Water accumulating in bilge while docked

[drjack]

We're newbies to this boat.
Our 2001 Sportster is accumulating a considerable amount of water in the bilge while tied at the dock. My first notice was hearing the bulge pump continually running after the boat was floating only a few hours at the slip. Found the bulge pump screening was plugged. Now that's fixed but the pump cycles every couple of hours with a considerable amount of water that found its way in.
I can't find the source just yet. Is there a common area I should look at before I run out of guesses or start tearing things apart for no reason.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Seadoo boats are not to be docked long term, short term. Only. The manual is pretty clear about this,. The carbon seal or the rear of the boat where the hull joints meet will likely be the issue. Could be the scuppers as well.


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[LouDoo]

Check the scupper make sure it's not backflowing. Are you talking about overnight or just tied to the dock for short periods?

Lou

 

[drjack]

The scupper is good.
This is a hit/miss kind of occurrence. The first time the bilge was full was only after an hour or so. Then I left it tied at a slip all night and the bilge was dry. I was hoping this was a one-time off situation. But after using the boat for a couple of hours the next day, and tied off at the slip, I noticed the bilge pump cycling maybe 2 or 3 times within an hour.
I'm looking for any wicking or leaks, but nothing noted. The exhaust system is dry and the drain plugs are known to be good.
This just happens occasionally.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Leaving a Seadoo boat over-night is a bit risky. If the carbon seal does fail (not just a leak but lets go), the bilge pump can not save it. WAY too much water will be coming in. The same is true for the boot to the seal..

The areas I posted earlier are the two most common items I am aware of.

Happy hunting,,,,

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Carbon seal where the drive shaft exits the hull, most likely. Pull the grey plastic cover held by two nylon wing-nuts off the aft end of the engine so you can inspect the seal system where the drive shaft exits through hull. When in water, there should be next to zero water dripping from there.

 

[howie099]

I just tried to find the do not dock long time in my Sportster 1800 user manual. I couldn't find anything on the subject which I though I would. I can tell you I leave mine in the water like all day and I barley have any water in my mine and I have 2 openings for water. All the manual mentions is that is you leave the boat in the water to long without it running the bilge will kill your battery and than you will sink. I can tell you my carbone seal boot is compressed pretty good. It is much more compressed than my ski's are. I heard the reasons why seadoo went to this goofy carbone seal system because of lazy people couldn't use a grease gun but all the other manufactures still use some kind of bearing system. So why doesn't seadoo? I personally never seen a bearing lock-up on drive shaft. My Yamaha GP1200 is 18 years old and I grease it once a season..3 pumps and that it gets.

 

[drjack]

Reading through many forums, I believe the water maybe entering by the carbon seal. I say maybe, as I not certain if this is a problem area just yet. I removed the grey plastic cover, and the stainless ring feels solid in place. Then grabbing onto the carbon seal, I can wobble this around quite a bit, but it still feels snug against the stainless flange.
My question is how much allowable play should this carbon seal have. And, what would be a reasonable pressure against the steel flange?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Wobble is normal as it "floats" around the shaft. Pressure is a decent amount as it needs to seal by pressure only. If you can easily move it back toward the bellows I'd replace it and the bellows.


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[drjack]

Thanks Joe.
That clarifies my questions perfectly.

 

[1969iggy]

My 95 Sportster sits in the water from end of May to beginning of September every year for the past 4 years, it doesn't even have an automatic bilge, never more than a couple of cups of water in it, and that most likely from leaky cover...

What good is a boat you can't leave in the water? Bad design or bad maintenance... either one can be fixed.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Any boat can sink if neglected, even while sitting on it's trailer. I recommend ALWAYS to install an automatic bilge pump FWIW, especially if you moor your boat unattended. In fact, most boats permanently moored on a seriously seaworthy craft normally are fitted with dual pumps. With a pump, if there's a problem developing you're more likely to notice water occasionally shooting out the hull fitting. If a leaking boat is sitting for more than a few days the cranking battery is liable to become discharged thus the pump stops running so in that case shore power is a popular option. I prefer the pump type that doesn't run occasionally by itself, and one that has built-in float switch b/c the position of the switch relative to the bottom of the pump cannot be too low in the bilge else the divorced switch might not transition off due to the bit of water that remains while the bilge pump continues to run sucking air. There are some cheap pumps on ebay recently(750GPM capacity) and I've ordered a couple for evaluation, so far they appear to be a decent choice for the price.

Bilge pumps should also be tested frequently, IMO.

I don't think there are any bad designs out there, they all will leak eventually if not maintained. The Seadoo system isn't the most robust but it's simple and cheap to repair in comparison to most, so I rather like the design.

According to manufacturer recommendations the u-joint bellows on a mercruiser for instance, should be replaced every other year and checked internally on an annual basis. I've seen them decades old still not leaking in the case of trailered boats, still factory original. When moored, the story can change dramatically as barnacle growth hastens deterioration.