Does your boat leak any water at all?

[saxrulez]

I had my boat 100% water tight last year, this year I have a leak somewhere that I just can NOT seem to find. Its only about 3 cups worth of water usually after 3-4 hours on the water, but it drives me nutty.

Just curious if 100% water tight is the norm. or am I just OCD?

On the bright side, my transom cant rot(used Coosa when I replaced it).

Still driving me nuts trying to chase it down. I can see it is coming from the actual drain plug, but I can't tell if it is something on the transom or the drain plug hole itself.

 

[90stingray]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

No leaks here. The only water we get is if the kids are in and out a lot.

I have left my old boat, stingray, in a slip for a week while i was re-doing the trailer. Pulled it out and pulled the plug and put my finger in there... not a drop! Sorry to say, a small leak usually becomes a bigger leak.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

Had some till I resealed the rubrail. Nothing since.

 

[saxrulez]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

No leaks here. The only water we get is if the kids are in and out a lot.

I have left my old boat, stingray, in a slip for a week while i was re-doing the trailer. Pulled it out and pulled the plug and put my finger in there... not a drop! Sorry to say, a small leak usually becomes a bigger leak.

I'll find it soon enough. I left my boat in a slip last year for almost 2 months and didn't leak a drop. I've already re-sealed the bolts for the outboard(didn't fix it). Next I will try a different drain plug, then the screws for the ladder. It is definitely from something on the transom, just have to pinpoint it.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

There's a few inches of water in the bilge that came in before the stuffing boxes were tightened. Since then no more water. When the motors are running there should always be water coming in! Not sure I'll ever have a water free bilge.

 

[Levinz11]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

We usually spend about 4-6 hours on the lake each time we go out. I get anywhere from .5 to 3 gallons depending on what we are doing. I've noticed the more I pull a tube in circles and what not, the more water I get. I can't seem to find any place its leaking so I think it's the rub rail.

It's not even enough to turn my bilge pump on. It doesn't bother me. I just park her with the bow up and call it a day.

 

[oops!]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

We usually spend about 4-6 hours on the lake each time we go out. I get anywhere from .5 to 3 gallons depending on what we are doing. I've noticed the more I pull a tube in circles and what not, the more water I get. I can't seem to find any place its leaking so I think it's the rub rail.

It's not even enough to turn my bilge pump on. It doesn't bother me. I just park her with the bow up and call it a day.

this sounds like a rub rail issue to me....

 

[duke33]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

I get some water in around the plug. Not enough to worry about. At least I think that's where it's from.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

Here's another questions. Since I bought my boat I wasn't getting any water in it at all. Last weekend I had to beach it to anchor three times on soft shale and sand. now I think I have a leak. How do I go about checking where it is coming from? and what do I do if it's coming from the bow? there is a small gouge taken out of the bow that was repaired with resin or marine grade silicon and I think I may need to do it again.

 

[2ndtry]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

Never a drop. I store it covered and under a roof, so I only pull the plug on cleaning days.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

Here's another questions. Since I bought my boat I wasn't getting any water in it at all. Last weekend I had to beach it to anchor three times on soft shale and sand. now I think I have a leak. How do I go about checking where it is coming from? and what do I do if it's coming from the bow? there is a small gouge taken out of the bow that was repaired with resin or marine grade silicon and I think I may need to do it again.

My last boat had mystery water suddenly and I found the only time it leaked was when I beached and had the outdrive all the way up. The bellows had a small hole that would stretch open when it was raised to the upper trim limit. Got it fixed and no water. The new boat has no water except the ice that melts from the built in coolers.

 

[MJS]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

I get a few cups of water after a day. It was almost a gallon but I started putting teflon tape on the plug when I put it in and that reduced it. It there a better fix to this?
1990 bayliner

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

I have had my boat since last August. Have used it once or twice or a week on average since. I have not seen one drop of water anywhere at anytime inside the boat. But, most of the time it is just the admiral and me cruising around and anchoring. Even the few times we have pulled the kids / grandkids around on a tube / skis we have seen no water inside. Hope it remains that way and I haven't now jinxed myself!

 

[Philster]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

Unfortunately, some boats have flotation foam and water that has penetrated places like deck/hull joints (behind rub rail), will soak into foam in odd places. Some scoots off to the bilge. Some stays trapped here and there in the foam.

Some boats have wet foam and just running them around and shaking things up gets some water to weep into the bilge, even though the boat took on no water during that particular outing.

.

 

[canoemang]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

After i had mine welded this spring.. she is dry..lol

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

I voted yes but I don't think I have any "leaks" which to me is water getting in through the hull. As an active boater, I expect to end up with a pint in the bilge. Also mine are the kind that stay outdoors uncovered, so for the ones with bilges, it's not surprising to find some.

Water getting in is not a problem; not getting it out, is. And like the difference between fire and rust, great amounts of water need to be removed faster than small amounts. So while keeping it out is a goal, getting it out is essential.

Every boat that is left in the water will have a little water in the stern around the plug. It's not a problem unless the boat has a problem.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

My family and I are in and out of the boat a lot between swimming, boarding and tubing and 5-8 people. There's always a good bit of water to let out at the end of the day. The amount of water seems proportional to the amount of activity.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

We replaced the transom a year or two ago and have had a slow leak ever since. It looks like it's coming in somewhere around where the exhaust y-tube meets the transom plate. I put new o-rings in it when we did the transom, so I don't think it's that. It has new bellows and doesn't seem to be coming out of that area anyway. We usually have to flip the bilge on and pump out a 3-4 gallons over a 2 hour trip, but we have a manual pump to assist if the electric pump failed. I wish I new where it was coming from, but I'm not willing to pull the engine again to find out, lol.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

My last boat had mystery water suddenly and I found the only time it leaked was when I beached and had the outdrive all the way up. The bellows had a small hole that would stretch open when it was raised to the upper trim limit. Got it fixed and no water. The new boat has no water except the ice that melts from the built in coolers.

?
This makes sense because my motor was trimmed all the way up... but here's a dumb question where do I have a bellow on my outboard? I hope I didn't bust on of those hole in the bow or something.
If I did is it OK to fill these with marine grade silicon?

 

[ricohman]

Re: Does your boat leak any water at all?

When my buddy brought his giant tube thing into my last boat we could hardly lift it. Then it emptied enough water to fill the bilge completely. The stupid thing was designed to hold water as ballast.
When I pulled the plug at the end of the day I could not believe how much water was in the boat.