is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

oceanbarrel

Seaman
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
64
98 searay 190 with 4.3 and alpha gen + outdrive. I have water entering my boat somehow. It only does it when im wakeboarding. Left the boat in the water for three days over the weekend and no water entered while it was sitting. All the bellows are new. I ran the boat with the cover off and looked all over the engine with a flashlight and couldnt find anywater leaking. But when I wakeboard and i turn on the bilge I get water coming out. The bilge doesnt reach the auto turn on level, but I am paranoid so I flip the bilge on every once in while. I do a lot of stopping and turning around while people are learning to do it and I know when I stop from full power a little water comes in. Could it be entering through the bilge hole?
 

Philster

Captain
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
3,344
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

Wakeboarding off the transom hooks? If so, transom might be flexing enough that some water squeezes by weak point(s).

If not wakeboarding off transom hooks, then it is possible that under the conditions in which the engine is under serious load, some water squeezes by weak spot(s) in gasket. It might not happen under normal driving with less "load". Pulling people is serious load. If blow by can happen, this is when it happens first.
 

oceanbarrel

Seaman
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
64
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

Wakeboarding off the transom hooks? If so, transom might be flexing enough that some water squeezes by weak point(s).

If not wakeboarding off transom hooks, then it is possible that under the conditions in which the engine is under serious load, some water squeezes by weak spot(s) in gasket. It might not happen under normal driving with less "load". Pulling people is serious load. If blow by can happen, this is when it happens first.

i dont pull off the transom I have a tower. The strange thing is that its never a consistent amount of water and sometimes none at all.
 

craze1cars

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
1,822
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

I have three guesses. First: Where are your blower inlet/outlet vents? I know mine are above my integrated swim platform. In the right condition with a fast stop and the associated wash, some water will splash in thru those.

Second: Life vests and swim suits draining. When I get done with a 3 hour wakeboarding session with friends, I have at least a gallon or two of water in the bilge. It comes from draining ski vests and swimming suits from all the ins-and-outs. So you may not have a leak at all.

Thrid: You may also have a gap between the upper half of your boat and your hull. Here's a 1 to 2 hour project I do every 5 years or so: Remove the rubber rub strip, tighten all the screws around the permiter of the boat (probably 80+ screws), and reinstall the rub strip. To anyone who has never done this, you will be stunned to find how many are several turns loose. Those screws do MUCH MORE than just hold the aluminum rub strip retainer on!! They hold your boat together!! Quite often over the course of years they can become loose enough to form a 1/8" gap under the aluminum strip where water can stream thru on occasion. Boats flex a TON, and therefore these screws do work loose. BOATS WITH TOWERS TEND TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM ESPECIALLY, because of the pulling forces that are subjected to the cap of the boat. On rare occasion I'll even find one stripped out. For those one or two that may bet stripped I just pull the screw, caulk the hole, and drill a new hole an inch to the side and reinstall it.

I've owned 4 fiberglass boats of all different brands and ages. 100% of them had MANY very loose screws around the perimeter. As yours is now 12 years old, I can absolutely GUARANTEE yours does too. You got any hard "bulges" in your black rubber strip? A bulge is a screw that has backed out about 6 full turns...

Either at the nose, or centered at the back of your boat, is a transition piece of aluminum with 2 screws. Take this off exposing the end of the rubber rub strip. Grab and pull while walking around the boat. The rubber comes out and exposes all the screws. To reinstall, putty knife/screwdriver and a strong grip will shove it back into place as you work your way around. Project is free, just takes a bit of time and muscle. You will also likely be rewarded with a better aligned windshield opening and a few less squeeks/rattles when you're done.
 

oceanbarrel

Seaman
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
64
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

. You will also likely be rewarded with a better aligned windshield opening and a few less squeeks/rattles when you're done.

I will try this today this seems plausible as I do a lot of wakeboarding and my windshield opening is a little off alignment, and I have had quite a few screws bump loose on the inside. After my bellows got a hole in it last year my fuse to my auto bilge pump blew at the exact smame time and my boat started filling with water very quickly, im a little more than paranoid about water. If it hadent been for my fat sac pump my boat would have been completely full of water.
 

HHIBouy

Cadet
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
19
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

While all of the above sound possible it may be as simple as back wash over the transom from all of the quick stops. I sometimes boat on a lake that has LOTS of no wake zones. when the day is done I always have more water in my bilge from all of the powering down for the zones and water coming over the transom.
 

smarks

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
119
Re: is it possible for water to enter through the bilge exit hole?

I to have the same problem, I found that water was coming in the bilge hole.
Just pump every once in awile. I pluged mine temporaly and the water stoped coming in. It's coming in from the backwash when coming off plane.
Regards
Steve
 
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