Water in the bilge!

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Ladena523 said:
You’ve been very helpful. I’m at the boat now and it hasn’t taken on more water. I found out from the previous owner that he did the bellows, gimbel rings, u joints three years ago. And the throttle cable bellows. So I’m about to pump out an inch or so of water that the bilge pump didn’t get, dry it as well as I can, then start looking for the leak. Thanks again. You’ve been so helpful. I’m grateful to the boating community for being so helpful to a complete newbie,
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We wordlings here @ WW don't want you to have a......sinking feeling..... ;) Stay safe! (y)
 
Jyboat said:
It has been my experience with several Mercruiser I/O that the "spongy " gasket sandwiched between the transom exterior and the outer gimbal housing loses it seal, from age or a soft transom [rot], then begins to seep water into the bilge. Every one I've pulled apart was flat as a pancake with no resilience, hence no sealing ability. Probably replace 5 or 6 in the last 20 years. Bad news is the engine and transom assembly must be removed to replace. Had one 2 years ago with a large bead of silicone around the outside of the gimbal housing. Seemed to work, but a little messy.
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That was my fear. I thought the out drive needed a new bellows but the original owner was at the lake and said he’d gone thru it less than 3 years ago.

We found the leak in hot water shower for the swim deck. Felt so lucky it was an easy fix once I found it.

Learned a lot about my boat thru this thread. Appreciate you adding to my knowledge about the seal. I am going to continue watching the transom area but for now at least I have a dry bilge! Thanks much!!
 
You hit it with that above reply, with exactly what I was going to say which I guess I’ll still say…which is…

As crappy as it is, everyone needs a “small” problem to track down on a new boat. You learn so much through that process that it makes you much more confident in the long run!
 
IMHO, boating really is a journey. As your confidence and knowledge base grows, you'll find you enjoy boating even more, and literally form a deep relationship with the boat. Non boaters can't fathom that. Guess they are not supposed to... ;)

Everyone here @ WW wants to help, with no ulterior motive. So Rare these days.

When I was young (before electricity ;)) this type of honest caring assistance wasn't available...now is a good time to be a boater...enjoy! (y)
 
BartsPlace said:
There's a bit of a sliding scale with boat issues. The longer you own one, the further the marker moves toward "I can fix this" and away from "take it to a mechanic." Knowledge and experience (and sometimes frugality) make most things self-solvable.
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I’m feeling that scale tip a teeny bit in my favor after all the help I got here!! Thank you again.
 
Rainbowbridge said:
IMHO, boating really is a journey. As your confidence and knowledge base grows, you'll find you enjoy boating even more, and literally form a deep relationship with the boat. Non boaters can't fathom that. Guess they are not supposed to... ;)

Everyone here @ WW wants to help, with no ulterior motive. So Rare these days.

When I was young (before electricity ;)) this type of honest caring assistance wasn't available...now is a good time to be a boater...enjoy! (y)
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I’ll be honest… I didn’t expect the warm welcome and HUGE amount of help I received. I was hoping maybe one person would give me some helpful info….cause most sites see a post like mine as a chance to pick on the newbie and say mean things….but I was sure wrong. The more I learn about the boating world the happier I am for buying this boat!
 
If it happens after being under way you might check the sealant all around the cap of the boat. Without getting down and looking up at it on a lot of boats the caulking dries out and cracks. When under way the water pressure coming up forces water into the boat through these cracks. Just another thought for you.

TR
 
Okay… thank you for the insight. I’ll have to google which part of the boat is the cap and get a caulk gun out of it looks worn out there. Luckily a very experienced and meticulous person owned it for all but 8 years or so….but he maintained it for the new owner for those 8 years. The advantage of knowing and being taught by the original owner has been valuable. The boat is in amazing shape but I want to learn things like caulking the cap and making sure all the stuff is in great condition. Thank you again!!
 
I know you said you're new to boating, but are you an RV guy? Boats tend to be similar to RV's with some use. Things WILL break, and it won't happen in the driveway. Learning how to improvise, and keep your trip rolling is something that comes over time. Don't get frustrated too quickly when something goes wrong......it just happens! Preventative maintenance is the KEY.
 
Lake Bum said:
I know you said you're new to boating, but are you an RV guy? Boats tend to be similar to RV's with some use. Things WILL break, and it won't happen in the driveway. Learning how to improvise, and keep your trip rolling is something that comes over time. Don't get frustrated too quickly when something goes wrong......it just happens! Preventative maintenance is the KEY.
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Yes I’ve owned some older RVs and lived in one while building my home so am pretty good with them. I have a small 17’ RV now. Boats do seem to have similarities I found. Being able to draw on the knowledge of all these experienced boaters I was able to figure it out in probably a quarter of the time lol. I was a little “baffled”….pun intended haha by the water in the bilge. Some said no big deal but others recommended fixing it or taking it out of the water so I’m glad I had so much help fixing it.
 
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