What's the appropraite amount of water in the bilge SAN 230

[blueroom]

The appropriate amount of water in the bilge is, less than what is outside of the boat. ; )

I always seem to have a little more than I think I should, but I think it makes its way in in explainable ways. Never been an issue, and seems consistent across different boats I have had.

[shag]

On the older boats, it was normal to have about a few drops every 10 seconds or so (this was to help lube/cool the shaft) but the newer boats with dripless don't drip any as far as I know. You would be surprised where water can come from. Had a boat once that had a nice tight cover on it and kept getting water in the bilge the it rained hard (boat was in a boathouse), turns out when it rained hard and blew in, water would run off one side of the cover and right in the tower leg...

[ducatidesmo]

drain plug comes out everytime I am done for the day. I've tested the bilge pumps (out of water, filling up the bilge with a hose) and they do work, but its at the top of the t handle when they kick on.

[srock]

That is too much and if pumped it should not fill to that level very quickly on its own. Based on the year of the boat you should have a water sensing pump.

[filterfish]

Just bought a 2020 SAN 230 from a dealer - took it out on the lake for a week and it had water at the top of the T the whole time with bilge running consistently. Dealer said look for where the leak is coming from, then can set up a warranty service. Any ideas on best way to determine the leak source? I was thinkining of filling the bilge with a hose now that its on the trailer and seeing where the water leaks from, but wanted to see if this is a bad idea. Any help appreciated!

[NautiqueJeff]

Not a bad idea. Just don't fill it so full that it gets into things it shouldn't.

[vision]

If no obvious leaks when you fill the bilge while on the trailer, I would check the prop shaft through hull next. They can leak significantly but only when operating. The prop shaft through hull on my G would spray water into the bilge while surfing due to the lateral force on the prop. But you could see no leaking while just cruising.

[biacs]

My 2006 220 consistently has 1.5 gallons from bilge. Drained to a catch pan and sucked up into an extractor pump.

Seems like a cracked heater can be a common leak source. Badly winterized or just cracked / leaching from age.

I just looped my warm water lines together to bypass heater. We don't use the boat when it's cold :-)

To troubleshoot, you could run the boat on a fake lake on the driveway when level. You could also fill it up with a garden hose as mentioned and see if it starts leaking somewhere. But a crack could be under the bunk where its resting and he wouldn't see that either.

My money would be on some kind of a mechanical leak somewhere in one of the systems like the heater. We have pumps and hoses all over the place!


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[Jester_230]

We have a 2020 230 and had a water in bilge issue activating the bilge every 15-20 mins. Pulled and dealer found the exhaust plate that is mounted on the rear hull is leaking. Something to consider.

[filterfish]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Filled the bilge on the trailer - the plate where the rudder is mounted was dripping a drop every 5-10 seconds, it doesn’t seem like the main source of leak. Guessing it’s the prop shaft or maybe exhaust like you guys have mentioned. Got a service appointment set up so hopefully they can find the source since we won’t be out on a lake before then.