'03 Ski Limited with Excalibur 330

[78LS2]

Yeah, it has PP, and I did not notice an error.

[Rick]

There is a plug in the back of the muffler. If that pops out that could also cause the leak. Unfortunately it sounds like a removal of the back seat floor and gas tank.

[DanielC]

I have a 1997 Ski, with 1800 hours on it. At about 1500 hours, I started to get a water leak, that it took me most of the summer to find. I had a hole in the bottom side of the muffler, that opened up only when there was a high pressure in the muffler, at start up. It did not leak much at any other time. I could not find it until I ran the boat without the back floorboard in place. The fix was easy, just time consuming, I had to reinforce the leaky area with Epoxy resin, and fiberglass.

[NigelC]

As Daniel suggests, I have also experienced Hull Hugger issues. Mine was following an engine backfire which split the Hull Hugger in two. See my other postings. I am not suggesting this is the cause of your problem as you will certainly know where the leak is coming from. On further inspection of my muffler, I noticed that the arear around where the starboard exhaust goes into was wafer thin underneath. This was due to rubbing on the hull when the foam protection pads became dislodged. I believe this is a common problem and I have seen this on other Ski Nautiques. It is not difficult to check but is much easier if you remove the rear floor section. With the boat afloat, check for water trickling other than the odd drip from the packing gland. Also look under the engine sump or rear bilge area for stray foam pads (8" x 2.5"). If you find them, they have dislodged from under the muffler. I check mine regularly now.
I guess you have already checked some of the following, but other things that spring to mind are:
Is the bowl of the weed strainer screwed on properly, are the engine core plugs OK, is there excessive water leaking through the prop shaft or rudder glands, check the perfect pass paddle wheel, if fitted. Finally, check engine and exhaust hoses.

[KPNautique]

I had a leaking thru hull fitting ( It was hard to see leaking). I removed, cleaned and resealed. No more water in the bilge

[j2nh]

My 2005 196 had a leaky thru hull fitting for the exhaust. While in the water and dry, pull what you can from the back (seat/floor) and start looking for a trickle of water. It took me quit a while to find where the water was coming from but it was an easy fix (marine sealant).

[cat1168]

My 05 196 had a leaky thru hull raw water intake. I looked for it, then I took it to the dealer, it took them 2 hrs to find it. Very hard to find, easy to fix.

If the boat is in the water and you can hold your breath. Take Red food coloring and squeeze out a little around the thru hull fittings, having someone in the boat to look for the dye. If it is leaking you will see the food coloring in the boat.

Good luck finding it.