water and funny noise

[bfrost]

just got off the water with my '98 sportster.

i grazed some rocks in a shallow area. no noticible dammage on the hull. but when I pulled the plug, a lot of water poured out. there was probably 8 inches in the engine compartment. there is always a fair amount of water that comes out when I'm out all day since the pump no longer works, but today I was out less than 1hr and only did some low speed cruising.

is it normal to have this much water in there? if so, why?

also, after grazing the bottom, one of the engines began to sound weird. very deep sound and the hull would shake once it got up to 4000 rpm. did I break something? or maybe suck up some gravel?

thanks!

 

[Dr Honda]

These little guys always tank on more what than you would think they should... it's kind of normal for the drive shaft seal system... but if you had 8" of water in the hull... I would think your engine would be sucking in water. Also... that's enough that the bilge pump should have kicked on.

As far as the vibration... yes... you could have scooped up a rock, and it bent your driveshaft. In turn... making your carbon seal leak. (giving you a lot of water in the hull)

Best thing to do is crawl under it, and see if you can find anything bent.

 

[WAJetboating]

Another way to detect leaks...

While on the trailer, put some water in the hull and watch for water leaking out of the hull somewhere. (If water can flow UP through a leak, it can also flow DOWN.) If the pavement was dry when you started, you'll soon know if you have a hull breach somewhere even if it's not easily visible to the eye.

Just an idea....

 

[bfrost]

good idea... i went under the boat to verify if there were any holes. there are 2 chips out of the white outer coating, but seem to have a black layer of fiberglass underneath. and it doesn't look like a new knick. there were a few new scratches on the bottom though, but just surface stuff

did notice anythingn bent from underneath. but there isn't much to see under there really...

i'll take it in to a dealer I think. just too many little things wrong with it. for example, one of the engines was cutting out durring the ride. the right engine would only rev up to 3500 rpm regardless of how much gas I gave it. funny enough though, when I rubbed bottom on the way home, the right engine started to work well again, but then the left one sounded weird. perhaps the right has a bad plug or a dirty carb?