Pinpointing a hull leak?

[Seth]

I thought I made it through the year with year of low water unscathed but apparently one of the few hits I took put a small hole in my hull. It's somewhere on the driver side towards the back of the boat because when I back it in to the water a few feet, water starts slowly coming in from the driver side at the transom. I've got under the boat and looked around where it's scraped and dented but can't find anything that looks like a hole. The leak is enough that I have to run my bilge pump for a few minutes a couple of times in a 4-5 hour fishing trip. Not horrible but it's annoying.

Anybody got some tips to help find this leak?

 

[PSG-1]

Put the plug in, and fill the boat with about 4-6 inches of water. You should be able to find the source of the leak this way.

 

[Seth]

Reversing the process....makes sense! I'll fill it up with some water tonight when I get home. Hopefully I can find it!

 

[Darkside]

Put the plug in, and fill the boat with about 4-6 inches of water. You should be able to find the source of the leak this way.

Good Advice--- This is how we do it too, only we'll put as much water in it as it takes to find the leak. Works great, but becomes a little more complicated with UHMW/Poly bottomed boats. As the leak may run a ways before showing the exact location.

 

[Kevin Turner]

And...
I raise the nose several feet high. Allowing the stern to fill first, where most leaks occur. Helps the hull dry faster drain and dry faster for repairs...

 

[PSG-1]

Put the plug in, and fill the boat with about 4-6 inches of water. You should be able to find the source of the leak this way.

Good Advice--- This is how we do it too, only we'll put as much water in it as it takes to find the leak. Works great, but becomes a little more complicated with UHMW/Poly bottomed boats. As the leak may run a ways before showing the exact location.

Yeah, I can definitely see where that would be a problem.

 

[shallowminedid]

fish for a bunch of hours dont run the bilge. dont pull the plug, take the water home with ya and sit over nite the puddle will give ya a target then its easy to find the drip

 

[Seth]

Well I didnt find any leaks after filling the boat with a bunch of water. I let it sit for 3 hours and no water was lost. I drained that and filled up the livewell this time and will check it in the morning for water loss. I crawled under the boat and looked for cracks on the bottom but didnt see much except for a bunch of scratches and small dents. I'm scratchin my head right now.

 

[Darkside]

You can hope it is not a seaping weld, and honesly it does not sound like you do.

Few things-

Try this...

1. With the plugs in and tight, put the boat in the water (on the trailer) with just the back 3' of the boat under water and see if you are getting any water in the hull. If you don't you can be fairly sure the damage is not isolated to the back 3' of the boat. If the ramp is shallow enough, (and not busy) you can back the boat in roughly a foot at a time to give you a smaller area to focus on. Also with the boat on the trailer it will have more down weight (pressure) which can only help.

2. If the above doesn't work, it may sound crazy but check how tight your transom plugs are. My buddy swore he had a leak and all it turned out to be was that the nut on the back of the plug runner was loose and the rubber wasn't compressing enough. Not trying to sound silly, but the first thing a electrical technician is taught is to make sure the device is plugged in (LOL)

3A. I am not familiar with the livewell system on a Legend, but most are bottom drained through plumbing. I saw a boat once that tourny friend had and the boat came in once with an inch or so of water on the bottom of the boat and he was devistated. His new 42K bass boat was leaking. Here the plumbing line in that livewell drain was cracked and leaved water into the bottom of the boat.

3B. Another friend of mine had a Tracker Targa with 2 livewells and a bait well. The front livewell "overfill" drain was clogged and when he filled the tank and had it on the fill timer, it would fill just a fraction too high and with the boat in the water they do not sit 100% level. The water was spilling out under the deck where the livewell and the bottom edge of the front deck met. Crazy, but after a full day in a Walleye tourny in NY, we had som 20-30 gallons of water in the bottom of the boat! Took us days to figure that one out!

Not sure if any of this will help. But hopefully something here does.

 

[Darkside]

You can hope it is not a seaping weld, and honesly it does not sound like you do.

Few things-

Try this...

1. It may sound crazy but check how tight your transom plugs are. My buddy swore he had a leak and all it turned out to be was that the nut on the back of the plug runner was loose and the rubber wasn't compressing enough. Not trying to sound silly, but the first thing a electrical technician is taught is to make sure the device is plugged in (LOL). Didn't leak when we filled it, but during a day of fishing water was seaping through the drain plug. We tightened it, and the problem was solved. If you haven't checked this, it is one possibility.

2. Another test that has helped us in the past for isolating the area is.... With the plugs in and tight, put the boat in the water (on the trailer) with just the back 3' of the boat into the water (so the bottom of the boat is wet). Leave it sit for 4-5 min and see if you are getting any water in the hull. If you don't you can be fairly sure the damage is not isolated to the back 3' of the boat. If the ramp is shallow enough, (and not busy) you can back the boat in roughly a foot at a time to give you a smaller area to focus on. Also with the boat on the trailer it will have more down weight (pressure) which can only help.

3A. I am not familiar with the livewell system on a Legend, but most are bottom drained through plumbing. I saw a boat once that tourny friend had and the boat came in once with an inch or so of water on the bottom of the boat and he was devistated. His new 42K bass boat was leaking. Here the plumbing line in that livewell drain was cracked and leaved water into the bottom of the boat.

3B. Another friend of mine had a Tracker Targa with 2 livewells and a bait well. The front livewell "overfill" drain was clogged and when he filled the tank and had it on the fill timer, it would fill just a fraction too high and with the boat in the water they do not sit 100% level. The water was spilling out under the deck where the livewell and the bottom edge of the front deck met. Crazy, but after a full day in a Walleye tourny in NY, we had som 20-30 gallons of water in the bottom of the boat! Took us days to figure that one out!

Not sure if any of this will help. But hopefully something here does.

 

[Seth]

I tried step #1 first thing and when the boat was backed in to where the water level came to the driver seat, i had water coming in from the driver side in the back so the problem is in the back half of the hull I know. The livewell was plugged when I did that test as well. The transom plug sealed fine and no water came in there. It seems like whatever the problem is requires outside water pressure to star leaking. I tried it again but not backed in as far as the first time and it didnt leak so I dont think the problem is in the very back.

The livewell never lost any water last night either so it is fine.

 

[jackpen]

Seth,

I recently had a leak in my boat that required me to run the bilge after a couple hours of fishing. I was able to find my leak by filling the boat with water. It was the pvc pipe where the aerator went through the hull. I'd cracked it on a rock sometime during the season. Since you filled your boat and found no leaks you may want to check the hose and connections between the aerator and live well. The pressure of filling a boat may not be enough to show a leak in the hose. Just a thought.

 

[Seth]

You would be right about the livewell hose jackpen! Cowtown called and said it wasn't the hull but aerator hose to the front livewell. Somehow it started leaking behind the sidewalls and floatation where you can't access it. Since I just use the front livewell for trash I just told them to plug it up instead of ripping the boat apart to fix it. I guess that's better than a hole in my hull but I hate paying $$$ just to have a hose plugged. Lesson learned and I will remember it for down the road.