How much water at the end of the day?

Went out to the lake last week...fished for 8 or 9 hours straight.

Went to the dock to head home, loaded the boat up, pulled the plug.....and had more than about a gallon dump out on the dock. Didnt rush out so its not like it was flooded....but it was a good amount of water since I figured itd be dry. Wasnt too windy a day, and I was on TM prolly about 70% of the day.

Boat is a 2004 Tracker PT 175. It isnt an amount im really worried about since I was on the water all day. But I am wondering how much water I should expect to dump out when I pull the plug?

Seems like some boats do and some don't.
Make sure the drain plug fits tight, the live well hoses and fittings are tight, and that none of the thru-hull fittings are leaking where they go through the hull.

If I let my livewell fill up and let it ‘auto’ cycle for half a day I will have a gallon or two. Not worth worrying about for me. Most of the time I will release or I partially fill and put two or three ice tubs in if I am keeping. On those days it stays dry. If you were using your livewell I would start there first.

I have found that I need to wipe the plug hole out with a rag and wipe off the plug or I get water in the boat. The oil on it doesn't let it seal good.

Check all of your hose connections. Run your pumps and look in the bilge to see if any water comes in. Replace your drain plug. Don't forget, most coolers drain into the bilge. Ice melts.

I worried about this for a while on my boat then paid attention to what was likely causing it. Backing the trailer into the water pretty quick has caused it and coming off plane and water sloshing out of the splashwell can get down there. Like others have said, just check that the o-ring on the plug is in good shape and watch for any leaky pipes in the livewell/bilge pump area.

You should not be backing into the water fast enough to cause water to come over the back of the boat, slow down. Also, when you're coming off plane, trim your motor all the way down as you slow down and then as the boat starts to "set" give it just a short quick throttle and that will lift you up and avoid water coming over the back end.

If you're not trimmed right, water can get in the seam between the gunwale and the side of the hull. Use to do it on my old PT-185 sometimes.

Scott and Brad basically covered it all. I had a similar issues when I first bought my PT190. It ended up being a bad plug so start there and work your way up.

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Originally Posted by SoonerFan

If you're not trimmed right, water can get in the seam between the gunwale and the side of the hull. Use to do it on my old PT-185 sometimes.

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I think its prolly something like this. Livewell stays dry...partly because it doesnt work, partly because I just catch and release! lol

Was on the water for 10 hours today...and had some drainage again, but not that much compared to two weeks ago....today it was prolly a quart at most. I did wipe the hole, and plug like was mentioned...maybe that helped get a tighter seal or maybe its just one of those things. Its nothing Im worried about really. Seems like it just happens

Does Your boat have a 'splashwell'? (where the big motor connects to transom) Water will pour in when/if You get off of plane.

None surprisingly.

i rebuilt a boat, and bought a brand new boat, both leaked for a couple weeks then stopped, not sure why kinda feel like the hoses needed some scum build up haha

My last two boats both took on a couple gallons after 4-6 hours on the lake. Difficult to say, really, since I was learning to properly drive them without washing the deck. But even if I never got up on plane, there was still water that drained. Never enough that the auto bilge kicked on, but still a good amount.

Dunno about the new boat, haven't gotten it wet yet. But I also switched from glass to tin, and it's a lot slower than either of the last two, so maybe not a fair comparison. Lol

There are a lot of reasons that you might have water in the boat after fishing. Live Wells could be leaking, live well pumps might be leaking, when you are running and come to a stop you might get water over the back of the boat, ice from the cooler melted and drained into the boat, backing the boat in the lake and water comes over the back of the boat.

Live wells can be checked at home. Fill them up and watch to see if water comes out the bilge drain.
Pumps need to be checked in the water. If they are cracked, water will seep through the crack while in the water. You usually can see the water leaking around the pump if the pumps are visible.

You should be able to figure out the rest now that you are aware of these issues.

Hope this helps