WHY? Water leaking inside of boat.

[brucetruong]

I launched my project boat( 1995 Chris Craft with 2 - 351Fi engines and 2 -SX-C outdrives ) for the first time after sitting for a year and after some maintenances,, I notice a good flow of water coming in from the back transom visible only at near the bottom part of the inner shield ( starboard side ) This boat has an after market Thru hull exhaust system called " silent choice " on each engine. With a Y adaptor to the top part of the exhaust ( thru hull ) with Valve to either open or close and the other exhaust to the bottom going out to the outdrive.. Not sure how to test it ( another issue)
anyway My concern now is how to fix the water leak, not a slow leak, but not super fast either,,like a medium water hose leak. to give you an idea,,we took it out anyway,,but not too far,,,we kept an eye on it,,for every 10-15 minutes, we turn on the Bilge pump for 2-3 minutes to get all the water back out, water going out is a lot more than water coming in, that's why we weren't too concern, also i had to test a few more things, notice that the boat exhaust sounds like is bogging down. Boat wouldn't pick up and go, with 2 engines, it shouldn't have any problems. I notice water can enter in to the exhaust from the bottom of the outdrive thru the Anodes ( is that normal?) if it is,,why? could it be that there's a hole that the water could come in to the boat? Thanks for any advices given.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you need to find the source of the leaks before you put the boat back in the water. I suspect the bellows.

time to pull the drives and inspect. most likely both will need a bellows service.

your boat wont go very well filled with water.

 

[brucetruong]

I took the Outdrive off,,the Bellow area is fine,,no signs of water entering. I'm suspecting either Transom wall or Exhaust pipes.

 

[brucetruong]

Hi Scott, I took the Outdrive off,,the Bellow area is fine,,no signs of water entering. I'm suspecting either Transom wall or Exhaust pipes, but getting in there is no fun. Thanks

 

[White90GT]

Are the thru hull exhaust pipes below water level?

 

[500dollar744ti]

for every 10-15 minutes, we turn on the Bilge pump for 2-3 minutes to get all the water back out

That's SCARY, I get nervous when I see my bilge pump running for 10 seconds. I always pull the boat out and fix whatever leak is at fault. I'm only satisfied once I let the boat sit overnight and nothing comes out from the bilge pump in the morning.

 

[500dollar744ti]

Tie it to the dock and put it in reverse with a little throttle, if the water starts pouring in faster, you got a bad transom.