Water always in bilge

[itsonlywater]

My boat has had water in the bilge since I bought it a couple of years ago. Since then I've been trying to figure out the source and I just can't find it. I've had to replace a leaking exhaust hose and exhaust riser gaskets. I know I need to replace the gaskets on the manifolds because I've started to get a small amount of leakage, but not enough to account for the water in the bilge. When I do the manifold gaskets, I'll replace the other exhaust hose as well.

I recently discovered the HDS issue by reading this board. I was convinced this was what was letting water into my boat. I opened up the box and filled the bilge with water up to the brim of the box. After 30 min the box area was still completely dry. My driveway was also dry so no water was leaking out either. I have the box open so I'm going to go ahead and do the fiberglass work to give the area some added strength. (Seperate question: Can I just fiberglass over the bolts in the box since I don't have any leakage or am I asking for trouble by doing this?)

I've also replaced the packing in the packing nut and checked the drip rate so this isn't the problem.

Does all of this mean my water issue has to be related to the exhaust and I'm just not seeing it? What else am I missing that I can check?

I haven't measured the amount of water but I would guess it to be 2.5"-3" deep from the center of the ski locker and enough to trip the bilge pump 2-3 times per 4 hour lake trip.

[Ndawg12]

Ok so we need to think higher than 4" or so off the bottom of the bilge. Platform mount bolts? All water carrying hoses on the engine tight?

[Soon2BV]

Have you looked at the connections of the exhaust "tips" to the hull?

I just replaced my plastic exhaust tips with Stainless Steel turn down tiips. In both cases, the tips are sealed to the hull with silicone and 3 or 4 screws. Mine we are still tight and no evidence of leakage, but I can see how, as a boat ages, there could be small leaks develop.

I don't know the differences in the set-up of these bilge areas between a DD and a VD, but maybe someplace to look at.

[Aquadisiac]

Rudder shaft?

[Molarbu]

Does your boat have a shower?

[REW]

leaky ballast system?

[itsonlywater]

Thanks for the replies. The boat doesn't have a shower or auto ballast so both of those are out. I would have seen leaking on the driveway if it was the rudder shaft, right? The exhaust tips and platform mounts are both possibilities I'll have to check out. I'll check all the hose connections...again. Any other thoughts?

[Aquadisiac]

Thanks for the replies. The boat doesn't have a shower or auto ballast so both of those are out. I would have seen leaking on the driveway if it was the rudder shaft, right? The exhaust tips and platform mounts are both possibilities I'll have to check out. I'll check all the hose connections...again. Any other thoughts?

You may or may not see the rudder shaft leak in your driveway. Could be when turning back and forth and your boat sits deeper than 4" in the water causing more pressure. Not saying this is the problem but there is more to it.

Either way hope you find it soon

[footnlongline]

Thanks for the replies. The boat doesn't have a shower or auto ballast so both of those are out. I would have seen leaking on the driveway if it was the rudder shaft, right? The exhaust tips and platform mounts are both possibilities I'll have to check out. I'll check all the hose connections...again. Any other thoughts?

How much water are you talking about?

[itsonlywater]

roughly 2.5" in the ski locker and then the bilge pump will kick on. The pump will kick on every 1.5 hours or so.

I did the fiberglass work on the HDS box last night since I had it opened. What do I seal the lid back on with? Is there a special type of silicone I need to use?

I'm planning on doing an exhaustive lake test to check for leaks at the rudder shaft, exhaust tips, and all of the hoses. I need to figure out how to see the swim platform mounts from the inside so I can check those out also.

[bradfr]

My vote is you have an HDS box issue if it is a DD with an HDS box. I had a 2000 sunsetter that had an HDS box leak that was acting very similar to your situation. When I pulled the top off my box I couldn't physically see any issues in the box yet it would still leak. I ended up making a shaft log very similar to this link's setup. http://www.everglass.org/shaftlog.htm This log basically eliminates any water that enters and fills that box. I never worked with fiberglass before and this modification was fairly easy for me.

My boat developed a HDS box leak after the previous owner had struck something with the running gear. Take a look at the bottom side of your boat where the drive shaft support and rudder are mounted and look for signs of gelcoat cracking. If there are cracks there I would say there is a good possibility that something was hit which caused your HDS box to separate from the hull.

[itsonlywater]

I figured it was the HDS box also, but after filling the bilge and letting it sit there was no seepage in the box. I also inspected the bottom of the boat around the drive shaft support and rudder support and did not see any gel cracking. Either way, I fiberglassed the whole box area and coated everything with resin (minus the drive shaft of course ). I didn't do the shaft log so I'll still be counting on the box to still function as originallly intended. We'll see if it works

[bradfr]

I think the pressures by simply filling the hull up with water and the entire weight of the boat sitting in the water are much different. You will know soon enough if your fix worked. If it doesn't work I would recommend making that shaft log up as shown in the link i sent. It is not much harder than what you already have done and guarantees that this is not the issue.