Boat taking on water

[danhend]

Me and a buddy have a 18 foot Glasstream bass boat, with a 90 Tohatsu OB that we have pieced together (my motor, his boat). We took it out yesterday for a trial spin around the lake and while it planed quickly and moved fast, when we pulled it out of the water, and pulled the plug on the back we got a ton of water pouring out. We estimated between 3-5 gallons.

We looked in the bilge area by the batteries and gas tank and that area was dry, so we are thinking there is a leak towards the bow. We were only out about 20 minutes or so, as this was just a test run to make sure everything was working properly.

We had it in the water once before, but had issues related to the motor and weren't able to actually run with it. When we pulled it out then we also had a fair amount of water come from the main drain, but not as much as when we had it running.

There is a patch job from previous owner that I suspect is the culprit, but I have 2 questions. How do you find a leak, and what is best way to go about repairing it?

thanks for your help!

 

[SeanT]

Re: Boat taking on water

If you suspect the leak is in the hull, maybe plug in, put it in the water for a bit, pull it out, leave plug in, tilt boat trailer foward? Maybe not such a good idea?

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: Boat taking on water

I would check two ways.

Launch and tie off to the dock and use mirrors and flashlights to see where water leaks in.

Put water in the boat (in the driveway) and try to see where it leaks out.

 

[Fester]

Re: Boat taking on water

Also, there is a hole in the front of the boat that looks like a large version of the bilge pump exhaust that is on the back. Does this need to be closed? I am not sure what it is there for and I cannot imagine if the water was coming in there we would be floating very long considering its size. Any ideas?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Boat taking on water

Did the boat have a livewell at one time? You might ave a leak in a livewell line.

The other major place where water leaks in when the hull is sealed is along the rub rail.

 

[Fester]

Re: Boat taking on water

Yes, the boat has working livewells. There is a livewell exhaust port in the stern, is that also an exhaust port in the bow? If so, what is the best way to go about testing the hoses? How do you take them out and put them back without taking the boat apart?

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Boat taking on water

Each livewell will likely have an overflow and a drain. It's possible that the front and rear livewell drains are T'd together, but more than likely they go to seperate through hull fittings. If you're not going to use the livewells both the overflow and drain fittings can have plugs put in them. If you're going to use either of the livewells then obviously it's overflow will need to stay unplugged.

Most of the time much of the livewell plumbing is just plain a pain in the $$$ to get to. You'll just have to crawl around with a flashlight, scrape up your arms, skin your knuckles, and figure out how it's plumbed and how to check for leaks or loose hose clamps.

BTW, make sure those through hull fittings are well sealed. If you have any doubt run a bead of 3m 5200 around them.