96 sportster water issue

[larrybr45]

Had 96 sportster out over weekend. Had 3 people. COuld get on a plane, but when towing one, it was very tough, engine would wine a little and never really take that jump to planing.

I let my son drive a little and he would start to full throttle and then boat would whine a little and not hit maximum then waves would hit back of boat as we sat there. I got over by dock and happened to look in engine and most of engine was covered with water!

Getting nervous, then the bilge pump kicked in and got water out. I was then able to start and it ran fine and fast a couple of times, but I did not try to tow. I got it to ramp and out of water.

Could the leaking be anything related to my son trying to go fast and then stopping and the waves hitting us from the back? If not, is there leaking hoses or anything in particular I should check?

I wonder if this is related to my post yesterday on speed issues and not being able to really plane? Could this all be related to the carbon wear ring?

thanks
lar

 

[hvacrbert]

might want to take a look at the rubber gaskets for the exhaust penetration thru the hull. on my speedster they are under the swim platform and appear to blow exhaust onto the jets. fold them out and look for cracks in the creases, I am assuming yours is similar to the speedster. if they are bad there may be an issue ordering them as mine have been discontinued. do a forum search a gentleman has a promising fix for this that I will be trying next week. might also want to inspect the pump shaft seal as I had a water issue there one time a few years ago. hope this helps.

bert

 

[Coastiejoe]

If the carbon seal leaks, then yes it could all be related.

If it leaks enough to allow substantial water into the hull, at 8 pounds to a gallon it does not take long to carry 100 pounds or more of extra weight.
Normally when they leak that much you can see the water running in at the seal.