Sea ray sinking

I have my boat in dock on the

I have my boat in dock on the water. I took it out had trouble with my trim added oil and it started to work.24 hours later i went back and the boat had a foot of water in it. i t is a 19 foot stern drive 4.3 lx alpha 1992.when i docked the day before i put the drive up in trailer position.i took the boat out of the water and filled it with the hose i cant find any leaks. help!

well i would suggest putting i

well i would suggest putting in an automatic bilge pump until you figure out the problem. They are cheap at walmart. Otherwise you may have more than a foot of water in it.

"Right on Russ! You can fill t

"Right on Russ! You can fill the boat with water and look all day and never find it. You need to install a bildge pump, verify it's working correctly, and put the boat back in the water. It could be coming from anywhere, but I hate to say it given I don't know the condition of the boat, but look for rot in the transom."

My first guess is that you hav

My first guess is that you have a leaking bellows. I would get it out of the water- it's not going to get better on its own.

"Hate to say it, fellahs, but

"Hate to say it, fellahs, but a bilge pump would not have saved it. Soon as the battery went down, the bilge pump did as well.

A ton of water can come in when a bellows fails--one of the weaknesses of stern drives.

Jeff

PS: Mercruiser says to keep the LU in one position all the time--down--expect when trailering (and then lower it at home). That keeps the bellows in one position most of the time."

"I don't know about you, b

"I don't know about you, but if I knew there was a problem like this with my boat, I'd take the necessary precautions before testing. Fully charged batteries, operating bildge pump, and a backup pump operated on shore power."

my bilge can keep my boat aflo

my bilge can keep my boat afloat without a plug in it. Don't ask. If there was any more water coming in than that it should be obvious the second you put it in the water.

"Jim has given you the locatio

"Jim has given you the location of the leak. If you have never changed the bellows, then it will get worse. Mine did the same thing yours is doing. The bellows finally gave out--it looked like it was hit with a meat cleaver in several places. The water also ruined the gimbal bearing. I ended up replacing all of the bellows and water intake hose along with the bearing. Make sure to lube the U-joints and use the bellows seal.

Two years after my repairs I started to change the carpet and floor due to a soft floor--all hell broke loose. The water had gotten into the open cell floatation foam. When I removed the floor I found puddled water between stringers due to the mfg not providing drains--the short story is the foam was soaked, the wood in the stringers was wet mulch ecapsulated in fiberglass including the transom. I did a total refurb this spring and used CPES on all bare wood and left the foam out. Also added drainage holes to allow any future water to get out from between stringers.

Get the water out and dry the boat asap. Tilt the boat so it can drain every drop. Then when it is really dry, sound the transom and exposed stringers from the inside with a small mallet or tack hammer. You'll know if there is water trapped in the wood by the sound. Start tapping near the top of the transom where it will be dry and move downward. If you get thud sounds--it's trapped water--verify it is wet by drilling a few 1/8" holes at 1" from the bottom of the stringers and transom. DON'T DRILL THRU THE HULL. USE A PIECE OF TAPE AS A DEPTH GUIDE AND DRILL JUST DEEP ENOUGH ABOUT 1/4" AND SEE IF THE WOOD SHAVINGS THAT COME OUT ARE WET. If you find wet shavings or stike water, it can be dried out but the foam will never dry out and continue to provide moisture for the rot process to continue.

You'll have to get the foam out by removing the floor. Then you can really dry the wood by providing drains along the bottom every few inches and vents at the top. Put a dehumidifier in the boat with a remote drain tube out the bilge drain along with a floor fan to keep the air moving. Get everything out of the boat possible and seal the boat with a clear plastic cover over it to allow the sun to keep the interior warm which will speed up the process. You'll need to do this procedure until there no longer is any moisture on the inside of the plastic. If the wood is completely dry you can seal the drain and vent holes with an epoxy/sawdust mixture and then treat all of the exposed wood with CPES (clear penetrating epoxy sealant) or just use a spray formula epoxy sealant like the stuff used by auto refurbishers to prevent rust }when the strip a frame or body. Sorry to give you the most likely bad news. Been there and done that, Guy"