boat takes on a lot of water, bilge runs all the time, engines boog down and low speed 13mph max

[Tahoeboater]

boat taking on a lot of water. Troublesooting led to flush of cooling system. during flush of starboard, I get a lot of water out in the jet and surrounding ports out the back. see photos of ports where water comes out. star shaped rubber cover (what is this), rubber gromet around hole on rt side, plastic gromit on left side, water also flows out of jet port. any ideas of problem? wish I could post a video. help

 

[mrcleanr6]

Thats normal and where water is supposed to come out. Rubber star is the exhaust. Most common place for water to get in the boat is the anchor locker drain.

 

[zipper]

Also check your bilge drain plug seal and check the scupper fitting/hose for cracks. Pour some water down the hose at the floor (sole) at the front of the engine bay. As said above, water coming from the exhaust is normal as well as that hole once the thermostat opens.



The black plastic "grommet", thru hull, on the left side above, is the clean out port hatch drain. Above picture sideways.

The white one below is the scupper.



You can upload a video to Youtube and copy/post a link here.

 

[Tahoeboater]

Also check your bilge drain plug seal and check the scupper fitting/hose for cracks. Pour some water down the hose at the floor (sole) at the front of the engine bay. As said above water coming from the exhaust is normal as well as that hole once the thermostat opens.

View attachment 155159

The plastic grommet on the left side (black), above, is the clean out port hatch drain. Above picture sideways.

The white one below is the scupper.

View attachment 155158

You can upload a video to Youtube and copy/post a link here.

 

[Tahoeboater]

Thanks for the info guys on the exhaust port, hatch clean out port drain, and scupper drain. Why would these have water coming out with high flows during a clean out flush while on the trailer. Also looked at the anchor locker, no through hole in the 2016 AR240 into the anchor locker. Any more ideas? Appreciate all help and suggestions!

 

[mrcleanr6]

Yes you have an anchor locker drain that goes through the hull. Do a search. There are tons of threads on that. Water comes in the drain and just dumps into the bilge.

Water comes out all the other ports because your flushing and running the engines. That cooling water has to go somewhere

 

[Tahoeboater]

Thanks mrcleanr6, I was under the impression that the cooling water was a closed loop system that came out the pisser port on the starboard side. Did not know it was open flow system that drains to the exhaust, scupper, and hatch clean outs as well as the pisser.

 

[Scottintexas]

suggest you look in the FAQ for the video "how the cooling water flows", it's a different Yamaha engine but same principals,

cooling water does not drain out of your scupper or cleanout hatch,

pissers are only "indicator" lines that there is "flow" through the engine/exhaust,


.

 

[drewkaree]

boat taking on a lot of water. Troublesooting led to flush of cooling system. help

Help us help YOU. "boat taking on a lot of water" doesn't tell us how you came to that determination, where you are noticing any water coming in, if at all, or what led you to the belief that you need to flush the cooling system. More information on your part is needed, while this is troubling and something to be concerned about, a shotgun approach to a generic (up until this point) problem may lead you to doing things that aren't even related, or it may simply be something that is normal with these boats in comparison to other boats you may have owned.

There ARE some idiosyncratic things with these boats that WILL be different from other boats, both in how they operate, and design-related things. "Very little water in my boat", on my OWN personal boat, is a gigantic amount of water in comparison to another boat I have, a 16' Starcraft.

Help us help you - give us more info.

 

[zipper]

The yamaha cooling system is not a closed loop like brp engines.

If your bilge is "empty", drain plug pulled and drained, there will be no water to come out the scupper, if it has cracked. Water out the scupper comes from the cockpit deck/sole drain at the front of engine hatch/bulkhead. Maybe your hose or flushport is leaking.

Water out the black one is from the drain on the cleanout plug compartment. You may have water in there from backing up on the water, the tray can also leak and dump into the bilge. Did you run the hose over the C.O. plug hatch? Water from thermostat hole, exhaust outlet and pissers are all normal during a flush on the trailer.

 

[Julian]

Step your way through the Leak finding thread in the FAQ....linked here for your convenience:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/the-ultimate-leak-finding-thread-your-opinions-are-needed.6684/

Then let us know what you find along the way. Also, if you add your location to your profile, a local expert may offer to assist....ya never know (especially if beer is involved!)

 

[zipper]

(especially if beer is involved!)

MMMMM BEEEEER! DOH!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

does it take on water when it sits in the water not moving if so you may have a bad intermediate bearing seal if it takes on water moving you may have a bad cap seal where the 2 parts of the hull are joined top and bottom together so go around the rail and shoot water up under it and see if water comes in very common issue . ALso inspect all hose clamps and hoses especially in the exhaust location

 

[Tahoeboater]

Help us help YOU. "boat taking on a lot of water" doesn't tell us how you came to that determination, where you are noticing any water coming in, if at all, or what led you to the belief that you need to flush the cooling system. More information on your part is needed, while this is troubling and something to be concerned about, a shotgun approach to a generic (up until this point) problem may lead you to doing things that aren't even related, or it may simply be something that is normal with these boats in comparison to other boats you may have owned.

There ARE some idiosyncratic things with these boats that WILL be different from other boats, both in how they operate, and design-related things. "Very little water in my boat", on my OWN personal boat, is a gigantic amount of water in comparison to another boat I have, a 16' Starcraft.

Help us help you - give us more info.

Thanks Drewkaree,
When in the lake the boat is taking on water from somewhere. Enough that it is getting so heavy max speed is around 13mph unless the bilge is continuously dumping water. Have had other boaters come along side to warn us our bilge pump was dumping a lot of water. So far the bilge keeps up with continuous flow but thats ungood. I have looked the boat over good and can't find where water is entering. Clean out ports have a small amount of water on top but 1/2 inch or less and appear to seal. Engine compartment appears dry, no build up, engines look dry, seem to run fine. Oil looks new when looking at dipsticks. All plugs in, ski locker, engine compartment, hull. Got on trailer put on a slope and added water to the bilge, looked for leaks out, nothing. Though I would flush engines with intent to look for loose cooling line fittings, nothing. The pisser fittings backside look dry so not loose there either. The anchor locker looks dry when on the water but I will look for the connect through the hull next.
Seems to have more water intake at higher speeds but the boat struggles to stay on plane, back end gets lower and then stop to wait for the bilge to pump all the water out. The intake looks clear, clean out ports clear, jets clear.
Thanks again for any other suggestions or help provided. I am at a loss.

 

[drewkaree]

When pulling the boat out on the trailer, how long does water run out of the transom plug when you pull it? If you are taking on that much water, you should have a ton of water in there when you pull the boat so that will be another indicator for us to give information.

Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC has some good info on checking out the intermediate bearings, and to my mind, what you are describing sounds like a busted Scupper valve or hose leading to it or bad hose clamp on your scupper drain - that is the easiest thing to check right now, and should be the first thing you look at.

Do you have the boat within eyesight so you can go check these things, or is this something you need to make a list of to go check when you get a moment?

 

[Tahoeboater]

Checked the scupper valve at the plastic ring in the back, the line to the back of the boat and the hose clamps, all look good and intact. Nothing that would indicate a problem. NOt sure how to check the intermediate bearings, need to read on that. When pulling the boat after the lake and the plug pulled it takes about a mile of driving to drain the hull, so a lot of water.

 

[drewkaree]

Checked the scupper valve at the plastic ring in the back, the line to the back of the boat and the hose clamps, all look good and intact. Nothing that would indicate a problem. NOt sure how to check the intermediate bearings, need to read on that. When pulling the boat after the lake and the plug pulled it takes about a mile of driving to drain the hull, so a lot of water.

Okay, that does sound like a lot of water, but not necessarily enough to slow you down to 13 miles an hour. I've driven with my boat drain plug out and around without realizing it, and still never got slow down to 13 miles an hour. Still had plenty of thrust and was doing 20 plus miles an hour back to the dock

Where are you sitting and floating a lot during the day, running at slow no-wake speed for extended periods of time, or have a lot of weight or people in the bow? If so, @mrcleanr6 points out the anchor Locker drain which is another potential problem if those conditions I asked about were happening

Go through @Julian s link to start identifying the areas that could be causing your problems and how to address them. It sounds like you have several issues allowing water in, none of them serious, they just require a little work

 

[drewkaree]

I should rephrase that. If it is an intermediate bearing, there is a bit more concern. It can be handled, or you may feel more comfortable taking it back to your dealer in having them address it, if that actually turns out to be the issue you are having

 

[Julian]

Checked the scupper valve at the plastic ring in the back, the line to the back of the boat and the hose clamps, all look good and intact. Nothing that would indicate a problem. NOt sure how to check the intermediate bearings, need to read on that. When pulling the boat after the lake and the plug pulled it takes about a mile of driving to drain the hull, so a lot of water.

To get that much water there really are only 2 ways to have that happen:

1. Scupper valve is broken. You say you checked this, did you do it by reaching into the bilge and grabbing the hose and fitting and ensuring it is solid (twist each direction)? It often LOOKS fine, then comes off in your hand.
2. Cooling leak....as in you are pumping water into the boat. Usually this water will be warm.

Of course as Drew says....you could have multiple leaks.

 

[Tahoeboater]

suggest you look in the FAQ for the video "how the cooling water flows", it's a different Yamaha engine but same principals,

cooling water does not drain out of your scupper or cleanout hatch,

pissers are only "indicator" lines that there is "flow" through the engine/exhaust,


.

Thank you Scottintexas. Video was just what I needed to follow the cooling system lines to exit ports. Still no luck finding the sorce of water comming into the boat. With the amount of water I get it, and not seeing any leaks in the cooling water lines (at least looking through the engine compartment) I am now zeroing in on the scupper and the anchor locker.