I/O pontoon water in the bilge

[nasdaqsam]

2007 Southbay Trifecta with an I/O. I have been finding in rough water I am getting an inordinate amount of water in the bilge. Enough so that the stock 500gpm pump which is not working at its best (I think the impeller is bad, pumps for a bit then still turns but stops pumping have to give it a shake to get it to pump some more) so I replaced it with an 1100gpm one that keeps up no problem. It only does this when in rough water. I have gone over the hull with a fine tooth comb and can find no holes or cracks that would cause this. What I did find was from the engine bay toon and the two outside toons they used some kind of a grey caulking or sealer that is spread about an inch wide up to 40% forward of the rear then it is just the splash plates stacked one over lapping the other. The only thing I can figure out is maybe the water when rough since there is more toon in the water forward due to the wave peaks maybe the water is getting in there and traveling along the under penning to the bilge. Anyone else have this issue? Solutions?

Thanks
Scott

 

[Grub54891]

Some pics would help.

 

[nasdaqsam]

The boat is getting winterized right now but when I pick it up I will take some pics of the bottom. Thanks

 

[Silver Eagle]

If you have an ALPHA ONE out drive, water could be getting from the rubber bladder that covers your power shaft.They dry rot over time.

 

[nasdaqsam]

Finally found the issue with the water in the bilge. I am updating this old thread in case anyone else ever runs into this issue it might give them a place to start looking.

On this particular pontoon it has a dry bay ahead of the bilge for the gas tank to sit in. The performance shielding on the bottom tends to pick up a lot of water probably because the boat is really heavy in the rear and it runs pretty fast so gets more water above the shielding than many get. In most cases the water just drains away since it is not sealed. But because it is so fast it collects more water than it can drain. Were the gas tank bay is there is aluminum that is flared out to allow for better water flow underneath. The performance shielding feeds to this area naturally. The manufacturer added vents at the bottom of this area to suck the water out. As it was explained to me. What happens is the gas tank bay is sealed between the floor decking and frame work. Over the years the sealant dries and allows for water to get through. Once the water gets to that point if the vents can not keep up say in rough water were the water is just inundating the shielding the water will come through between the deck and frame work and fill the gas tank bay then run over that into the bilge. Now this is not a major issue if the vents are left alone but what most owners do when they get the water in the bilge figure out its probably the vents and seal them up making the issue much worse. Now the water has no were to go. The real fix is to pull the vents off, drill them larger and re-install them. then pry the decking away from the frame and use 5200 to re seal it. I was also advised to add screws every 6". It only had 4 from the factory. I am currently waiting for the 5200 to fully cure before I see if this fix takes care of it but I am quite sure this is going to work.

Hopefully this helps others.

Regards