Water in my bilge

[Jaime]

I have a new 2016 Yamaha 242 Limited S E that I purchase about 6 months ago!!!
So far I'm very happy except for one thing, my bilge pump keeps turning on every 15 to 20 minutes. I contact my dealer and they told me that is normal for jetboat to take a little water which in my case is more than a little!!!
After putting the boat on the trailer and checking everything I realize that the main drain plug is leaking so I went to a Yamaha dealer and purchase a new plug and after replacing it with a new!! still leaks.
Is anybody out here having the same issue!!
PLEASE ADVICE!!!

 

[Bruce]

@MrMoose, I believe you have experience here.

 

[MrMoose]

@MrMoose, I believe you have experience here.

Who doesn't own a Yamaha and have experience with water in the bilge?

 

[MNdrifter]

I wet slip my boat all summer. I almost never have water in my bilge unless it rains or I take water over the bow.

 

[Jaime]

Wow hopefully not a lot people!! Imagine if you take a trip to Bahamas and your one bilge pump takes a dump on you!!
I own many boats in the pass from 24' to 48' and no boat should make 4 to 6"'of water no matter which brand!!
Is not normal!!!

 

[Bill D]

@Jaime There are many threads on here about new owners finding water intrusion in their boats. Some of the popular spots have been unsealed drain plugs, anchor locker fittings, aft cleats, rub rails, cleanout port hatch... the list goes on.

Are you taking on water while you are moving, or while your boat is just sitting in the water? Have you put the plug in and filled the bilge with a hose while on the trailer to see if you can see any water leaking out?

 

[Bruce]

@Jamie, @MrMoose and others have discovered leaks from the factory. Hopefully he will come back with specifics.

My boat had leaks when I bought her. After replacing and resealing several below water fittings she has been dry for years.

One way to diagnose the issue is to park the boat on a trailer, preferably with the stern down hill, then use a water hose to add water until it starts coming out through the various fittings that should be sealed.

 

[Jaime]

I wet slip my boat all summer. I almost never have water in my bilge unless it rains or I take water over the bow.

I was told my my dealer that's this boats are not meant to be left on the water for a long time which I thought it was crazy.

 

[Bill D]

Several members have heard such things as "they all leak"... My boat only has water in the bilge when it rains. Don't let them off with saying that crap.

 

[MrMoose]

@Jaime, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new boat. If your bilge pump is spitting water out while on the water, you're probably able to see a bit of water in the bottom of your engine compartment and you probably have a good couple of gallons in the bilge.
There are many spots that the water can be coming in from and most have been discussed on this forum, but I'm a little lazy and don't usually search for these things and just ask like you did.
Here's a list of the easy ones to check/seal:
1. Deck drain hull fitting on the transom under the swim deck, often referred to as the scupper. Run a bead of silicone or 3M 4200 around the edge of the flange to seal it to the hull.
2. Open your clean-out hatch, then open the access hatch located between the two clean-out ports. Make sure that the rubber tube that connects the apron to the clean-out port has a clamp on the bottom, and silicone on the top. I've seen some with missing clamps.
3. While you have the access hatch open, shine a flash light down there to see if you can see water anywhere other than in the bottom. Specifically, check that the clean-out apron drain (located on the starboard side of the apron) is not leaking into the bilge.
4. Seal the access hatch flange to the apron, located between the two clean-out ports.
5. Clean-out apron. When you open the clean-out hatch, you'll find that the apron is not sealed to the boat deck (upper hull shell). For a quick fix, you can put a bead of silicone in the interface.
6. Swim deck cup holders. Check to make sure that they're draining out onto the swim deck and not into the bilge.
7. Anchor locker drain. The thru-hull fitting is too short and you might be getting water between the inner and outer hull. Easy fix. Remove the drain fixture. Add silicone to the outer hull/fixture interface and reinsert it. Then, seal up the interface between the fixture and the inner hull from the inside of the anchor locker. Here's a post on it:
https://jetboaters.net/threads/anchor-locker-leaks-in-models-with-current-hull.12266/#post-212021
8. Engine hatch drain. There's a drain at the back edge of the engine hatch, located on the upper hull shell. It's not sealed to the shell and will leak into your engine compartment when it rains.

Here's the hard one that I had my dealer fix. The hull fitting where the drive shaft enters the transom is not sealed to the transom.

That should be enough to get you started.

 

[Jaime]

@Jamie, @MrMoose and others have discovered leaks from the factory. Hopefully he will come back with specifics.

My boat had leaks when I bought her. After replacing and resealing several below water fittings she has been dry for years.

One way to diagnose the issue is to park the boat on a trailer, preferably with the stern down hill, then use a water hose to add water until it starts coming out through the various fittings that should be sealed.

I did that today and the only leak that was able to see was from the main drain plug!! But I will re-test again on Friday and will give it a couple hours with my bilge full of water to see if I missed another leak spot.

 

[MrMoose]

When you address all of those spots, and you still have a water leak, it could be something more serious like something linked to the water box or to the cooling system.
To help find my drive shaft leaks, I puffed baby powder into the transom bilge area from the clean-out access hatch, took the boat for a very short spin, pulled it out and brought it to my dealer right away. They were nice enough to open the clean-out apron right away and they could see the water tracks in the baby powder.

 

[Jaime]

@Jaime, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new boat. If your bilge pump is spitting water out while on the water, you're probably able to see a bit of water in the bottom of your engine compartment and you probably have a good couple of gallons in the bilge.
There are many spots that the water can be coming in from and most have been discussed on this forum, but I'm a little lazy and don't usually search for these things and just ask like you did.
Here's a list of the easy ones to check/seal:
1. Deck drain hull fitting on the transom under the swim deck, often referred to as the scupper. Run a bead of silicone or 3M 4200 around the edge of the flange to seal it to the hull.
2. Open your clean-out hatch, then open the access hatch located between the two clean-out ports. Make sure that the rubber tube that connects the apron to the clean-out port has a clamp on the bottom, and silicone on the top. I've seen some with missing clamps.
3. While you have the access hatch open, shine a flash light down there to see if you can see water anywhere other than in the bottom. Specifically, check that the clean-out apron drain (located on the starboard side of the apron) is not leaking into the bilge.
4. Seal the access hatch flange to the apron, located between the two clean-out ports.
5. Clean-out apron. When you open the clean-out hatch, you'll find that the apron is not sealed to the boat deck (upper hull shell). For a quick fix, you can put a bead of silicone in the interface.
6. Swim deck cup holders. Check to make sure that they're draining out onto the swim deck and not into the bilge.
7. Anchor locker drain. The thru-hull fitting is too short and you might be getting water between the inner and outer hull. Easy fix. Remove the drain fixture. Add silicone to the outer hull/fixture interface and reinsert it. Then, seal up the interface between the fixture and the inner hull from the inside of the anchor locker. Here's a post on it:
https://jetboaters.net/threads/anchor-locker-leaks-in-models-with-current-hull.12266/#post-212021
8. Engine hatch drain. There's a drain at the back edge of the engine hatch, located on the upper hull shell. It's not sealed to the shell and will leak into your engine compartment when it rains.

Here's the hard one that I had my dealer fix. The hull fitting where the drive shaft enters the transom is not sealed to the transom.

That should be enough to get you started.

Wow thanks for all the input!! I will check everything and repost my findings!!!

 

[MrMoose]

Wow hopefully not a lot people!! Imagine if you take a trip to Bahamas and your one bilge pump takes a dump on you!!
I own many boats in the pass from 24' to 48' and no boat should make 4 to 6"'of water no matter which brand!!
Is not normal!!!

A second bilge pump is a necessity on these boats.

 

[MattFX4]

What about the caps on the engine flush ports? I have noticed while under way that mine are leaking. Has anyone experienced this, and if so how do you correct.

 

[MrMoose]

What about the caps on the engine flush ports? I have noticed while under way that mine are leaking. Has anyone experienced this, and if so how do you correct.

I had that problem. It was a trickle. I tightened the cap more and it stopped leaking. If it continued to leak, I would have used a bit of silicone o-ring sealant that I use for my pool equipment (not the curing type).

 

[Jaime]

@Jaime There are many threads on here about new owners finding water intrusion in their boats. Some of the popular spots have been unsealed drain plugs, anchor locker fittings, aft cleats, rub rails, cleanout port hatch... the list goes on.

Are you taking on water while you are moving, or while your boat is just sitting in the water? Have you put the plug in and filled the bilge with a hose while on the trailer to see if you can see any water leaking out?

I notice when I was at the dock for an overnight trip and when I open my hatch, I had 6" of water.

 

[Jaime]

A second bilge pump is a necessity on these boats.

For sure!!! I'll be installing a second bilge pump double the size of the factory pump.

 

[Jaime]

I had that problem. It was a trickle. I tightened the cap more and it stopped leaking. If it continued to leak, I would have used a bit of silicone o-ring sealant that I use for my pool equipment (not the curing type).

That may be a solution but these plugs should not leak, I think is a bad design!!

 

[Jaime]

What about the caps on the engine flush ports? I have noticed while under way that mine are leaking. Has anyone experienced this, and if so how do you correct.

Wow it seems to me that these boats may leek from a lot different places which is crazy!! I'm beginning to think buying a jetboat was a mistake.