. Chris 1956 gives some good methods for testing, follow his advice !