Expert: tyler boehner - 3/13/2008

Question
I just purchased this boat and recently took it out for about 2 hours.  There was water in the bottom of the hull in a puddle about 8 inches wide, not enough for the bilge pump to get wet.  The drain plug is brass, and I screwed it in more than finger-tight (a couple of turns with a wrench).  The water was choppy but I don't remember really seeing much more than spray coming over the bow once.  I thought it might have come in through the side vents.  Any thoughts?

Answer
On a boat, there is no real telling where small amounts of water are coming from.  If you are out for two hours and got no more than a couple of gallons, that isn't too bad.  There could be some seeping from the drain plug, some seeping through one of the screw holes in the boat, wet life jackets placed in the storage compartments, or something on the engine leaking a little bit while you are running down the lake.  If there is a leak in the bottom of the boat that you want to find, best way to find it is to put the plug in the boat and fill it with a couple of feet of water with a garden hose while it is on the trailer.  If you put some water in the bottom of the boat up to the oil pan of the motor, you may be able to see some water leaking out of the outside of the boat.  Other than that, if you boat isn't in a slip or on the water 24 hrs. a day, I wouldn't worry about it too much.