chuckinduck
Cadet
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2010
- Messages
- 9
Hi Guys,
I have a 1997 Starcraft Islander that has developed a leak, problem is I can't find it. Last summer around the middle of the season, I noticed my bilge was kicking on every 20-30 minutes. So I began monitoring the situation, and one afternoon after I pulled the boat, I noticed I had a cracks in two of my bellows. I had the bellows replaced and I assumed the problem was fixed. However the leak still persists. Its not to the point water is gushing in, but I salmon fish, and I can be 10-20 miles off shore without a problem. I've tried plugging the boats livewell thinking it may be coming in from there, checked for popped rivets, and can't locate any by a quick overview. I'll be honest, I wouldn't know what a popped rivet looked like unless it was glaringly obvious. The marina that services it said it might be coming in around my transom at the lower unit. Last weekend when I pulled the boat out of the water, I studied the water dripping off the back of the boat, and there seemed to be a steady but small flow of water trickling down the lower unit area. Is it possible that the gasket could be bad? I've looked around the outer edge of the lower unit, but it all seems fine there. Could the leak be somewhere on the inside of where the lower unit attaches? Also, any good idea's how to find a leak, other then just filling up the bilge area, and watching for water to run out? If it does turn out to be the transom, could a marine grade silicone stop the leak? The marina I talked to quoted me a price of 1K+ to pull an engine and replace that gasket.
I have a 1997 Starcraft Islander that has developed a leak, problem is I can't find it. Last summer around the middle of the season, I noticed my bilge was kicking on every 20-30 minutes. So I began monitoring the situation, and one afternoon after I pulled the boat, I noticed I had a cracks in two of my bellows. I had the bellows replaced and I assumed the problem was fixed. However the leak still persists. Its not to the point water is gushing in, but I salmon fish, and I can be 10-20 miles off shore without a problem. I've tried plugging the boats livewell thinking it may be coming in from there, checked for popped rivets, and can't locate any by a quick overview. I'll be honest, I wouldn't know what a popped rivet looked like unless it was glaringly obvious. The marina that services it said it might be coming in around my transom at the lower unit. Last weekend when I pulled the boat out of the water, I studied the water dripping off the back of the boat, and there seemed to be a steady but small flow of water trickling down the lower unit area. Is it possible that the gasket could be bad? I've looked around the outer edge of the lower unit, but it all seems fine there. Could the leak be somewhere on the inside of where the lower unit attaches? Also, any good idea's how to find a leak, other then just filling up the bilge area, and watching for water to run out? If it does turn out to be the transom, could a marine grade silicone stop the leak? The marina I talked to quoted me a price of 1K+ to pull an engine and replace that gasket.