Excess water in bilge

[Cibolasam]

I have quite a bit of water in the bilge of my 97 sport nautique, I have checked everything and can't find it. It seems like it is come in from the drivers side rear corner behind the fuel tank. I have heard of hull problems with this boat, but can't find any info. All help is much appreciated.

[DanielC]

Check the underside of the muffler. Pull the rear floor board out of the boat, with the boat floating. Start the boat with the floor out, watching for water coming out from under the muffler.

[98motorsport3]

What he said, check all your clamps for the exhaust as well, and though very unlikely just go over all your platform bolts etc and make sure it's not coming in there. Are you sure it's coming in from that side or does it end up puddling in that side? Check your gland nut for the prop shaft as well just for good measure.

[prairiethunder]

a fellow water hunter! I to have been on the hunt for where water is coming in. tightened my rudder (was leaking water) so this will have helped for me. tightened the drive shaft to about a drip every three seconds again an improvement (from about one per second. but, dripping not a consistent trickle). a weekend in the water of this would add up so I hope for improvement

Through my process i have been keeping in mind that people in and out of the boat bring way more water with them over the course of a day than anyone would believe. (especially if skis- life jackets aren't dumped of water before they are brought into boat.

Cibolasam curious if you have been surfing? my bilge through hull fitting is under water when the boat is weighted and I assume some water is coming through there. but even on ski only weekends I have had more water than I would like.

Daniel C thanks for the tip on the muffler. I plan to check this weekend. the platform bolts and through hull fittings where next on my list

[Cibolasam]

I've had the muffler problem before, so I know that one. The water was always hot so at least I had an idea. This time the water is river temperature, and I have not done any surfing. It will be a couple of weeks before I can get back out to the water but I'm tryin to get all the info I can from members here to make the job easier. Thanks

[mtrader]

Please help me fellow Nautique owners.... I was going to take my kids out this afternoon and noticed my boat with a ton of water in it. The battery went dead and so the bilge pump was not working. I noticed after I took out all the water and charged the battery that the boat filled up right away while I had the engine running.. I started snooping around and found water coming in from the mufflers.

My question is will the water still come in if the boat is not running. I'm assuming yes and that when its running even more water comes in..... any advice on repairs or suggestions is much appreciated. 1998 Air Nautique GT-40. Also I had noticed some water coming in from the prop shaft which I had been meaninbg to get to.

Thanks again.

[slob02]

I have seen water get in from:
Leaking heater core
Broken shower connections
exhaust leak.....one would only leak when the motor was running
shaft and rudder packing
crack in the fresh water intake hose
loose bow eye
small hole in a ballast bag and tank

As for exhaust...if water can get In, then I would imagine exhaust gases could leak out.

[DanielC]

Water can leak in the boat from the muffler, running ot not. The muffler is below the waterline. In my case, the muffler had a hole worn out on the bottom, because rubber padding slipped out from under the muffler, and the muffler rubbed against the hull, and wore a hole.

The most water would come in the boat, if the boat was running, and then shut off, to pick up a skier. The muffler would fill with water, this is normal, but when the engine was restarted, before all the water was pushed out of the back of the muffler, and out the exhaust port, pressure forced some water in the boat. If the engine was running, or stopped, there was only a small amount of water coming in the boat. Not a big problem for a trailered boat, but a big problem if my boat was moored.

I repaired my muffler using Marine epoxy from Tap plastics. Obviously you need to get the muffler clean before any epoxy will stick. Use soap, and water, to remove all the dirt, and gunk from the bilge, and when you are done with that, reclean with acetone. Do all that cleaning before grinding on the muffler. After grinding, use acetone again. Tap also sells a biaxial roving with fiberglass mat sown in to one piece of fabric, to build thickness quickly. I do not recommend epoxy from west systems, in my experience, it is too brittle.

[Rick]

I had the same problem with my 2000 SN. There should be a neoprene pad under the muffler. Mine had slipped out and 1200 hours of vibration had worn a small hole in the bottom. Like DanielC I cleaned and buffed it. I used a 2 part epoxy patch material from West. My hole was 1/4 the size of a dime so I wasn't worried about flexibility. I glued a new neoprene pad to the bottom and have had a dry bilge ever since. Even a small hole will put about a gallon per hour into your boat.

[mtrader]

Thx guys...I guess the repair is my best option considering the muffler is $600 or so.....I'll post once It's repaired.

[SilentSeven]

I'm starting to chase a similar issue - is this a possible quick way to test for muffler issues?

- boat on trailer
- put hose in exhaust , add some water
- see if I get water in the bilge, then muffler leak
- briefly start boat, if I get water in the bilge, then muffle leak

If no water, then it's likely from something else....

Thoughts?

[s_kelley2000]

I doubt you could get enough water pressure from a hose to force water up the risers but if you did you could potentially get water down the manifold and into your cylinders. I think your best bet is to remove the doghouse, back seat and then pull up the removable floor section between the stringers and run it and look for water coming out of the exhaust. It'd be best to do this test in the water so that you could look to see if water is coming in from shaft or rudder packings as well. Good luck!