How much water in the boat is "normal"?

[ebbjak]

i have recently purchased a 2006 196. Each time I'm done using it, I put it on the lift and raise the engine cover to see how much water is down below. EVERY time I see some, even when I just go out for a cruise. Tonight, I was out just cruzing with my neighbors and noticed more water than "normal" probably about as high as the top of the plug. Each time I take the boat out, if I turn on the bilge pump, it spits out water. My previous boat was an outboard and I can count on my hands, over the 20 years I had the boat, how many times the bilge pump spit out water. The seller said it's "normal" to have water there, but how much is "normal" and when does it become a concern?

[Neptune442]

I was recently in a similar situation, and it turned out I had a hole in my muffler that was leaking a fair amount of water into the bilge. Might be something to check.

[charlesml3]

So no, the bilge in your 196 won't be nearly as dry as the one in your outboard. It just doesn't work that way with these big V8 engines in the back.

Get a flashlight and start looking around. It's possible you have a leak somewhere.

If it's bilging off water a few times a day, then that's nothing to be worried about.

-Charles

[windsurfnut]

My 196 is the same way, I can't for the life of me find the source.

[charlesml3]

My 196 is the same way, I can't for the life of me find the source.

If you're talking about the 2002 Ski Nautique, it's coming in around the prop shaft. And it's supposed to. That era of Nautique simply let the shaft drip a little. Totally normal. Every now and then someone will decide they don't like it and tighten the packing down to stop the drip. Then the drive shaft and stuffing box overheat.

And then sometimes you see people going in and ripping all of this out to install the dripless packing which is also completely bizarre. At MOST they're stopping a few pints a day coming in the boat. That's nothing compared to the water coming in off people getting back in the boat all day.

[jjackkrash]

The packing around the drive shaft might be leaking more than normal. You can look into a dripless shaft packing or replacing or repairing the drive shaft packing. But some water intrusion is normal on an inboard without a dripless packing system.

https://www.mniboats.com/nautique-bo...CABEgJyyPD_BwE


Edit: looks like the previous poster beat me to it.

[windsurfnut]

If you're talking about the 2002 Ski Nautique, it's coming in around the prop shaft. And it's supposed to. That era of Nautique simply let the shaft drip a little. Totally normal. Every now and then someone will decide they don't like it and tighten the packing down to stop the drip. Then the drive shaft and stuffing box overheat.

And then sometimes you see people going in and ripping all of this out to install the dripless packing which is also completely bizarre. At MOST they're stopping a few pints a day coming in the boat. That's nothing compared to the water coming in off people getting back in the boat all day.

I've got more coming in then the drip from the prop shaft.

[Skidave]

Was out all day yesterday in my 03. No more than one cup (glass measuring cup) of water in my bildge. Drive shaft packing should be a few drops per minute.

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