Water Leak, Starboard Side Stern Drive on Cruiser

[rossi45]

Hey folks, after mortgaging my future this week by replacing my transom/gimbal assembly after a shaft seal leak, I have found yet another leak. I own a 2001 Bayliner Ciera 2455. The leak is coming from the very back corner of the starboard side behind the stack of black water tank/fresh water tank. See red arrows in photos. A very difficult spot to get to (mind you, the photos I took was when the engine was removed a couple weeks ago. It's since been put back in)

I tasted the water and it tastes slightly salty, but not as salty as the briny water from the ocean (I did a taste comparison) so I can't really tell if it's ocean water or not. Now, to answer some initial questions, I pumped out both the black water tank and fresh water tank and there's still water coming in. I've been combing the outside of the boat and there's no cracks at all in the hull. I checked at the forward area of the stack of tanks to see if it was wet up there and it's bone dry. The leak seems to be coming from either under the tanks or somewhere along the rear starboard side area. It's not the rub rail because I was out yesterday and it hadn't rained in a couple days so I doubt that's the issue.

The only possibly thing that I can think of is the bracket that holds the top end of the trim tab actuator. There are 4 screws that go into the hull to hold the bracket and actuator in. Could it be possible that a leak could be coming through there? I thought about getting some sealant to seal around the edges of the bracket but I can't seem to find a sealant that can be applied underwater. If anyone has some suggestions, I'd love to hear!

 

[alldodge]

Your going to need to cut into the side and find out where the water is coming from. If either of the tank was leaking, it would have filled up the cavity over time. My guess is your going to be doing some major demo and rebuild work

 

[rossi45]

I'm hoping that's not the case. I went all over the hull around that area and there's not a crack, let alone a scratch to indicate it's been compromised. I think the smart thing for me to do is remove the fresh water and black water tanks so I can get a better idea of the source area. I was hoping that there's some other explanation that would create a leak source.

 

[alldodge]

My water tank was leaking for some time before I found the issue. If your tank is aluminum the water will eat thru it, takes quite a while but it happens.

You could take a 1/4 drill bit and drill some test holes to see if you find water/moisture

 

[rossi45]

Hey thanks AllDodge. I have a plastic water tank. It could be possible there's a crack on the bottom. I'm actually hoping it's something that cheap after replacing all my transom/gimbal assembly a couple weeks ago. I did have a leak where the cold water hose comes out of the tank, but as I mentioned, I pumped all the water out of both the Fresh water tank and black water tank. This is kind of baffling me because when we did the assembly replacement, I went over the exterior of the boat while I had the chance. I have a fresh coat of bottom paint on the boat and although that wouldn't stop a leak, I would have thought I'd see a crack somewhere in the paint on the hull. We've had a lot of rain lately too, so there's still an outside chance there's a leak above water somewhere. I need an extended periods of no rain to see if the leak goes away. In the meantime, this Saturday I will pull the 2 tanks to get a better vantage point of the leak area.

 

[drewm3i]

It's probably leaking at the stern eyes or trim tab screws.