Boat taking on water!! Can anyone help me troubleshoot? 1997 Sea Nymph TX 175

[hertel11]

I recently purchased a 1997 Sea Nymph TX 175. I took it to a marine to have fishfinder installed, bilge pump installed, aerator checked, and electric panel and wiring restored. Once I got the boat home and back on the lake I noticed it is now taking on a significant amount of water, this was only my second time out on the boat and the first time in any waves to speak of. My bilge pump barely works at all even after being installed at a marine, only a small trickle of water is pumped out by a 600gph pump. Once the boat was trailered there was enough water to almost fully submerge my cranking battery and once I pulled the plug water came out in a steady stream for a few minutes. Please help me troubleshoot how or why water is getting in. I was thinking possibly livewell hoses but I don't really know how to troubleshoot the issue and narrow it down. Thanks!

 

[alldodge]

Will help but going to need some pics to show us where your bilge pump is located and where the discharge hose comes out at. The bilge pump should be mounted in the rear of the boat

 

[hertel11]

Ok. Can't take any pictures right now because I'm not home. The bilge pump is mounted in the back middle of the boat near the transom with the exit being in the back top starboard corner of boat. It is a 17ft aluminum bass boat with two live wells. One livewell intake and one livewell exit are both always open and on the bottom back of transom with drainplug in between.

 

[Scott Danforth]

your most likely going to have to drop the boat in the water and look for a leak. use a flashlight, mirrors or your cell phone camera to look in areas that you cant get your eyes into

if this is an I/O, you may have to have the motor running as well, in the event you have a motor related plumbing leak

 

[hertel11]

It has an outboard motor. For some reason I'm inclined to believe it is an issue with the hoses/plumbing to the live wells. Is there an easy way to check if these could possibly be the problem without actually being able to see them because they are all under the floor. I've heard of a method of filling the boat with water with a garden hose but I'm not sure I like that idea or even know how to carry it out or what to look for.

 

[alldodge]

The bilge pump is mounted in the back middle of the boat near the transom with the exit being in the back top starboard corner of boat.

Sounds like the correct location, but with only getting a trickle something is not right. Wonder if it's wire backwards

It is a 17ft aluminum bass boat with two live wells. One livewell intake and one livewell exit are both always open and on the bottom back of transom with drainplug in between.

I would guess live well hoses or their fittings. Plug the in/out fittings and fill the live well, then look for leaks on hoses and fittings

 

[roffey]

This is just a shot in the dark. Why not pull the boat out of the water and keep the drain plug in and see if it is leaking from any obvious spots. if no water is leaking out of the boat then it must be your live wells?

 

[fhhuber]

Live wells would have been my first guess.

 

[Scott Danforth]

with boat on trailer. fill live wells, and plug the livewell drain thru-hull fitting. if the livewells drain and water gets into the hull, it will most likely be the livewell plumbing. most boat manufacturers used plastic fittings

 

[SkaterRace]

One option is to half fill the livewells out of the water and check for leaks if not there then check once in the water at the thru hull fittings

 

[hertel11]

I might have made a fool of myself... But we'll see for sure when I can get on the water tomorrow... Ran the hose through all hoses, intake and outtake, to both livewells. No water collected in bilge of boat, a good sign. Did a little more looking at bilge pump and discovered some debris got inside it. Removed debris and filled bilge with a little water to test, pumps water like a champ now. However I did notice a slow drip coming from the plug (possible water entry). It is a snap in plug put inside the boat. The plug was not tightened all the way so I tightened it by spinning the handle clockwise then snapped back into place and refilled bilge with water. No longer a drip.... Hopefully that was the issue because it is a very easy fix if so. However, it seemed like a lot of water was in the boat after just 2 or 3 hours if it was just a slow leak at the plug. This is my first ever boat and I'm brand new to all of this so forgive me for my rookie mistakes. Another question I have is about rivets, a few on my boat look like a small line of rust is coming from them. Does that mean they are bad or leaking?

 

[jbcurt00]

You'd be surprised how much water comes in around a drain plug that isnt tight when the boat is in the water w the weight of you, the boat, motor and all your gear pressing down. A lot more pressure then a couple of gallons of water in the hull.

Hope that was it.

Repairing leaking live well hoses can be complicated.

 

[airshot]

Shouldn't be any rust as all the hull and rivets are aluminum. Some manufacturers add a thin gasket between the hull sections when riveting them together, could this be a gasket? Again pics would help.

 

[fhhuber]

An issue I have with my bass boat... if I slow down too quickly coming off plane i get a big wave over the transom that has come clear across the rear deck and drenched me once.

2 or 3 of those and you can sink a boat if your bilge pump isn't working right.

I've learned to watch for the wave approaching and goose the throttle. time that right and none enters the boat.

all sorts of ways for water to get in...

 

[hertel11]

wow fhhuber.. that makes a lot of sense now and it could have very well been my problem yesterday.. Waves were about 12in to 18in with wind about 15 to 20mph and it was my first time driving in any chop really. A couple of times the boat rocked a little more than i was used to while at plane and I pretty much let go of the throttle entirely. Essentially going from about 26mph to near 0mph in a hurry. I didn't look behind me while doing this and neither did my passenger so I can't say for sure if water came in that way but it wouldn't really surprise me now. Will try to load pic in just a few min airshot, not sure if rivet or gasket but just one lone "rivet" on the entire boat (that i've noticed so far) has a thin line of rust or stain coming from it

 

[hertel11]

No Title

A few pictures of the rivet with rust line, is it anything to be concerned about? I have live well filled with drain hose plugged right now just to cover all bases, this forum has been helpful to me more than once and I'm sure will be more than one more time, thank you all.

 

[JimS123]

Taking on water is one issue. The bigger issue is why the new bilge pump isn't taking it out.

When on the trailer with water inside the hull, verify that the pump is under the water. Then, turn on the pump and see if you have a strong stream out of the discharge hose. If not, take it back to the dealer and have him fix it.