how much water??

[titaniumneck]

Sorry was not able to get back here earlier. But there is no simpler way then to fill boat with water on dry land. If it's leaking, you will be able to find it in just a few minutes.

 

[fhhuber]

Depends on a lot of things...

Lots of splashing over the gunwales and you get lots of water out when you drain it.

If its raining, you can get a lot of water in a short time and be watching your bilge pump work hard to keep up.

Swimmers and skiers getting in and out of the boat and dripping... good source for water in the bilge.

Riveted tinnie... you can expect some seepage. Maybe near zero.. maybe a gallon or two an hr.

Poor fitting drain plug can leak in quite a bit... (you can fix that)

The issue is not how much water you drain... the issue is if you can figure out where it came from or not.

******************

I wouold NOT fill the boat while its on land or on the trailer... you might get away with that if you have a small jon boat... You'll be damaging just about anything else and you could split the hull. The hull is designed to keep water OUT not in.

 

[jimmybillson]

thanks for all of the tips, I will see what I can find out this week. I really appreciate all of the replys. Alot of great pointers, I will let you all know what I find out,

 

[Chris1956]

Apologies to all...

JBCurt, I have only received your PM since 2014, and am unable to send a PM.

Sorry

 

[jbcurt00]

Apologies to all...

JBCurt, I have only received your PM since 2014, and am unable to send a PM.

Sorry

Chris, follow up here:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/othe...-issues/10368919-i-can-t-figure-out-this-site

 

[dpoff]

I would also rule out rain water collecting in the boat by trailering to the ramp with the plug out, back down the ramp aways and then put the plug in before splashing the boat. Then when retrieving the boat pull up the ramp a bit and pull the plug and see if you still get water.

 

[Alumarine]

Sorry was not able to get back here earlier. But there is no simpler way then to fill boat with water on dry land. If it's leaking, you will be able to find it in just a few minutes.

Just make sure you don't fill the boat with water.
Neither the boat or trailer will like that much weight.

Maybe put 2-4 inches of water in it.

Or as others have said, put boat in water and look for leaks.

 

[jsparks747]

I have had water drain in a constant stream for 1 minute but that was after 5-8 hours of boating in the chop of Puget Sound which can get pretty big. I would replace the plug and do a close check of the hull before you go out next to se if there are any small cracks or holes in the hull.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

If you look into the bilge and see water after you take the boat out pull the fuse if you have an auto bilge, if the bilge works by switch don't turn it on. Take the boat home and dry the hull. Then look below and see if you have leaking rivets or a crack. If no leak then tilt the front of the trailer up and inspect for leakage. I don't recommend putting more than a few inches of water into the bilge with a garden hose as well. A good amount of water will stress the aluminum at all the trailer contact points.

A second thought, measure the amount of water in the bilge, if there is less when you get home you know it isn't coming in from rain, waves, swimmers etc. I am assuming you don't have a long drive back home. You don't really want a copious amount of water in the boat when on the road for a long period. If you have a long ride back park the boat at the Marina and dry it off.

 

[jimmybillson]

thanks for all the input, I am going to see what I can find out on saturday. unfortanately i just dont have time during the week,

 

[titaniumneck]

I understand what people are posting about putting the boat in the water and look for leaks, but there is usually soooooo many places in a boat that there is noway to see the bottom hull of the boat to find a leak. If its a bass boat, 80% of the boats hull is not accessible from the inside of the boat. Thats why I say fill the boat with water on trailer. And if it a leak your looking for than only a few inches of water is all you need. I know that your trailer couldn't handle a full boat of water, at 8 pounds per gallon of water, but you only going to fill the bottom of the boat. I've done it several times and found the leaks within minutes. Trying to find a leak while on the water in a bass boat will be very difficult.

 

[pckeen]

I understand what people are posting about putting the boat in the water and look for leaks, but there is usually soooooo many places in a boat that there is noway to see the bottom hull of the boat to find a leak.

That's correct - this will only work well if the boat has been stripped.

 

[catfish58]

My aerator pump, located next to the bilge pump, sprang a leak once. It was all the bilge pump could do to keep up. If yours is located in the bilge, this could be the source of the water. The pump doesn't have to be on for it to leak.