[Bmoore75]

any idea if it is normal for the hull to take on water and how much is too much? Just bought a '98 214 Jubilee and took it out this past weekend. When I pulled out on the ramp and pulled the drain plug. It took almost 7 minutes for it to drain and it was flowing fast the whole time. Bottom of the boat does not appear to have any holes.

*Water in the hull - sorry for the title typo

[blockp]

"What in the hull" is right! Nope, shouldn't take on water. Did you remember to put the plug in

With that much water in the boat, it should be pretty easy to find the leak.

Is this the first time it's been run since being winterized?

If you have muffs, run it in the driveway with the muffs on. Watch around the motor to see where it's leaking, specifically, check around the drain plugs. It could be that a plug didn't get put back in.

If no water when running on the muffs, take it to a ramp. Back the boat down into the water, but leave it strapped to the trailer. Watch your bilge to see where the water is coming from (check with the motor running too). Also, bump it into gear both forward and reverse and watch for leaks at the transom. An old OMC that I had used to leak when it was in reverse. Turned out the gimbal housing was loose on the transom and would pull away from the boat when in reverse.

If all this still doesn't show where it's leaking, drive around with it and have someone watch the bilge.

As a side note, you may want to test your bilge pump. If there was that much water in the boat, I would think it should have kicked on.

[Bmoore75]

thx blockp for the feedback

I did have the plug in.

So being new to boating, what are muffs? Is the the attachment you put on the motor and hook up hose if you are going to run it in a driveway, etc? If so, I have that. I will give it a shot. I noticed my ski locker is soaked and from compartments too. So i am concerned where could all the water be coming in from.

The bilge did work cause I saw it pumping out the ports when we beached for a bit.
Oh boy sure hope I didn't make a bad deal.

[mikeyt]

That is exactly what 'muffs' are. I suspect that its coming in within the engine area if there is no visible damage to the hull. As 'blockp' suggested its a good possibility that a waterline has a leak and/or a plug is leaking. Fortunately once found they are usually simple fixes.

[blockp]

I was mostly kidding about the boat plug... glad it was installed. I'd be lying if I said I had always remembered mine... and never forgot to unhook the rear tie-down straps at the ramp

Yep, the muffs are what let you run it in the driveway with a garden hose. Here's some at WallyWorld

If it took about 7 minutes to drain at the boat ramp, I'd guess the whole bottom of your boat was swamped. Even if it was leaking in the engine area, the water would have worked forward to the ski locker through the locker's drain hole.

Unless there's some major visible damage to the hull, the engine compartment is most likely where you'll find your leak.

[Bmoore75]

Thanks Gents. I will start with these test this evening before taking her into a shop for further diag

[ColoradoDiablo]

Might want to check the outdrive boot for the driveshaft also Bmoore. It's the upper one. Look for cracks or loose clamps. Another possibility is the shift cable boot also.
The lower is for exhaust so not a real big deal if it is cracked.

Just a few thoughts.

[Andy b]

Another place to look is the exhaust gasket on the inside of the transom shield,
I've had one of them go on me.

[Motoxxx43]

With no leaks from the motor and no damage to the hull and the plug was in. I'm thinking the same thing Colorado is. Check your drive and shift cable bellows.
I've seen a boat sink overnight from a failed shift cable bellow. They are relatively inexpensive but labor is the pricey part.

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[Douglas Alderman]

Inspect the rubber bumper around tne whole hull of the boat and check if the seal hasn't been pulled off from age.Mine has come lose and while plowing thru water all day the hull will gatheingr water and at the boat ramp taking out the pulg I get 5 gallions of water running out.Put clear silicon on the edges to seal it. Mine is a 1999 214 Jubille