Recently put boat into dry storage.. I show up the boat leaking and taking on water

[nypbbob]

HOWDY! I have a 18ft hydra sport center console with a 140hp johnson outboard.. I have always used a trailer to bring and launch it from a boat ramp. Recently I put the boat into dry storage. The last two times I have them put the boat in the water after hours to go fishing in the morning, the back of the boat has so much water in it, the bilge was overflowing.. I have made sure the fish tank was plugged, boat drain plug in tight, and have inspected the hull for holes (there are none.) I'm lost.. Where the hell could the water be coming in from? I have deck drains, could that be my problem? Maybe they are letting water in?

Also, I replaced the bilge float, as a matter of fact, I put two floats in at different heights, and hot wired to the battery. My problem this morning, is the bilge pump stopped working properly.. Yes, I know lol, I should have replaced the bilge pump when I did the floats.

Any idea folks? Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[redneck joe]

pull it out full of water and watch?


rj

 

[jigngrub]

You could have a bad thru hull penetration, either a fitting or the motor mounting bolts.

Your floatation foam maybe be saturated adding a lot of weight to your boat which will make it sit lower in the water and will make your scuppers and other hull penetrations more susceptible to taking on water.

 

[GA_Boater]

Is the plug pulled when the boat goes on the rack? The covered dry storage I see around here, the stern is exposed and a driving rain storm could still put a lot of water in the boat. Something to look at. And has it rained after being pulled out of the rack? With a flaky float switch and now a pump, with rain - Maybe..

Is the water building when you're on the water? The marina may have cracked a thru-hull jockeying her in and out of the rack. Put her on the trailer and look fro drips. Hope you find the cause.

 

[nypbbob]

Thanks Everyone, I'm going to check every suggestion tomorrow. Ill post a follow up tomorrow. And thank you!!

ps- I think the foam being wet maybe a damn good thought. I did notice little clumps of foam in the bilge today. Looked like sugar corn pops lol... I also purchased a new bilge today and new scuppers.. I plan on replacing the bilge and scuppers, then filling up the bilge, dumping in some food coloring and then waiting. Question, if I left the plug out in the live well would the water come into the boat through where it empties (when plug is out)?

I also do not know why or how deck drains (that lead to the scuppers) could be faulty and draw in water. Could someone explain that if possible? Thanks again everyone.

 

[nypbbob]

No Title

Howdy guys!

I replaced the scuppers, used 5200 sealant around (they are below the water line) With that in mid, how much water would enter the deck drains from the scuppers? Just to the waterline right?... Took drain plug housing out, and 5200 the **** out of it. Also replaced the Rule 1500 bilge pump, tested that and floaters as I filled up the bilge. All working fine. I also left the boat out of the water with water in the bilge with food coloring added to see if I see any leaks on the hull in the morning. I do not think the hull is compromised being i left water in the bilge last night and the water level remained the same.

Pictures of the work and related question below.. As the one picture shows, I'm thinking about plugging the holes where the arrows are pointing while at dockside. I'm thinking maybe that's where the water is coming in. I'm also thinking it will come in quicker if the boat is heavy in the stern due to waterlogged foam..

Any additional thoughts? Thanks everyone!

 

[nypbbob]

No Title

GOOD NEWS TO REPORT... The new flap scuppers work as advertised (and they are half way below water line)... The deck drained no problems... The bilge had water in it from a leaky drain hose. This is why the bilge was filling up. More water that came in, the more weight in the stern of the boat, and thus the reason why it looked like it wanted to sink while being tied up to the dock for 12 hours. I plugged the holes (see picture below) to prevent water from entering the area where the drains are. Whew, back to fishing! Thank God!

Thanks everyone!

 

[java230]

Those are splashwell drains (AFAIK from the pics), I don't think you want to be plugging those. You should fix the drains instead (im assuming there is a pipe of some sort that runs from the splashwell drains you plugged though the hull and to the outside (that where the leak is?)

 

[jigngrub]

If your splashwell drains are causing your boat to take on water, your boat is sitting way too low in the water.

 

[GA_Boater]

Can you post single pics instead of two and three and four in a collage? Larger pics help us help you. Thanks.

As near as I can tell, in agreement about those being splashwell drains. Your foam may be wet.

 

[nypbbob]

Txs for the replies, all of which i agree with, however:

1- The splash wells will only be plugged while sitting at the dock. The splash wells work just fine, its the drains on the opposite that are leaking (hoses).... And slowly over a period of 8+ hours, the bilge fills up from the leaking hoses and ends up on the deck. Please note: my floater worked just fine, the bilge pump took a crap thus the reason why the aforementioned water didnt drain. Also, boat sits kinda low anyways. The scuppers are also halfway underwater at dockside, and according to hydra sports, the boat was made that way. Not sure if they installed the deck drains so close to the water line...


The arrows next to the red wording pointing out the drains by my foot sits lower that the splash well drain holes... Thus why its easy for water to enter them... Which is why I'll keep those plugged when tied up to the dock. Underway they will be out.


2- Two problems I had getting rid of the water that leaked in while dockside (note: everything works fine underway).. The flap scuppers were not working-- water would not exit from the actual deck. So the water naturally built up. So i replaced those. And they passed a dockside test with flying colors today. I washed the boat with soft scrub and water behind the the back of the boat was all white.. Deck drained real fast actually.