Boat taking on water

[matt chiodi]

I was down at dale hollow last weekend and on my way down my boat cover ripped so instead of trailering the boat and storing it I just rented a slip since I will be down this weekend. I just received a call saying my boat had about an inch of water on the floor board almost to the bottom of my seat( 188 nitro sport). Its only been on the water since Monday morning. Is this normal? I havent noticed any cracks or chips in the hull. What is the best way to find the leak? I was going to drain all the water and just get under the boat in the water and look for bubbles. Any other ideas? Thanks MattC

 

[Steve Hutson]

Matt, It's been raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock here in TN for several days, maybe that's your answer. Or your plug could be loose. Have you hit anything recently?



Steve

 

[Berry Lindley]

You can also have livewell plumbing issues, pretty common. And yes it has been raining hard as you know here in TN. O-Hick is muddy and dumping water right now, Over the weekend they only had enough water to generate 1 generator from 1-5PM.

 

[T AMBURGEY]

Trailer it and allow it to dry, then put the plg back in get a water hose a start filling get under it on the trailer see if any water is leaking out

 

[Mad Kayaker]

I had a problem with water coming in and it was the bilge pump for the live well that had a crack in the PVC pipe that allowed water to gush in. Pretty scary as it happened on a pretty large body of water and I was further from shore than I would have liked. Definitely check all of the plumbing.



Bill, the MadKayaker

 

[Dan J.]

Should you attempt the leak-down test as suggested above, I strongly recommend that you raise the trailer frame off the wheels and support appropriately. If you start adding hundreds of gallons of water to your hull on the trailer, you will be buying a set of tires, if not rims and an axle. Just a word of caution. Good luck!

 

[T AMBURGEY]

Good point Dan

 

[matt chiodi]

Just got back with the boat, thanks for all the suggestions. I really think it was all the rain but the guy at the dock swears its leaking. Ill keep everyone posted thanks again. MattC

 

[Dan J.]

If you don't have an auto-bilge, I highly recommend adding it for dock mooring. Left on auto, you should not be aware of accumulation unless a massive leak occurs. Cheap insurance.