Why is so much water in my boat?

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Dave Sportster LE Boat

Dave Sportster LE Boat

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Hi Guys and Girls,

I am new to boating and used my Sportster LE Boat for the 1st time today in the River Thames (UK).

We had the bilge pump switched on nearly all the time!

When we removed the boat from the river the water kept pouring out of the boat for ages!!!!!

Is this normal?

I made sure the two drain plugs at the back of the boat where fully screwed in and tight and check when the boat was taken out of the water and they were still tight....

Lots of water come out of a single drain hole on the side of the boat...........is this correct?

Sorry if this is a silly question or asked many times before but I am new to all this boating stuff and hope someone here can help me?

Many thanks
Dave.
 
You need to fill the bilge with some water(plugs in) and check for where it is leaking out. Or with the boat strapped to the trailer plugs in back it down the ramp and see where water is entering. Could be coming in through the carbon seal. Not real familiar with this boat, is this a twin engine boat?
 
Hello 97GtxMan1687 and thank you for your reply.

My boat spec is:

Seadoo Sportster LE

Year of boat 2003

130HP 1 x 951.2cc Rotax carburettor engine

2 cylinders

Lubrication is via variable ratio oil injection

Water cooled, water injected exhaust
 
Take it to the ramp, back it in the water, start the motor while still on the trailer and check for leaks. My guess it is the carbon seal. While a small amount of leakage is acceptable, yours sounds like a lot more.
 
Your carbon seal is items #8 and 14. Before you go to the ramp, when was the last time you greased the PTO? Item #2

But I agree, get it to the water and see if you can spot the leak. How long were you in the water for before the water was pumping from the bilge pump? For the bilge to be running almost all the time it should be a decent enough size leak to spot.


2764_0033.gif
 
Thanks Guys.

So if I back it into the water with the engine off and I open the engine lid and look into the engine bay there should be now water inside there?
 
racerxxx said:
Your carbon seal is items #8 and 14. Before you go to the ramp, when was the last time you greased the PTO? Item #2

But I agree, get it to the water and see if you can spot the leak. How long were you in the water for before the water was pumping from the bilge pump? For the bilge to be running almost all the time it should be a decent enough size leak to spot.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't even know what a PTO is:redface:


"How long were you in the water for before the water was pumping from the bilge pump? For the bilge to be running almost all the time it should be a decent enough size leak to spot."

Again sorry but I am not 100% sure, we were on the water from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
 
The pto is item number 1. That is under item number 15, that is attached to the back of the black mount that supports the rear of your engine.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 
The boat has been serviced regularly so I guess it has been greased.

How do I check?

The boat is left in the boat yard now (UK Time 21:31) so I will check first thing in the morning if I can?
 
Yes, being serviced regularly one would assume it is greased.

If you remove the PTO cover #15 you will be able to see the PTO, then you will need to rotate the PTO by had to see the grease fitting(possibly if it didn't stop in sight). You will see the drive shaft entering the PTO with a rubber boot around it. When you pump grease into the grease fitting it will push back on the driveshaft a little bit. That is pushing back 1/2 of the seal, the other half (item #14) is in the end of the rubber boot that looks like an accordion tube(item #10). All that will do is insure that the splines are greased and it will help in just adding a small amount of tension to the seal. Once you put it in the water look around item #14 to see if water is coming in. If not, keep looking around to see if you see any leaks. If not, proceed to start the engine and watch that for leaks. Check over the entire exhaust pipes for any leaks, check the cooling lines too. Like I said, if you were riding that long and the bilge was running all day, that is a decent enough size leak.


If you look at this picture you will see the rear mount (rusty part to the right). The round part, that is the PTO.

188.jpg



PTO
189.jpg
 
Up-date.

Before putting the boat back in the water I checked the water intake and found the following:

1 x large stone lodged in the grill
1 x plastic bag inside the grill
1 x rope wrapped around the shaft

Also I think we over loaded the boat as we had 6 adults in it and a few waves came over the side/front!

I cleared the water intake and lowered the boat into the water and no water came in the engine bay.

So we (3 x adults) took the boat out yesterday and wow it was like a new boat...........so much fun:)

Thank you all for your help and advice I am so glad the boat is ok.
 
racerxxx said:
When you pump grease into the grease fitting it will push back on the driveshaft a little bit.
Click to expand...

I did this for the 1st time last week. The manual says to stop when you see movement in the boot. I never saw any movement of the boot so I stopped when I saw movement of the shaft. Should I have kept pumping? I was scared to keep going.
 
"I never saw any movement of the boot so I stopped when I saw movement of the shaft. Should I have kept pumping?"

It shouldn't require more than a few pumps to get grease into the splines. That said, the boot is normally clamped to the shaft so the boot should move rearward as the shaft moves rearward. But yes, just a little rearward movement of the shaft means the splines have been lubed, and that's the goal.

Too much grease can cause driveline binding as well, but the splines will last much longer with some grease on them.

That is, the PTO grease boot, the carbon seal rubber bellows is another matter, that will also move backwards slightly with the impeller drive shaft.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
kilgorekb said:
I did this for the 1st time last week. The manual says to stop when you see movement in the boot. I never saw any movement of the boot so I stopped when I saw movement of the shaft. Should I have kept pumping? I was scared to keep going.
Click to expand...

nope, boot and shaft are connected, if the boot was already full of grease, you'll see the shaft move maybe an 1/8 of an inch pushing back towards the pump.
 
Not really the place for getting out and having a swim then ! do you need a permit to launch on the thames then ?cant say id fancy it lol i should go down to the south coast if i was you, it was better than being in the med here the last few weekends.
 
Robj said:
Take it to the ramp, back it in the water, start the motor while still on the trailer and check for leaks. My guess it is the carbon seal. While a small amount of leakage is acceptable, yours sounds like a lot more.
Click to expand...

Yep... do this.



You have a massive leak if you had to run the pump while out.


Seadoo boats will take on some water (The driveshaft seal weeps as you are running)... but You should be able to be out all day, and never run the pump. BUT... when you pull the plugs out... you may drain a few gallons.


What what you are describing is bad. You either have a leak around the swim deck... the fittings at the rear of the boat, or a leak in the cooling system. But... by putting it in the water, and leaving it on the trailer... you will be able to look for it safely.
 
When my boat was pulled up on the shore it had alot of water in the bilge. It was almost touching the starter. How can you tell if yoir swim platform is leaking and does it leak under the rubrail? Thanks
 
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