Taking on water!!!!!!

[beckleybassfanatic]

I have a 2004 Stratos 285 Magnum (Pro XL) with a 175 Johnson....The past few times I have ran my boat I noticed that I was taking on water...First time we fished about 6 hours, pulled the drain plug and water gushed out of it for maybe 3 or 4 minutes...Today we just ran the boat, after being in the water for maybe an hour I checked to see if there was any water in the hull, sure enough it was almost over my bilge pump...Me and him looked around the back, could not see any water leaking through, nor do I have any holes in my boat...What would be a good way to check for any leaks?...Has anybody had this issue before?...Thanks

[KCLOST]

Easiest first thing to do is take the boat out and let it fill with some water and then trailer it. Look for leaks below the water level in the boat... Might just be a bad seal around one of the drains for the boat itself the livewells, etc.

Even easier, you can also do this in the driveway by filling it up with the garden hose with the drain plug in of course....

Let us know...

[stratos17]

I would put the plug in and fill it up with water. then look for a leak

[beckleybassfanatic]

Before I took the drain plug loose, I noticed there was a little water running out of where the livewells drain from, but I didnt have any water in the livewells...I just figured it was water that had went up inside the hose while out on the water...it wasnt running out from around screen, but actually coming out from inside it....could that be a problem?....but I will put some water inside and see if anything leaks out, I will post after I do that...Thanks for the replies!!!

[JR19]

Sprinkle some baking soda into the bilige area. Get the powder on all the hose connections and around the drain plug...cover the entire bilige area with baking soda it wont hurt anything in there. Then when you launch the boat raise the deck lid and look for the area where the powder has turned wet. Then inspect the area thoroughly and you should find the leak.

Baby powder will work also but cleaning your bilige area with baking soda will neutralize any battery acid that might have boiled over during charging

[beckleybassfanatic]

Great idea, i will post after it is done...Thanks!

[Todd Morgan]

You have a cracked aerator pump base.

[bkehl]

Had the same thing happen 2 times to me, 1st time was a cracked Bilge Pump, 2 nd time it was a missing piece of silicon on the bottom side of the Rub Rail near the end of the boat, during take off, water would push in pass the rub rail.

[beckleybassfanatic]

Hey guys, I filled the back of my boat up with water this evening only to discover ZERO leaks!!!!...Nothing leaked out, now thats not to say its not getting forced in somewhere when the boat is running 60 mph down the lake but nothing leaked out when just sitting there still.....so, if the aerator pump is cracked should've it leaked out today?....Im guessing now the best thing to do is just try and run the boat and look for leaks while its running?...what do you all think?....The last tournament I fished last year, I noticed that my livewells seemed not to stay all the way full, there was a little water in the hull, but I had made several fast stops where water washed up on the back deck...Just figured then that was how the water got in the hull....Is that some sort of clue?...

[VOL-FISHER]

The aerator is busted allowing the water from your livewells to leak into the bottom of the boat from the crack. That is why your livewells are not staying full.

[beckleybassfanatic]

That makes sense, but would that let water into my hull when I DONT have any water in my livewells??...

[GaStratos]

I have a '92 and had the same problem a few years ago. It was the livewell pumps and even though they still worked the seals between the base and the impellor had dried up. Replaced them and no problems since. You will notice that the more people in the boat the more water you take on due to the increased draft.

You can test it by connecting a garden hose to the levewell pump inputs under the transom one at a time. The presure will quickly identify the leaks.

[Mr Limpet]

Live well pump O-rings should be a yearly maintenance check. Your bilge pump has the o-rings too.

While you are standing on your head to check these tighten your hose clamps.

Barry

[MarkNY]

If its a cracked aerator pump it may only leak when the pump is running ( under higher pressure) Hard to find those kind of leaks unless your out on the water running the pump.

[beckleybassfanatic]

I could only get the screen off of one of the livewell pump inputs, I did try one of them by hooking a water hose to it and when I did it, it just pushed water into my livewell...The other screen turned but didnt come off....

[GaStratos]

Well, try taking the motor/impellor apart from the thru-transom part of the pump and applying grease to the O-ring. If that doesn't work there is a crack and you need to replace either the top (if cartriges are available) or the thru-hull part of it . I would be careful around the transom as any leaks are disastrous. I use 3M™ Marine Adhesive/Sealant Fast Cure 4200, 6564, Black as it does not release from the hull without serious effort.

Mine is a '92 with a wood core transom and is solid as a rock.