igmo, I think you are right, but I failed to note that this is the rear cyl and the one that floods first, and the one that flooded five years ago. I believe I bent the connecting rod at that time by using a huge breaker bar...with out draining the water...i thought the rings had just rusted. What a mess, bent the rod, and even broke the cylinder liner with the bar. Finally got the head off, jacked the engine up in the boat and replaced the rod, piston and liner. The reason I think it came up this time is that there was some minor rust in the cylinder due to the sea water ingestion, but nothing too bad. It does not seem to be the bad rod this time however as the piston comes up flush.
At any rate, I am not sure why I am getting water in the cylinder. Happens when the engine cranks for 30 or 40 seconds, but does not start...had water in the fuel. I can drain the exhaust liner to a certain extent, but the exhaust is dual lined. Not sure how the sea water is getting in. Need to check the riser, the exhaust itself and the head. One post I saw said that some owners have gone to a heat blanket over the exhaust manifold and a spray bar of some sort after the exhaust pipe rise to prevent water from backing down into the engine through the exhaust valves. Looks like another fun six months in the bottom of the boat. More to follow. Thanks.