Drain water - How much is normal in a day?

[Markl66]

I have an X14 and owned the boat since it was new. It seems like there is a lot of drain water in the boat by the end of the day. I just can locate a source. We had a Malibu Response prior and didn't need to pull the plug each day. I would guess it's about 15 gallons.


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[DooSPX]

could be from a leaking muffler, shaft seal leaking, or even a leak from one of the underwater gear parts...

[gambier]

Definitely not normal. Mine was leaking quite a bit last season. Bilge was constantly full, and pump was kicking quite often. Drove me nuts - especially since i'm in the salt.

My leak was through the rudder port. But obvious things to check would be the shaft seal, rudder port, ballast intakes or main cooling intake. Could also be a leaking cooling hose.

Now I have virtually no water in the bilge at the end of the day.

Here's what I did:

* Emptied the bilge so it was dry
* put the boat in, let it sit without the motor running, see if it leaks. Was trying to rule out cooling systems, ballast pumps/tanks etc... If it takes on water just sitting then it's likely leaking through the underwater gear (shaft seal, rudder) or the through hull fittings (ballast intakes, main cooling intake)

* If no water, run the motor and check for water. If there's water, it's likely a cooling hose or exhaust hose somewhere.

* If still no water, gets harder - rub rail leaking (we've seen that), ballast tanks leaking etc...

Hope #1 or #2 finds the problem...Good luck - I hate having water in my boat!

[Markl66]

Thanks for the help - Part of the problem is that I have had a lot of water in the boat since it was new. It turned out the water pump had a small crack. It only leaked at high rpm's. Figured that out late last season but now I still have water. When half your time is spent with kids swimming off the platform it's hard to know how much water they drag in.
Thanks for the tips I will trouble shoot it today.


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[ttu]

Thanks for the help - Part of the problem is that I have had a lot of water in the boat since it was new. It turned out the water pump had a small crack. It only leaked at high rpm's. Figured that out late last season but now I still have water. When half your time is spent with kids swimming off the platform it's hard to know how much water they drag in.
Thanks for the tips I will trouble shoot it today.


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is the water engine hot or lake cool? if cool I would try to grease the rudder and see if that helps. I had to replace my rudder seal a couple of years ago and it fixed it then but this year was leaking again. cleaned out all the old grease and refilled it and all is good!

[gambier]

My boat also had lots of water in the bilge since the day I owned it (not new), being my first inboard I wasn't sure what was normal.

Now that the leaks are fixed, I get very minimal water in it - kids climbing in and out, surfing, etc.. Maybe half a Litre (canadian eh) max.

Also forgot to mention my shaft seal was initially leaking badly. Replaced that, then found the rudder was leaking...

[gambier]

is the water engine hot or lake cool? if cool I would try to grease the rudder and see if that helps. I had to replace my rudder seal a couple of years ago and it fixed it then but this year was leaking again. cleaned out all the old grease and refilled it and all is good!

That's another good way to check what the source might be. If a rudder leak greasing is also good advice before replacing it - my rudder was completely empty of grease - hadn't been maintained. If the rudder is leaking, pump it full of fresh grease.

[moosehead]

A full day of swimming and watersports can put maybe 1+ gallon maximum into the boat. Anything more and you have a leak. Good troubleshooting suggestions above. Hunt it down.

[clrussell]

My star used to have excessive water in the bilge, like rear pump would kick on while riding. Knew raw water pumped leaked some since I saw it one day. I just always ran the bilge until empty about once an hour and it would run about a minute sometimes.

Finally changed my pump before my centerhill trip. Bilge hasn't kicked on its self since then and the max water I have drained out after a day is maybe 10 sec of water. Went out last night for a couple hours and had less than a cup in bilge when I pulled the plug.

Just find out where it's coming from, it's pretty easy 👍


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[Markl66]

I checked the pumps and the running gear. No luck. I did figure out It only leaks when we surf. Our boat does not have a lot of freeboard. I am thinking it's the rub rail but a cant find a spot. Should I caulk the bottom joint?


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[wheelerd]

I have an X14 and owned the boat since it was new. It seems like there is a lot of drain water in the boat by the end of the day. I just can locate a source. We had a Malibu Response prior and didn't need to pull the plug each day. I would guess it's about 15 gallons.

15 gallons is a lot of water. That's about 120 pounds!

Leak or no leak, does your bilge pump/s not work? Not sure where yours are. I have one midship and one near the stern under the engine. When the boat in underway the bow is up and bilge water runs to the stern. When it's sitting, bilge water runs to the middle. My pumps would cut in automatically before I 15 gallons accumulated in the bilge.

[mikeg205]

Thanks for the help - Part of the problem is that I have had a lot of water in the boat since it was new. It turned out the water pump had a small crack. It only leaked at high rpm's. Figured that out late last season but now I still have water. When half your time is spent with kids swimming off the platform it's hard to know how much water they drag in.
Thanks for the tips I will trouble shoot it today.


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glad you found problem.. that could have been a real disaster...

[CantRepeat]

Any installed ballast/bags? They could be a source for leaks.

[Mastercraft13]

I just went through this. Try a bathtub test, with the boat on the trailer pull your bilge pump fuses and fill your bilge with a garden hose. With that amount of water leaking in you should be able to see where it is leaking from the outside with it sitting on the trailer.

At least this will narrow down where it could be coming from.

[CantRepeat]

Need to be careful that you don't put too much water in that you get it over the seals on the trans and motor.