Water Leak; where is it coming from? '03 196 LTD

[78LS2]

The last time I put the boat on the lift there was water in the bilge, just over the top of the bilge pump. As it turns out, the bailing wire on the shaft seal broke, and spun the main nut. I fixed this over the weekend, and took that boat back out. Shaft seal is A OK.

Problem is, water is still accumulating in the bilge. There is a small "pocket" in front of the tow bar, and it seems to fill up first. I have checked and rechecked all water lines, connections and fittings and can't find any leaks. Even when the boat is on the shore station, out of the water, the little pocket fills with water.

While troubleshooting today, I noticed a small crack under what I assume is the aft cooler wall. Do you think that when I had a ton of water in the bilge, it bled through this crack, and residual water is back there? Why is that crack even there? For the record, the cooler has not been used in a long time, and is dry inside.

Also, it seems like there is a piece of "new" fiberglass laid in that area? It looks like woven, and most of the bilge seems to be roven? Toughts?

Finally, could the leak be coming in through the tracking fin mounting holes?

[WA-H2O-SKI]

Could be:

Here is what I would check:

-Heater core in the bow - mine broke and was leaking this season
-Shower connections - If you leave the shower head and lead hose on, I have seen it leak into the boat, also where the lines go on the temp control panel-may be leaking
-Prop shaft/Rudder packing (unless dripless) - may leak a little, a few drips
-Water pump - if your impeller has been replaced since new...... could have a leak
-Transmission cooler - possible break/crack in the cooler.......
-Water Strainer - could be leaking from the oring seal
-Misc hose connections - unlikely, but also a spot to check

I would say, get everything as clean and dry as possible and take it for a test drive and see if you can identify the wet area and chase it to the source.

I am still sorting out a leak in the shower, as mine accumilates a little water in that pocket as you are stating. It needs new hoses, but I just sponge it out after each ski.........

[78LS2]

RE: Could be:

Thanks for the ideas.
heater core is new, and was disconnected this weekend to make sure that it wasn't still leaking. I looped the lines at the engine, and blew all the water out of the cooler and its lines.
No shower.
Prop shaft is dripless.
Water pump has been inspected, and is OK.
Transmission cooler is also OK
Water strainer is OK.
No loose connections.

If I completely dry out the bilge, with the boat out of the water, the little pocket in front of the tow bar accumulates water. I've lined the bilge with blue shop towels to "trace" the water path, and it is not coming from the engine, or under the engine. It just shows up in that pocket, presumably through that crack. crazy?

[ClemsonDave]

RE: Could be:

I had a weird one in my '03. A mouse chewed a hole in one of the pitot tubes. Took forever to trace. Easy to check though - pull the hoses off the pitot's, pinch them together with a zip tie so no water enters the tube. See if the leak goes away.

[DanielC]

This is what caused a water leak on my 1997 Ski Nautique. A hole on the underside of the muffler, that would open up each time the engine was started, and slowly leaked when the boat was floating.
I did have a dripless packing put on my boat, a few years ago, and the summer after that is when the leak showed up. It drove me nuts trying to find it. I finally took the boat down to the river, without a back seat, motor cover, or back floor trying to find the leak. When I started the boat, is when I noticed a rush of water squirt from under the muffler, and I found the leak.
There is an "unknown space" forward of the pylon mount in the floor, and quite a bit of water can collect there. This is the space under the floor, on the starboard side where the throttle, shift, and steering cables run. The wires from the engine to the helm, and possibly heater hoses also run through this space. I do not know how this space is finished, or sealed up, and possibly some water may have worked around the cooler in the floor, and be held there.
If you can store your boat with the bow high, it will help a lot of this water leak back out into the bilge. Hard to do with a moored boat, but something to think about when you get the boat on dry land.
Some of this water may also drain out if you remove the screws that hold the tracking fins on. I would recommend you at least remove a few screws when you lay the boat up for the winter, because if the water freezes in there, it may cause some damage, or at least open up some cracks wider, and that will allow even more water into this area next year.
When you get up into the area in front of the pylon, the finish is not as good as areas of the bilge you can see. The roving is normal. It is possible a previous owner had some fiberglass work done up there, but more likely, this is factory.