Water in bilge after WOT run

[jeepnsam]

OK so I spent 4 days at Park Moabi on the Colorado and for some reason the bilge pumps about 1-2 gallons (estimation) of water but ONLY after a 15-30 minute WOT run.

* sat in the cove for hours and no water in the bilge
* cruised at no wake speed and no water in the bilge
* did a 15 to 30 minutes WOT run and every time...there is water in the bilge.
* sat in a slip overnight (fri, sat, sun) and no water in the bilge

Removed engine cover every time and not a hint of water leaking or dripping anywhere. In fact..it's dusty LOL!!

Any clues or ideas???
Obviously I cannot have someone checking for leaks while doing 45 to 50 mph on a choppy river.

Thanks,
Sam

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

I have to ask........have you looked at the bottom of the hull for hairline cracks that might open up when you're running wide open or on the transom? Sometimes the flexing of the transom at WOT can open up hairline fractures.
Could your pitot tube that goes to the speedometer (if you have one) be unconnected or have a hole in the line, forcing water into the hull when you're moving fast?
Just some ideas,
JBJ

 

[DaveyHAZZ]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

mine does that too..after a good run the bilge will fill up...reason being for me tho is my 16' tracker sits pretty flat so whatever water from spray/rain/etc is in the boat it just sits...sounds like u have a different case, tho.

 

[woosterken]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

here is an ugly thought , could it be comming from the seal under the rub rail?
where the top and the hull are fastened together.
any of the hoses on the engine,that with the higher rpms leak?

woosterken

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

+1 rub rail

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

Is the water warm??? if so then it is probably a system leak.

if it's about the same temp as the water your in then I would have to go with a structural or other leak.

I had a similar situation took me several outings to find I had a bolt rust completely out of the threads on the water pump (Merc. 350 Magnum) back cover, It only leaked at higher rpm.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

I would bet it's the rub rail, and that's a pretty minor fix. Just need to run a new line of marine sealant.

I had the same issue with mine. Whenever I ran WOT in a decent chop I noticed my feet were getting wet. I realized a slight amount of water was coming through the rub rail where the old seal was beginning to fail.

 

[maharg]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

Could be bellows too, a small crack could do it.

 

[pokman]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

`I have a question about that. Can I take 5200 and caulk around the underside of the rubrail. Mine is beat up and the previous owner ran silicone around the underside of the rail and he didn't do a good job silicone looks bad.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

Do you have an engine water guage of any sort?
I had a mechanical guage which considted of a 1/8" inside diameter hose coming from the engine to the instrument panel.
It came off and added hot water to the bilge on WOT.

 

[jeepnsam]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

UPDATE:

Decided to update all of my Thread Posts today.

Removed the old and ran a nice bead of 3M 4200 around
the rub rail and there is no more water in the bilge.

The biggest problem was the stern rub rail where
the two ends meet.

Sam

 

[woosterken]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

cool !! thanks for the update

woosterken

 

[LiFeStArTs@FoRtY]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

Great! Now that you figured that out stop running your boat WOT for that long. Boat engines are basically glorified car engines that are not designed to run that way. If you want to run 45-50mph, get a faster boat.

 

[MAXXIE]

Re: Water in bilge after WOT run

I'm glad you found your leak, seems to be quite a few "leak threads" this year, like mine. I have yet to figure out where my water is coming in, but I will. I'm going to pick up that sealant & do the rub rail weather it needs it or not, it's an '85 so I'm sure it won't hurt to do it. Again, Happy for you & hope to find mine soon as well.