Darn Sea Turtle - leak
craigswardmtb
Member Posts: 1,015 ✭✭✭
I was cruising around in fishers island sound on Saturday and my wife and friends noticed a fin out of the water behind us. They ask to slow down to look for the fins again. I figured it was dolphins and begrudgingly slowed to 5 knots and turned around. All of sudden there was a thud from the bottom of the boat and I killed the drives, followed by a thud on the drives. I run to aft to see what the heck I just hit and sure as sh*t it was a huge sea turtle. It had probably a 5' diameter shell on it. The bugger flapped its fins at us and swam off. The animal is ok and Now I'm worried about my drives and any damage. I slowly throttle up on plane and phew everything is running and feeling fine and head to the marina. Some of you may recall that I have been chasing a leak all season from one of my previous threads. Well back at the marina I noticed the bilge pump kicked in when we got back. Hmm. We hang out for a couple hours and again the pump kicks on. Hmm that's a quicker cycle than usual. So i popped the hatch and started my inspection. For the first time I could hear the dripping more clearly and I tracked it down to far aft on the starboard side. I laid on the ground as best I could and saw water leaking down the transom wall flowing directly down from the gimbal housing area. It's impossible to get close enough to see the exact location of the leak but I suspect it's coming in from the lower side of the gimbal housing. It's obvious it's been leaking a while as there is rust coloring on the transom fiberglass where it is leaking. I looked closely from above where I had access and there was no water around the steering area or the coupler. So my guess is bellows. As far as I know the bellows haven't been changed ever from the service records I have. However they were supposedly inspected the end of last season. So what do you guys think for possible causes of the leak?
Comments
I believe you are correct. While chasing down a shifting problem on my Bravo III, I pulled the outdrive and rusty water ran out of my drive shaft bellows. The bellows themselves are not difficult to change, but since you are seeing rust, you will need to change the gimbal bearing, and the drive shaft u-joints as well. If this is a Bravo III, and you are dong it yourself, be very carful with the oil tube that goes through the transom. I broke mine and had to have a marina change it. About $400 for a $20 part.
I don't have time to do this before our big trip in 2.5 weeks. So it looks like I'll be likely paying through the nose. Ugg u joints too?
I would change the u-joints, they are not that expensive, and don't take too much time, plus you will have piece of mind. While they are in there, you might want to have them do the water hose, oil hose, and shift bellows also. Some shops suggest doing the trim sensor and trim switch as well. It is the labor more than the parts that cost. I had several estimates here in Connecticut from about $1000 - $1800.
a few years ago, I lived on my old Carver Mariner. The girlfriend (now wife) decided to go for a swim in the marina. After a few minutes of swimming I hear this unholy shriek and see her doing an imitation of Jesus, only she was RUNNING ON the water. There was a turtle swimming next to the boat and I swear it was 3 ft in diameter. I guess he got curious as to what the splashing was and came over to investigate. We later were able to hand feed him and named him Herman.
As far as the leak goes, I wouldn't blame the turtle. I would thank him instead. He just pointed out the problem for you.
I have tried to save u-joints before. NOT WORTH IT. If they don't have zerk fittings on them then they are not serviceable. Just replace them. You can get a cross reference on the part number and buy them at NAPA. It would save you a few bucks.
PC BYC, Holland, MI
I talked to my marina and couple other reputable ones in Mystic/Noank/Groton area. Its amazing the variances in estimates. It looks like i'll get both drive bellows replaced, including shifter and steering bellows, shifter cables, and gimble bearings done for around $1600 with haul barring any issues. I have him checking the Ujoint condition and will replace if needed. I should have her back in the water by Friday.