Water under deck... (non nautique)

[Bwalt302]

Hi everyone, sorry in advance if this is the wrong section and should be moved to off topic.

I recently picked up a 1981 19ft stingray boat. 120HP Mercruiser I/O. Transom is solid, all original interior. No flex when on the water, no damage, just "normal wear and tear".

I have experience repairing boats and have a pretty good understanding of boats in general. I have been unable to find much about this boat, but it fires up, runs great. The deck is solid, other than a soft spot at the rear jump seat beside the motor cover, I lifted the deck and the stringer, from what I can see is solid.

I am not very much concerned with the condition of the boat, for a 38 year old boat, it is solid. I took it out 2 times this week (last on Tuesday) and today when I came home I noticed just a tiny bit of water in the bilge area, I discovered it running from the front area of the bilge, below where the motor mounts. I think it was possible a limber hole that was glassed over years ago during manufacturing, but I am not so sure. After jacking the front of the trailer up, a decent amount of water came out, I jabbed the hole with a screw driver and it is draining as I type this, not a lot, but steady. The good news is that it was already draining without being jacked up, on its own, I just lifted the front to help it along, this in only on one side.

I am concerned that water may be trapped below the deck and a lot of rot may be imminent. Could anyone give me advice on how to drill an access if need be, or should I let it drain and not worry about it? I don't have any symptoms of major rot (stress cracks, flexing when hitting waves at speed, etc).

Attached are a few photos, so you can have an idea of what is going on.

[charlesml3]

You'll always have some water in the bilge. It's normal and nothing to worry about. Just pull the drain plug and jack the front up so the water drains out. If you have a shelter or at least good weather, open up all the compartments and let everything dry out.

-Charles

[Bwalt302]

Thanks Charles for the input, I did remove the drain plug, my concern is this water is coming from under the floor, almost as if it was trapped. Is the area under the floor still considered the bilge?

I only noticed because of the hole mentioned above, either a rotten / busted fiberglass spot, or old limber hole is allowing water from the bildge into under the floor apparently, then running back out. I just hope that it runs back out as easy as it goes in, instead of staying trapped rotting my boat

[charlesml3]

That's a different problem and you'll need to find a forum or mechanic that knows these boats. If there's wood in there somewhere and it's getting wet, that's not good. This is going to take a much closer inspection.

-Charles