'03 Ski Limited with Excalibur 330

[78LS2]

Was using the boat this weekend, when I noticed water coming into the main passenger area from the rear left corner of the boat. (not a major flow, but a small stream on top of the carpet) I popped the rear storage compartment, and there were two wet spots in there, but I could not see any water sources?

I hit the bilge pump, and it dumped quite a bit out. Thus, I started looking for other issues.

The carpet in the bow of the boat was also wet.

While running the engine with the cover open, I could not see any water leaks. Also, the driveshaft seal appears to be fine.

Any ideas on the cause(s)? I'm thinking the front water could be from the heater?

[NautiqueJeff]

RE:

Yeah, check the water lines that go to the heater, as well as the heater core itself. Do you have a shower in your boat? If so, check that as well. Have you had any freezing temperatures in your area yet? The heater and the shower are usually the first things to crack.

[78LS2]

RE:

I don't have the shower, so not sure about the water in the back. Is there a line run to that area, and if the shower option is purchased, it is connected? Or is the line only run if the shower option is selected?

There have not been any freezing temps yet. There have been in years past, but it has always been winterized by an authorized Nautique dealer, and stored in a garage.

[ClemsonDave]

RE:

Is the water leaking hot? If so, it is the heater. If it is coming from the rear of the boat, it probably is not the heater. That shows up as a leak under the drivers feet. A leak in the rear compartment is most likely the shower (if you have one). Make sure the shower head is turned off as well as the power button on the dash. I had a leak in the back and it was a mouse that had eaten through one of the speedo cables.

You can take the floor out in the rear compartment to look around.

edit: just read you dont have a shower. I dont think there are shower lines back there unless you have the shower. It is all in the kit. Pull the floor and side boards out of the rear compartment and look around.

[78LS2]

RE:

water in the back was lake temp, but again, no shower.

the mouse thing is possible...it was outside for a while being neglected

[Aarons01]

RE:

not sure what it is but my friends 99 did it after a while and now my 01 SNOB since a couple of summers ago but only during hard turns. Not enough water to worry about though

[78LS2]

RE:

the water in the rear was after a few hard turns...
not enough to worry about is a loose phrase! I don't ever like to see water in the boat, especially on top of the carpet. The bilge is somewhat acceptable

[Rick]

RE:

Its possible that the bilge was full and sloshed into the back from a leak in the heater. If not, the possibilities are the speedo tube the rudder packing or a loose exhaust hose or the muffler. I would take the engine cover of and see if you can see the water stream in to the bilge. Then remove thre back seat and floor. Unfortunately it is a process of elimination. Good luck

[78LS2]

RE:

the bilge was empty, as it had been on the trailer, in a garge, with the drain plug out for 3 weeks prior to putting it in on Saturday.

I'll check the items you mentioned.

Thanks for the help guys. Glad I found this forum!

[ClemsonDave]

RE:

Another test is to put the boat on the trailer, keep the plug in, use your garden hose to put a lot of water in the bilge. Look for leaks around the back.

For the speedo, pull the tube off the pitot and crimp it (or both) with a zip tie. Then drive down the lake.

Leaks suck. Took me a LONG time to find what my mouse friend had done.

[06210rider]

Be careful putting water in the bildge. If you get it up to the starter you could be into some trouble come next season. Also if you put a significant amount of water in the bildge you can get water intrusion into the steering cable, this will shorten its life drasticaly. Just my $.02

[ClemsonDave]

lol, I thought that was a given. (me picturing someone filling the entire boat with water) :grin:

[78LS2]

if the speedo tubes were at fault, would the speedo still read correctly? Also, those tubes are tiny. This leak was way larger than that line could supply?...

[surroundsound64]

Might have a leaky exhaust hose. I had this happen and I got a steady stream of water in the boat.

[ClemsonDave]

Do you have PP? If so, only one speedo tube is used. In theory, there should be an error message on the middle display that reads something like XX PS. That may not be exact, but it means the port speedo is not working and speed is being calculated by the other. In my case, I dont think the error message showed up until I crimped off the broken tube. The error message probably picks up clogged pitot tubes (more common than tube breakage).

You would be shocked how much water comes in. My bilge was activating every 3-5 minutes when one was leaking. Even sitting still, water was coming in the tube.

My hesitation is that I dont think a leak in the speedo tube would show up on the floorboard.