water in bilge

Trike: We left our '80 in the water in TN on vacation for 6 weeks. Not enough water in the bilge to ever pump it out. You gotta make people drip off on your swim platform, I never let anyone just climb back in after a ski. Drives the wife crazy but I insist the water is supposed to be on the outside. If your back seat cushion is soaked (a pain to dry) and your carpets are wet, your skiers are dragging to much water in when they get in......jbear

trikeaholic,
Your boat should only get a little water in it after a day of use. Maybe enough to bildge after about 5 hrs. of running time (due to the drip lubrication of the shaft seal).

Sounds like you have a leak somewhere. I would check the rudder, speedos, and shaft seal. I'd also check the small exhaust hose the runs from the end of the muffler to the exhaust through-hull in the stern. This very short piece of hose rots out quickly as it is always full of water (below water line). My Mustang and my Dad's Ski Tique both had this problem and they took on a lot of water. You will need to remove the rear floor to inspect.

As for the water overnight while inside - it could be excess water that splashed around while you trailered it from the lake. A lot of water can hide either in the stern or in the bow - water you can't necessarily see when lifting the engine cover (especially if you are on any type of incline). Perhaps this excess was sloshed around while driving and soaked your carpet and seats.

I would be surprised if you seat cusions would hold enough water to notice in your bildge - very surprised.

It would be more likely that your sub-floor has some cracks or holes that allow water to seep into the foam of other compartments. It may simply take overnight for it all to seep back out.

Hope this helps,
-Keith

Keith wrote: trikeaholic, Your boat should only get a little water in it after a day of use. Maybe enough to bildge after about 5 hrs. of running time (due to the drip lubrication of the shaft seal). Sounds like you have a leak somewhere. I would check the rudder, speedos, and shaft seal. I'd also check the small exhaust hose the runs from the end of the muffler to the exhaust through-hull in the stern. This very short piece of hose rots out quickly as it is always full of water (below water line). My Mustang and my Dad's Ski Tique both had this problem and they took on a lot of water. You will need to remove the rear floor to inspect. As for the water overnight while inside - it could be excess water that splashed around while you trailered it from the lake. A lot of water can hide either in the stern or in the bow - water you can't necessarily see when lifting the engine cover (especially if you are on any type of incline). Perhaps this excess was sloshed around while driving and soaked your carpet and seats. I would be surprised if you seat cusions would hold enough water to notice in your bildge - very surprised. It would be more likely that your sub-floor has some cracks or holes that allow water to seep into the foam of other compartments. It may simply take overnight for it all to seep back out. Hope this helps, -Keith

Patt...might check all through hull fittings.
Look when your in the water at your stuffing box...if not tight enough water can squirt in(it should only be dripping)...mine was like that when a bought it.

return of the living thread! LOL.

I removed the floor to understand the leaks in our old boat. It leaked everywhere, however most were minor, but in total I would guess it would leak over a gallon per hour.

We pulled our boat and reworked every thru hull fitting, prop shaft packing and hose as well as the rudder shaft mount and packing. Launched her without the floor so we could see any leaks. Everything OK. Ran for a while and no leaks.

Skiing is another thing! The boat gets a lot of water just from normal use with everyone crawling in and out. I thought the boat had another leak and after the kids left that weekend, we let her sit in the lake for a week....no water.