taking on water

tnaking2006

just a quick question, my bilge went out on me yesterday, I was not aware of it until we got on the lake and took water, seemed like a lot of water too, what could be some causes of this? what can I check, I think if my bilge would have been working I would have been ok, what is a "normal" amount of water? also I did kind of launch it a little rough..busy launch area.. could that have forced water up in it? thanks, sorry for all the questions here. 1997 rinker 182 b/r with mercruiser 3.0

212rowboat

Except for a possible transducer, and other than your plug, there are no through hulls onthat boat, are there?

The plug either screws or is held by tension in a lil sleeve.. That sleeve is screwed into the hull material, but doesn't penetrate the hull.. all the same, it can break seat and leak, especially if you or a prior owner have a habit of gorilla gripping the plug in there...

How much water are we talking about?

tnaking2006

no through hulls on boat,plug was in, using thread pipe tape also, the water was about 4" deep in back of boat, filled my ski compartment, get so deep it killed motor when electronics got wet, came home drained all water, hooked up the muffs and she fired right up. where is transducer located? are they a expensive fix? thanks for info

 

Cableguy Greg

Check your shift cable bellows. That is usually where the water gets in. One way to check it is back the boat into the water and look at the inside of the transom. If you see water coming in, it is usually that bellows. You can also check it when the drive is up. It is the small cable on the starboard side of the drive. Make sure there aren't any holes in it.

212rowboat

Yup.. That much water is likely bellows..

tnaking2006

dang, ok thanks, are those a easy do it myself fix, or expensive take to dealer?

also noticed my prop moves in and out,should that be tight? would the bellows cause the prop to spin slightly when in neutral with throttle up a bit? thanks alot

Cableguy Greg

The prop will move slightly when you throttle up while flushing the motor out. If you are handy, you can do it yourself. If not, take it to the mechanic. My mechanic replaces the shift cable at the same time. That way you don't get caught with a cable that has stretched.

212rowboat

Nah.. bellows are the sock, similar to a shock boot, that seals up the pass between drive and water..

My prop moves in and out slightly, too.. doubt they're related (the issues, that is).

tnaking2006

ok, I will check them tomorrow then, if bad just do the shift cable also then? if for some reason not bellows, what else? going nuts first boat..lol

 

212rowboat

http://www.sterndrives.com/replace_alphaone_bellows.html

If you had that much water, and no visible damage to the hull, I'm lost as to what else it could be..

tnaking2006

ok, that's what it has to be then, hull looks fine, I did check that last night in the dark, thanks for info, let ya know what I find

V8192

Are the block drain plugs all in? Don't ask how I know this will fill the bilge!

212rowboat

V8192 said:

Are the block drain plugs all in? Don't ask how I know this will fill the bilge!

Didn't think of that!!! Yup..

mvn

Here's another possible cause.... check the speedometer pitot tube that comes through the transom shield. If it's an Alpha, those plastic QD fittings can break. A stream of water will pour in when underway.

Mark

tnaking2006

ok, will check everything stated above.where are the block drain plugs at?if the qd fitting breaks will the speedo still work? is this the bellow kit I would need tho? should probably replace them..after I get this water issue fixed first..lol.. thanks again for all info

http://www.amazon.com/Transom-Bellows-Bearing-Mercruiser-30-803099T1/dp/B004SCT07K/ref=pd_sbs_auto_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PTVGBY0EPVM2R090PBT

tnaking2006

also, how do I know exactly what kind of alpha I have? gen 1 2 or what else, thanks, no owners manual when I purchased it

Michael T

What angle was your boat at and how fast did it enter the water at the launch site? More than once I have seen guys flood their bilge by swamping their swim platform with the water rolling up the back of the swim platform ant through the blower ducts. That can put a couple of 4" streams of water into the bilge. Also happened to a buddy of mine years ago, a hot dog blasting up to the launch ramp threw a huge wake that washed through the blower and intake holes of my friends boat. MT

tnaking2006

about a normal 20- 30 degree angle, I backed in quick and hit brakes hard, then wife used dock line to guide it while it came off, the platform did go under,don't know how far I was driving and wife was on side,now my bilge wont come on at all, think I inherited a nightmare here.. will check bellows and pitot tube later

Michael T

Might be quite straight forward. Check the fuse associated with the bilge pump. Check the wiring on the bilge pump first. IF the bilge pump has shorted out (not really a common occurance) it can be changed pretty easily. From your discussion doesn't seem like the drain plug. I don't think the pitot tube would let that much water in that fast. If it is a bellows that's not a huge job either. I'm sure you will have it fixed soon. Good luck and Pls keep us posted. MT P.S. a lot of water can enter a boat during a launch, its not common but it can ahappen. On all of the boats I owned that had through hull exhausts, if I had room on the tips, I installed flappers to keep water from being forced into the engines in case there was a too fast water entry or a rogue wake at the ramp.

Cableguy Greg

Your drive should be an Alpha 1 Gen 2 drive.

nhsd

Since it sounded like it was getting deeper over time, it doesn't sound like he swamped it when launching which would have put all the water in right off the bat and he would have been well aware of that. If it was the engine block drain plugs, it would have been taking on water while on the muffs in the driveway. Assuming that it wasn't taking on water while in the driveway, then it almost has to be one of the bellows (assuming that there isn't an actual hole in the hull, of course).

midweste

WOW - That sounds almost exactly like what happened to me on the first launch of the season about a month ago. We launched great but I noticed the boat had lost a lot of power. So I shut down and discovered the bilge was full of water, and my bilge pump was not pumping water out of the side of the boat. We limped back to the dock for troubleshooting. Turns out the water was hot, so I checked for leaks and started looking around the engine. I finally discovered the two problems: 

1. The output hose from the bilge had disconnected itself. (Fixed with a hose clamp and a screwdriver)

2. I forgot to securely reattach the exhaust manifold and block drains from winterizing. MAJOR OOPS!!!! 

After I remedied the problems, and let the bilge run for about 15 minutes, we were underway and everything was fine for the rest of the weekend. 

Does this sound familiar? 

8-}

midweste

You probably have the exact same setup as I do. Mercury 3.0 I-4 motor, Mercruiser Alpha One Gen 2 drive. I downloaded both the motor and outdrive manuals for free from the web. This is my first boat as well, and I highly recommend a good read through the motor, drive and generic Rinker manuals to get a good feel for the boats operations. I'm not sure what prop your boat came with, but the correct prop is a 14.5 x 19. Good Luck!