Got a leak

[bondobill]

Got a leak in my 22 FF. Started some time after transom rebuild.
Thought I had found it before my last time in the water...not
I was a little skimpy on the drain plug with the 5200, resealed that, also around scubbers, installed new hatch in floor @ aft.
Any tricks out there for finding a leak in a boat.....
short of filling with water and see where it runs out
Thought maybe could be scubber tubes but they are full of water yet weeks later  sitting in the shop..if they leaked I would quess the water would eventually drain out the same hole that let water in
Checked inside of transom, don't have any screws popping through from the outside, checked underneath, no damage there.
Thinking about drying out bilge really good, cleaning it up back there then trying to give it a light dusting of the stuff carpenters use to scrib a chalk line.  Maybe I can trace it that way the next time out. Only thing I have not checked is the raw water pickup
Like I said any tricks out there. Need to figure this out by end of month, spending a few days in the islands with the family,
I am hoping it's not the scubber tubes, they don't look like they would be fun to change, can't even get my arm to them.  

Help me

I'm sinking :(

Bill

[gran398]

That was the best poured transom rebuild job ever.

Are you sure it is saltwater? Sounds simple, but it could be rainwater that has seeped through the deck and wants to lay in the forward bilge....then when you put it in the water and pop it on plane...it all runs to the stern and the pump(s) kick on.

Taste the water, see if its sweet or salty.

If its salty:

A good quick way would be to disconnect the bilge pump, and put a garden hose in the bilge. Let it get over the transom bilge drain...see if it leaks there....or through the raw water pickup under the hull bottom.

The next culprit, going up, would be the 1.5 inch livewell discharge at the thru-hull fitting. Lastly, the scuppers and their associated hoses.

It may be something as simple as a cracked hose....how much water is there?

You may end up putting some water in it, but as long as your wiring is high and tight, won't hurt anything. If you're concerned about the trailer, set the hull on some jacks.

Good luck Bill, keep us posted.

[Curious]

Bill,
Sorry to hear this.  I'd fill the bilge in incriments until you get to the root of it.  Still might not work but worth a try.  When I redid my rig I discovered a screw from the bilge pump float switch had gone through the bottom of the boat by an 1/8" or so.  That really fried my a$$.  I'll start brainstorming and let you know if I think of anything.

[seabob4]

I'm guessing the leak is coming from topsides and not the hull, along the lines Scott suggested.  Water trapped forward, but having a "bit" of a way to make it aft can be a real pisser.

You can clean the bilge real good, as you have described, then apply some sort of "dust" that will provide a tell-tale when water passes through it.  But if it's coming from outboard of the inboard stringers through the weepholes, that won't do much good.

What I would do is get the bilge a dry as humanly possible on, say, a Friday afternoon, jack up the trailer tongue big time, grab a few beers, then stare at the bilge for a while.  This will tell you if it's coming from a compartment forward.

If nothing there, then enlist the aid of a buddy, take her out, and while he drives, you just sit there and watch the bilge.  Any water ingress would indicate a boat fitting, whether it may be the garboard drain, the intake, or something else...

[bondobill]

After a call from Scotty ,  and advise from Curious and Bob    
Boat is tilted up on the tongue of trailer as far as I could get her up with a 3 ton car jack and 2 four by 6ers.
Duck taped off drain holes in stringers...did that so after pulling bilge plug I could remove duck tape on stringer drains and see if I had water coming out of them, maybe isolate the problem to the scubbers
Duck taped off outside scubber drains.
Filled bilge in aft with water up past the raw water fittings.
Filled scubbers from deck side with water.
Added a florescent green dye to the water to make it easier to see any seepage.
Will check her out in morning and let you all know.

Damn boats are a pain in the ars ....but they sure are fun  

Bill

[bondobill]

Would like to tell you all I found the leak this morn....not
Eliminated the scubbers as the problem, really happy about that, after draining the green water this morn @ 5 am ... shop floor now glows in the dark.....pulled ductape off the stringer drain, bone dry in there.
Drain plug and raw water pickup dry also.
Realized this morn I haven't tried resealing lower engine mount bolts, they be under water all the time. When I installed them maybe I forced all the 5200 out the back side of transom. Couldn't get enough water in the bilge last night to cover those bolts. I have a buse bar back there.... think that's what you call em..... its up high, didn't want that under water.
going try resealing the bolts for engine, also replace raw water pick and shut off valve. Its been rusted in the open position for some time now, handles long gone   . Scott scolded me pretty good on shutoff valve issue. :)
Water coming in when we are trolling. Every time we pickup to move pump turns on, last Sunday it kicked on while we were trolling. Not for long but long enough to know there is a problem.
Think maybe I should stick to working on cars :)

Bill

[gran398]

Hey, you do good on boats too!

We'll get this figured out.

The main reason I was so gung-ho on the seacock replacement....I almost sunk a boat once ten miles offshore BY MYSELF.  That was during my King Neptune glory days

The 2100 Hydrasport was rigged without a seacock FROM THE FACTORY for the one inch forward fishbox drain. The hose from the drain ran under the tank and straight out the transom.

I noticed the boat was acting sluggish. Popped the rear deck inspection hatch...hull full of water. Pump float switch didn't work...turned it on manually, managed to get it through the inlet and to the ramp.

Discovered the hose had split from age. Without a seacock, and had the bilge pump failed...no good.

[flounderpounder225]

Are there trim tabs on the transom?  couple years back, had a friend couldn't figure where the water was coming from.  The PO had never sealed the hole where the hyd line goes through the transom, which is behind the tab's hyd ram mounting pad.  wouldn't leak out when we filled the stern area, but sure did come in under pressure when we finally looked around back there with the boat in the water.

[bondobill]

Marc
The line for the tabs go through transom just below the top of the tab.
Good foot or so from the water line.
Thought maybe I used too long of screws on the planes but checking from inside of transom no issue there.  

Thanks

Bill

[seabob4]

You'll find it Bill, just be patient, eliminate all the possibilities as you move forward, eventually the cause will show it's ugly head, may even be an easy fix...

A word about shut-off valves.  Too often, due to builders wanting the most cockpit depth or the biggest capacity fishboxes, livewells, storage compartments, whatever, end up draining sid features either below the waterline, or just barely above it.  Once the boat has aged and gained weight, these drains can also be blow the water line.  Yet all we see that have metallic t/hulls and shut-off valves on them are raw water intakes.  

So what happens when that 1 1/2" hose that is attached to the cockpit train t/hull draining below the waterline through the transom decides to let go?  Is that flapper or ping pong ball gonna save your a$$?  Doubt it.  1 1/2" bronze shut-off valves are large in size and high in cost...but they should be on those type of drains.  After all, all hull penetrations below the waterline are required to be of certain materials and are required to have shut-off valves...

Note section 27.5.1 of the ABYC section on t/hulls...ABYC H-27

[bondobill]

Had some time last night to reseal the lower bolts on outboard.
Think maybe the one on the starboard side was leaking, bolt popped out way to easy with a light wack with a rubber mallet.
When I mounted engine a year ago I remember I couldn't see the holes from the inside, found em with my hand.
While that was a year ago, since then I've dropped 30 lbs, now lying on my belly on the deck I can actually get my head in the compartment far enough to see the holes.  
I found a big build up of glass on one side of hole, washer on bolt probably hung up on it and wasn't able to lay flush, ground that off filled holes from inside this time with 5200 put in bolt added more 5200 on outside, last time I think I was trying to make it too pretty, I had 5200 all over me last night.
Also had some corrosion on inside of that washer like maybe salt water was getting to it.
Anyways hoping to get out tomorrow and we will see.
If you all never hear from me again,....... you'll know that wasn't what was leaking and my bilge pump failed. :pirat:

Bill

[seabob4]

Have a feeling we'll hear from you again...

[gran398]

Sounds like you're on to something...especially with that corrosion showing on the inside of the washer.

Keeping our fingers crossed....catch 'em up

[Curious]

The suspense is killing me!  Good luck.

[gran398]

Had some time last night to reseal the lower bolts on outboard.

 I had 5200 all over me last night.

Ain't it crazy, even with the best planning...that stuff is the WORST.

Been many an evening  went to work the next day with white fingers...not cool in my biz....redneck by night...Richard Gere by day

 :colors: