Water in the engine compartment, normal?

[houstonnoob]

Is it normal for every boat to have about a gallon or two water under your engine compartment each time you put your boat in the water and end of day activities? Each time after I retrieve the boat from the water at the end of day, remove the drain plug, there's about a gallon or two pouring out. the weird thing is I don't see any leaking water at all but where does the water came from?

Base on my observation, it appears every boat had some water pour out after retrieve the boat. Yes I am new to boat.

 

[bako88fan]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

I'm a noob as well so I'll just tell my story and let others chime in. Until leaving Lake Mead earlier this week I had never had a drop of water drain from the engine compartment after pulling my transom plug. Tuesday, after a long day of tubing with some pretty gnarly turns, I pulled the boat off the shallow launch and up the ramp. After snapping on the transom straps I went to pull the plug. This was the first time I had to get a set of channel locks to loosen it. When I did, about 2 gallons of water came rushing out. I was heartbroken since I was convinced that I had cracked the head o hydro-locked the engine. In fact I spent the rest of my vacation just sick thinking that I ruined the boat at the start of the summer. To top it off, while we were trailering the boat, the oil alarm went off.

Took the boat out today to do a diagnostic. Launched fine after adding gear oil. Turns out the water was from the 2 large 4 person tubes that we pull where water gets caught in the jackets. When the kids pull them about they don't drain them out of the boat, they just let the water drain wherever. I call that a teachable moment.

I decided there are two things to consider. One, what were you doing on the boat? Were you running hard, turning sharp? Two, was the water draining warm, like it ran through the engine or cold like it came in from outside. It still wouldn't hurt to inspect your transom or keel for cracks or holes, especially if the boat is habitually beached. To determine if there was a leak, I had my wife drive the boat while I had the engine cover open and watched for water or oil leaks. All went well.

I sincerely hope you find that all is well and your season is a fun and adventurous one.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

YES you should be concerned anytime water comes from the plug, but only briefly, as bako clearly stated your days activities have as much to do with water in the bilge as anything! If you and the wife go out and just have a nice evening on the water and two gallons come out the plug you know you may have an issue, but joe15kids with his 225BR and 496 MAG probably wouldn't even blink an eye because he knows his kids are in and out of the water and the towables bring in a bunch as well! Your type of boating determines the amount of water brought in the boat, a bilge pump can only pump water once the float tells it too but if your running around all over the place water can't build up to a point where the float even knows it needs to pump! I see so many people come into the ramp and freak OH MY GOD THERES WATER COMING OUT THE SIDE OF THE BOAT!!!! Oh for god sakes did you really think the water in that ten person towable on the back of the boat was really going to go back into the lake by itself??

Its worth a looking over but understand that its always fixable don't let it ruin your weekend, don't over think it. Get to know your boat, where the likely places for water to get in are, if upon your inspection things are fine, move on and enjoy the weekend!!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

Whoopsy

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

My boat stays in the water seasonally, and there is always water in the bilge/engine compartment. Mostly from rain water, but also from general use, where people come from the water and onto the boat soaking wet. It all drains into the bilge.

The best thing is to determine the source of the water to see if it is an OK source or not OK. . .

 

[Philster]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

Sources of water can be catastrophic from structural or engine problems, or can be incidental from human activity.

No one here can tell you why it's there, but through a mish-mash of posts, an actual list might develop, which would look something like this:

People and gear in/out of boat 'n' water = water
Bellows leaked and is rusting the drivetrain = water
Transom leaked and boat has structural issues = water
Some connection to the cooling system leaked = water
Engine has cracked block = water

No... not every boat has water pouring out after use. If you do no water sports and take a cruise somewhere and take no waves into the boat, the boat should be dry.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

Water in the bilge is only normal if your boat has a leak.

If your boat is sound and in good repair your bilge will be dry every time you take it out.

There is an exception for boats that do water sports like skiing and tubing and such where there's wet people climbing in and out of the boat.

 

[houstonnoob]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

Points taken, this is not normal. I will observe closely next time out on the lake. Thank you all!

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

If you don't find anything while running (feel underside of coolant tubing) you can always fill your boat with some water and watch for drips out of fittings in the rear of boat.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

Water in the bilge is only normal if your boat has a leak.

Depends on the boat... Lots of inboards and jet boats have very slight intentional leaks when the shaft is turning, helps lubricate things and keeps from burning out the seals.

A blanket statement of 'water in the boat' is not always correct.

 

[markeymark]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

bellows could be bad

 

[sprobst]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

I'll echo what others have said. If I take my boat out and we do not go swimming/tubing, at the end of the day, no water comes out of the drain plug at all. If we swim, tube, etc, a bunch of water comes out of the plug. I am always surprised how much water we bring into the boat after swimming. You never seem to notice how much water drips out of the life jackets, etc.

 

[houstonnoob]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

I've located the leak, it's coming from the drain plug sealant. What is the best sealant for that drain plug? I've read peoples here say 3M 4200 but is there anything else that I can find it at locate wal mart or auto part store?

 

[jestor68]

Re: Water in the engine compartment, normal?

I've located the leak, it's coming from the drain plug sealant. What is the best sealant for that drain plug? I've read peoples here say 3M 4200 but is there anything else that I can find it at locate wal mart or auto part store?

It's best to use the good stuff if you intend for it last. I have seen the good stuff at Walley World.