Transom Drain... what next???

[Jump Right In]

Okay, so I am reaching out to the experts here as I am getting to be rather stumped. I bought the boat (2010 212X) last year with about 40 hours, it was in like new condition and barely used. The first issue I noticed was I had some water draining from the transom plug after a brief outing and was wondering why.... which is what I have kept wondering since! It wasn't a lot at the time, maybe a couple of gallons after a few hours. With water sports, it then had a bit more contained inside when I pulled it from the lake (I trailer it)... water sports I presume its the starting and stopping and water sloshing against the back. I noticed towards the end of last season, that if we were chilling and sitting on the swim deck with a bunch of people, the bilge would kick on. By that time I had already removed the plastic transom plug housing and resealed it with life caulk, and it not seem to make any difference. I figured it must be the scupper as it was the only thing yet that people were pointing fingers at. Well I swapped it a couple of weeks ago after the wrench was sent to me with the nice Atwood chrome scupper, and was quite excited for the 2014 maiden voyage tonight.

Three of us went fishing and at times were all standing on the swim platform (3 @ 225lbs) and the bilge was kicking on - I was pissed! And not because I was freezing and not catching any fish!!! There was no water splashing over the swim deck so I know its not coming in the hatch.

So where do I look next... its obviously clearly linked to when the stern is weighted down in the water. When I pulled the plug tonight after 2.5 hours, there was way more water drain than what I wanted to see...

Please help....

 

[Julian]

Have you filled the bilge with water while she is out of the water and check or leaks?

Sounds like one of the through hull fitting that is up under the swim platform....speedo tube/wire or your depth guage wire through hull fitting. Could also be your clean out port connector hose....

Fastest way to diagnose would be to pull the cleanout tray while in the water and eyeball where the water is coming in.

 

[Lspeedss]

Have you had some rain recently? could be sitting in the front part of the bilge. You could run water into your bilge with your plug in and see where it leaks...

 

[Gym]

First thing I would do @Jump Right In is to check it while on the trailer. Crank the trailer jack most of the way up so the bow is up high. Next put about 10 gallons of water in the lower bilge using a garden hose. You can do this through the access port under the clean out cover or through the engine compartment with the drain plug out. Then go to the stern to see if anything is leaking out.

Initially you will see some water dripping out the exhaust ports coming from the wet mufflers but when that stops you should see no other leaks unless there is a problem. If this test shows no issues you could have a leak where the upper and lower sections of the hull are SUPPOSED to be caulked. Let's hear how the bilge test works out before you go any further though.

 

[jetboater4life]

I bet it's the rub rail. Where the hull meets the deck. Difficult to diagnose and difficult to seal. Lots of speculation on this type of leak with little proof due to the location.

 

[Gym]

Guess I'm a slow typist. Anyway it looks like great minds think alike.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I'm not sure how your year of boat is designed but how close to the water line does your bilge line exit the hull? You stated that the added weight caused the pump to kick on, this could be from water laying forward in the hull or causing something to be pushed under the water line that is not sealed properly. Could it be the scupper?

 

[itsdgm]

Another thing to check next time on the lake would be if the water is warm or cold. If it's warm, it's probably a leak in one of the cooling or exhaust hoses. Hope you figure it out soon.

 

[Julian]

He replaced the scupper
He recaulked the drain plug.
He seems to indicate it leaks more when people are on the swim deck.

So given that, my bet is a through hull fitting under the swim deck. You'd have to have some seriously big people on the swim deck to put the rub rail at the water line (I'm assuming he can tell us if the rub rail was close to the water line).

@Jump Right In Does it leak without people on the stern?
Have you checked any of the other through hull fittings?
Do you get any water under the starboard side forward of the captains chair? If so, do you drive in long no wake zones with people in the bow?

 

[bgood188]

Don't want to hijack the thread. BUT, I had huge mount of water in my boat this weekend and it was 2 hours of floating and wake mode around the lake. I think my water came from the anchor box drain hole. I need to plug it to see next time out on slow day. One day with water toys we had half the mount as this last slow day.

 

[txav8r]

Don't want to hijack the thread. BUT, I had huge mount of water in my boat this weekend and it was 2 hours of floating and wake mode around the lake. I think my water came from the anchor box drain hole. I need to plug it to see next time out on slow day. One day with water toys we had half the mount as this last slow day.

Water absolutely migrates from the anchor locker. Poor design IMO, but it lets water in when motoring slow with much weight in the bow. If you motor long enough with the drain hole at water level, it will fill it under positive pressure and overflow into the side compartments of the bow area. From there, it will migrate to drain channels and into the bilge...at least it is designed to do that. But it isn't designed to take on water in the anchor locker...it just does. I fear that my new 2012 240 is going to have this issue. It also appears they have put a neck on the anchor drain that extends up above the actual floor of the locker itself. Not sure if this is good or bad.

@Jump Right In , I totally agree with @Julian assessment. It has happened to me numerous times. You have a speedo/transducer line or even a screw hole that is letting water in when more weight pushes down the swim deck and lets water slash into it with more force. It is a dead giveaway when your back there and the bilge pump runs and pumps every 5 minutes or so...and it doesn't when you not on the swim deck. This may not be something you can test in reverse however, by filling the bilge up with water and looking for leaks externally. Seems like it should, but it may not leak enough that direction. I tried this myself with I had that going on, on my 230 a few years ago. I ended up pulling the clean out tray and cleaning all old silicone off the hull protrusions and resealing them all. My bilge pump madness stopped at that point.

 

[Jump Right In]

He replaced the scupper
He recaulked the drain plug.
He seems to indicate it leaks more when people are on the swim deck.

So given that, my bet is a through hull fitting under the swim deck. You'd have to have some seriously big people on the swim deck to put the rub rail at the water line (I'm assuming he can tell us if the rub rail was close to the water line).

@Jump Right In Does it leak without people on the stern?
Have you checked any of the other through hull fittings?
Do you get any water under the starboard side forward of the captains chair? If so, do you drive in long no wake zones with people in the bow?

Last night there was virtually no traffic on the lake (and in fairness, I was frozen when I was done, so I understand why). The reason I mention that is, there was no weight in the front, no waves over the bow that could possible get into the anchor locker, etc. I just looked at the rub rail and I would be very surprised if the rub rail was under the water. The bilge bump empties out the starboard side, and it was quite aways above the water line as I would see it draining with a nice jet stream... and running for quite some time. Once again, it would appear most of the water and the bilge was working while the 750#s of men were standing on the swimdeck and casting.

I did forget to mention that last year I did try the "filling the bilge area on the trailer with it jacked up" and see where the leak came from, but had no luck. I like Julian's idea of replicating the situation and opening the hatch and seeing where it is coming in. Its not easy to see where all the hull fittings go thru the back (inside the swim deck), but hopefully with a flashlight I will be able to see. It took on enough water in a short period of time that it can't be a little drip inside.

Now to find some large friends and to keep the skinny ones at home... actually I guess i can probably just fill my ballast and get a similar result although the weight isn't quite as far back.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Given all of your explanations I would look into an exhaust leak or a ballast tank inlet leak.

 

[Jump Right In]

If it was taking on water though, while the boat was shut-off "no engines running"... that couldn't be exhaust related, could it???

 

[Murf'n'surf]

It could. Your exhaust ports are always open to the water and with weight in the back it may be allowing enough water to force its way in.

 

[Jump Right In]

I am following you now... I was thinking it was something during circulation of the water, but you are more just referencing fittings, silicone, etc as it pertains to the exhaust system. I wonder how good you can see those intake ports... well enough with a flash light that you could see a leak???

I guess we will find out...

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Your leak would most likely be around the water box area not where the exhaust exits the hull. Gotta pull the clean out tray to get a good look.

 

[Lookingforajetboat]

Okay, so I am reaching out to the experts here as I am getting to be rather stumped. I bought the boat (2010 212X) last year with about 40 hours, it was in like new condition and barely used. The first issue I noticed was I had some water draining from the transom plug after a brief outing and was wondering why.... which is what I have kept wondering since! It wasn't a lot at the time, maybe a couple of gallons after a few hours. With water sports, it then had a bit more contained inside when I pulled it from the lake (I trailer it)... water sports I presume its the starting and stopping and water sloshing against the back. I noticed towards the end of last season, that if we were chilling and sitting on the swim deck with a bunch of people, the bilge would kick on. By that time I had already removed the plastic transom plug housing and resealed it with life caulk, and it not seem to make any difference. I figured it must be the scupper as it was the only thing yet that people were pointing fingers at. Well I swapped it a couple of weeks ago after the wrench was sent to me with the nice Atwood chrome scupper, and was quite excited for the 2014 maiden voyage tonight.

Three of us went fishing and at times were all standing on the swim platform (3 @ 225lbs) and the bilge was kicking on - I was pissed! And not because I was freezing and not catching any fish!!! There was no water splashing over the swim deck so I know its not coming in the hatch.

So where do I look next... its obviously clearly linked to when the stern is weighted down in the water. When I pulled the plug tonight after 2.5 hours, there was way more water drain than what I wanted to see...

Please help....

Is the 1 1/2 stainless Atwood 66553 the replacement part?

 

[zipper]

The Attwood part most of us use is 66553-3 as a replacement. There is a shorter version some have used, but I only see it in bulk. 66557-1. Just be sure it has a flapper/check valve.

 

[Lookingforajetboat]

The Attwood part most of us use is 66553-3 as a replacement. There is a shorter version some have used, but I only see it in bulk. 66557-1. Just be sure it has a flapper/check valve.

View attachment 141297

Yes so I bought one and it came today. Surprised there are no rubber washers...does it just snug up to the fiberglass, or do I need to get those separately? Steve