Ski Boat Forum
General Category => General American Skier Discussions => Topic started by: mika on May 23, 2011, 02:26:58 AM
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Hi Everyone!
I've got a problem with my Volante 94: water is coming in. If I dry all the water from the bilge and then start following it up I can see more water appearing from somewhere. Fairly slow but still. It does not make any difference if the engine is running or not.
What I've checked so far:
- The rudder port is not leaking.
- The prop shaft port is not leaking.
- The coolant water port is not leaking.
The water starts gathering under the engine, in the deeper spot near to the rear of the engine, in front of the gear box. After the deeper spot is full of water it starts to flow towards front of the boat, and this is when it comes really visible. The problem is that it's impossible to see what happens down there and I'm not sure if the water is dripping down from the engine or coming up through the bottom (fin bolt holes?). The boat has not hit anything and the bottom seemed to be fine when I checked it visually.
I'd really appreciate all ideas of what to do next!
-What should be checked in the engine, any "usual suspects"?
-Is it possible that the water comes up via the fin bolt holes? (Last fall I washed the bottom with pressure washer and it probably took out some silicone around the fins.)
Thanks in advance for any hints!
Mika
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If it was me, the first thing I would do was check the bilge while only sitting in the water not running. This SHOULD narrow down the engine being suspect. Then you could focus on other things. IF no water begins to show then run the engine, IF it does show only after running, I'd guess its a hose, or the tranny cooler, or a freeze plug, or something to that nature.
Get yourself a handheld mirror and start looking up from under the motor, who knows it may end up dripping on the mirror itself.
That's where I would start anyway.
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Mike's plan sounds like it should work... I'd pull out the entire motorbox and any center floors that come out. Check it sitting still at the dock and leave it there for an extended period. Dont DO anything but sit & listen and look for water dripping or swelling from ANY of the through hull fittings (stabilizer fins, water intake, shaft packing gland, rudder port, transom exhaust exits, swim platform through bolts, etc). A small and a large mirror is a great idea...
If it remains dry - stay at the dock and start looking for a leak with the engine running. I'd start from your water intake hose where it connects to the through hull fitting (my hose was deteriorated AND it rubs the port side exhaust hose) and check all of your water supply hoses for rub spots & insure the connections are tight. Insure the engine petcocks / drain plugs are closed and keep an eye on the block for any water seeping. Check the rear / bottom of your impellor pump for dripping - it may be leaking if you impellor bearing is bad.
Also check your exhaust hoses - mine had a hole rubbed through on BOTH the port/stbd floors as they go into the bilge - you wont see it until you pull it away from the floor edges... If you have a heater (with the engine still running) crawl into the bow area with a REALLY BRIGHT flash light to see if your heater core, or one of the hoses going to / from it, is leaking - check the carpet for warm wetness. If not properly drained for winter storage water will freeze inside the core...
DONT ask me how I know all this... :(
Joel
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Also... read Ron T's post "Leaks - where to look" under Technical Discussions. That should do the trick... :) I think you were both typing at the same time!!! FREAKY WEIRD!!! :o
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Had a very similar case of the leaks last summer...turned out to be a small hole rubbed into the bottom of the exhaust hose. Last place I looked too 'cause the hose looked to be in great shape - from the top.
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Check the shaft packing. I believe it's called a Cutlass Bearing.
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Check the shaft packing. I believe it's called a Cutlass Bearing.
The cutlass bearing is actually the bearing that is in the strut. But yeah, check the packing if you haven't already.
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who drummed up an old post?
Mika's problem is the aluminum shaft log deteriorating due to salt water
he had a local foundry (finland) cast him a new one :)
Dan T
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Shaft log, please explain further.....
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fitting attached to the hull where the shaft enters........ the thing that has a short piece of rubber hose on it - opposite side of the packing -
Dan T