water in bilge

[weekender1]

well was not a bad summer finally got the boat running and out in the water she plains very good even for sitting lower in the aft with a bigger engine. but have found i am getting some water in the bilge and i have no idea where.. the bilge area is closed off from any other part of the boat i took her home and filled the bilge with water and didn't see any come out. i replaced the bellows last year and i do know that this summer when i was working on the boat the stern was stored in the up. also when was at the lake i did notice that when i put her in reverse i some times would get like a funny shake or noise? but when in drive it works very well any ideas?

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: water in bilge

if water doesn't leak out of the bilge when it is full then its leaking in from higher up than your bilge down into your bilge. Which means look elsewhere, take a hose and spray around the boat in other places and see where water starts coming in. Have someone sitting inside while you are outside with the hose.

On the shaking usually means something is out of alignment or worn out.

 

[GWPSR]

Re: water in bilge

You can tape flat sheets of newspaper to the inside of your bilge starting above the water line, and stopping above the area that would naturally be damp. Don't allow any of the paper to get near any source of heat or combustion however.

Splash the boat and operate it for a short time with the bilge open or the doghouse off so a passenger can keep an eye out for the the first sign of wet paper. That'll be the neighborhood of the leak.

If nothing appears, repeat the test, but lay a sheet along the bottom of the (carefully dried) bilge, and repeat. You should see dampness starting from one side or the other, or under the engine, or perhaps at a drain plug with a pinhole leak.

 

[hall832]

Re: water in bilge

Model and serial, year.
Have you looked underneath the motor while running, look at the hoses. Basically anywhere you have raw water moving.

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: water in bilge

Look under the engine with a mirror while you are in reverse too. We had a 25 foot Davis Rock Harbor with a huge bellows leak only when the boat was in reverse because of the reverse load pulling it away from the transom in a tension load. There was no leak in neutral or forward.