Taking on water

[SANDMAN]

Took my boat out on sea trials Saturday and fixed the problems with fuel pick-up tube and boat did great. After about an hour opened acess hatch and noticed water in the bilge about 2 inches so pumped it out and about 2 hours later pulled boat out of the water and pulled the plug and about 5-6 gallons flowed out. I checked the hull when i painted the bottom and didnt see any cracks or holes,then i filled the bilge with water about 12 inches and no leaks nowhere.I guess the water is coming in under power and somehow forced in somewhere?If the water coming in under power it must be foward in the bow?I checked the livewell and no leaks there, If anyone has an Idea where its coming from that would be great! HAVE A GOOD THANKSGIVING DAY TO ALL !!                  Sandman

[John Jones]

You are probably going to have to run the boat and someone else have their head in the bilge to find it.

[Keith Knecht]

Had an old 222 that drove me crazy trying to find the leak.  Finally turned out to be the caulking between the cap and the hull.  Spray was forced up under the rub rail every time I hit a good wave.  Check any thru hull fittings that are below the water line.  Probably not the hull unless you have a crack that only opens up under stress.  If you had a lot of spray coming in over the bow on that day, you may not have a leak at all. It does find it's way into the bilge quite quickly.  One last thought. The 222 Ospreys were bad about the wiring trough that runs from the console to the transom.  Several places that folks commonly drill holes for wiring and don't seal properly.  At the end of the track under the console is a spot that the tank wires come into the trough that is often a problem.  When the water comes in through the scupper it fills the trough and runs into the bilge through those places.  That's all I can think of right now.  Jims idea is probably the best one though.

[aqua70]

If you filled the hull up with 12 inches of water, you are lucky!  The weight of the water either on the trailer or on blocks is heavy enough to disrupt the bottom. water weighs 8 lbs per gallon.
     My bet is you are leaking through either the motor mount bolts or some other underwater through hull attachment.
The water is most likely leaking in and settling up front under the bow area. Then when you get her up on plane the water settles to the back.
    We had a pin hole leak around the scupper area and it accumulated to about 5 gallons per day.
     You may want to check you entire transome as well.
send some pics!!!

[SANDMAN]

The boat sits on 8 ft bunks which support her well so the 12ins of water wasnt to bad. The motor is on a adjustable bracket which bolts through the transom above the floor so dosent leak,The cap and hull has a new thick bead of caulk so no leak there.The scrubbers are under water so I have them plugged off and havent taken water over the bow or transom either.The only through hull is the live well which could be the problem theres no acess there so i'll have to plugg it off next boat ride. If thats not the problem then maybe a crack that opens up under stress? I would like to thank you guys for your ideas this is a great website! I have pictures on my photo album. Sandman

[fabuck71]

Make sure to check the livewll through hull connections and my bet is it's the hose from there.  When you run and pick up water through your scoop, stick your head in the bilge and you'll see it streaming out of the hose I bet.

[ddd222]

cronic problem the last year i owned my 222. I hate to break it to you, but there are many suspect areas if your setup is similar to mine, i went to great lengths but never quite pinpointed the exact source. Hopefully what i recall is helpful, but i'll book big $ u have a lack of access to bilge and other plumbing as i did. Superior hull design as long as none of these items need replacing.
1st suspect-live well and associated plumbing. If u have a below water line sea strainer, with sea cock/ball valve, the whole assembly and watertight safeguard is nearly impossible to access for inspection, and/or replacement. I closed mine completely and removed all associated plumbing, the livewell set so deep by the transom was less than functional.
2nd suspect-deck drains that lead to below waterline scuppers. The hoses that are supposed to make the boat "self bailing" and drain the deck aft starboard and port could have a tear, letting rain water accumulate in bilge too fast or a similar failure under way. It's likely the hoses and clamps might be the originals, and similar to the livewell, nearly impossible to inspect/service.
3rd suspect-if u have a coffin box or the boat used to have 1, there should be a thru hull drain and hoses, not sure about all years and models but mine was designed to be a fish box.
     I'd be suprised if someone staring in the bilge under power would identify the problem, but hopefully these loosely designed areas can help pinpoint the source

[aqua70]

Hey Sandman, after you provided additional information, my suggestions were null and void. To me it sounds like you have a serious and dangerous situation that needs to addressed as soon as possible.
     If you filled the boat with water, and no water ran out or even appeared to leak through any crack or fitting, you have a very mysterious situation, something I have never encountered.
    Hopefully you will resolve your problem.  All I can suggest is not to venture out too far without correcting the problem. Good Luck and please forward your conclusion.

[tyler915]

I have a similar problem on my 1987 17.  Seems to accumulate a couple of gallons in the bilge each day.  I've examined all the obvious sources and have epoxied around the transducer mount and scuppers as a precaution.  The boat is bottom painted and I think my next step is to strip the bottom paint and sand it down.  I probably am due for this anyway.  I'll put on a protective barrier/primer and re-paint after examining very closely for leaks.  Hope to get to this in the spring.

[Capt. Bob]

i wouldn't get too crazy about water in the hull. If you took a 5 gal bucket and dumped in there I doubt your pump would even pick it up. This is a common occurance in my 222CCP. After a long day, the bilge pump won't pick up a drop but when I tilt the hull back (on the trailer) water all collects at the back and I drain it through the plug.
Just to let you know, I have personally been in 7' seas that caused one of the rear inspection plates (they were press fit) to pop out. My hull filled with enough water to pull the bracket and stern under water making headway only possible under full power. This happened very quickly and it is something I'll never forget. I had four people aboard and as the ROM3 slid down the crest of a wave we saw the missing plate. Stuffing three fishing hats into the opening helped and it was then I realized that the bilge switch was not in the auto position. We survived that outing because of a Rule 2000gph pump and that 200 'Rude that never quit running while almost a 1/3 under the water. The hats stopped the main leak and Rule did the rest. Within minutes the ROM3 was runnig like nothing had happened. This occured in a following sea.
There are several points and lessons to this story but the main one is this.
Don't drive yourself nuts chasing a small leak and have two (2) grade A #1 types of bilge pumps on board.

PS..... My hull will fill with water from rain fall

[ddd222]

i agree w/ the don't panic. But numerous gallons a day under sunny skies could translate into a sunken boat on a rainy day. Even if our old hulls may only be worth a few k, i had 15k in yamaha rigging. If the boat takes on water just sitting in the water, regardless of the self bailing characteristics, it could be dangerous. In my boats case the 1st time was the salt water pickup and sea strainer sizzled away by electrolisis by the boat next to me. I realized out by myself fishing, but the previous weekend i had 6 other people, 4 of which were between 3-6 years old's snapper fishing. A "sizzled" fitting or otherwise loose fitting could come completely off at the worst time and sinking rapidly.
     If the boat takes on water on sunny days, and the(transom) scuppers are above water to begin w/, there has to be a thru hull failure, or in the 222 case like mine, the deck drain scuppers which go out to each side can fail at the pvc scupper itself, the hose connecting to the deck strainer, or the thru hull drain for the coffin box if applicable, along w/ associated hoses clamps etc. The 222ccp model has numerous possible culprits.
     My good buddy also has an 88' 17 model and he had to make few mod's. His didn't take on water for no reason but didn't self bail that well. Let me start by saying he modified his transom significantly before coming up w/ the right solution. He had most of the transom built up so he wouldn't take so much water in during certain conditions, the notched transom is low and wide on the 17. He then filled the trough(what purpose it served we can't figure out) on the inside of the transom because the water couldn't get out. And raised the original scuppers slightly(filling in old and cutting new). Very fine line between too much and too little. Went to rubber flap scuppers, but finally happy with the location, design, etc. w/ the ping pong ball scuppers, and his boat is truelly self bailing. I babysat his boat for 5 weeks w/out a change after massive rain storms. But like most 17's, a 225lb person will have wet feet aft when on board.
       Something else to consider w/ older hulls, especially one's with chronic water problems is that the hull is WET. The transom may not be soft yet but the stringers and bilge are continuously damp, and foam filling may be saturated. Best thing to do then is move as much weight forward until really addressing the problem.

[jeff23]

I put my "new" (to me) 1979 170 in the water for the first couple of weeks in November.  The marina called me at work to tell me the boat had almost sunk! However, one of the mechanics walking by noticed that the bow was up too far, so they pulled the boat and pumped out the bilge.  The wiring to the pump was bad and the hose to the livewell was leaking--not at a huge rate but without the pump and five days in the water enough to start sinking her. Now it has new wiring, a new pump, and we capped off the livewell, which currently make a nice storage area

I sent the mechanic who caught it a gift certificate for dinner at the local steak place. Man, I was lucky--also happy that it happened now so that when I get underway next year it'll be one less thing to worry about.  OF course there will be other things to worry about, but that's boatage, eh?

[aqua70]

I know one thing. I would not venture out knowing that my boat leaked.
Bilge pump, extra bilge pump no way!
   What do you do if the hole turns into a crack and the hull splits?
You may have a SOFT spot in the fiberglass that is acting like a sponge and absorbing the water.  I am curious to find out what nis leaking>