Water in the Bilge!!

[Vicseek]

I honestly don't know where to start trouble shooting the issue but while surfing Yesterday I noticed the Bilge pump pumping out water over board.
At first I thought it was some sort of passive draining issue but when I opened up the engine cover I could see water back in the rear thus activating the bilge pump.
I had the Port side Enzo sac filled and the bilge pump was working intermittently to keep the hull free of water.
Where is this water coming from?
The front carpet was dry so the front ballast sacks aren't the culprit. After draining I felt the bottom of the sack and all fittings were still attached with no evidence of break or other bag rupture. Maybe a fitting from the hard tank loose?
Would a prop seal cause that much water to come in side? It only seemed to take on water while surfing, we wake boarded for 3 hours before and I never saw the bilge pump working.
I'm not sure where to look I guess.

[Gwyn]

check the mounting brackets for the swim platform, when I fitted my FAE I found my port side mount was really loose, hardly took on any water whilst wakeboarding, but when surfing its under water and under pressure.
I still take on a bit of water but that is my prop seal and thats my next job, check your pump and cooling pick ups, your drain plug, transom lights, rudder and taps plate for starters !

Also worth seeing if the boat takes on any water when standing, just pull the fuse on the bilge for an hour when you dock

hope that helps

[JreisRZR]

I store my boat outside on a lift, after normal use water gets, same thing with after a rain storm. It builds up over a few weeks and then when I drive the water goes back to the pump it kicks on when I plane off. Sometimes it just happens

[jbort]

check all ballast hoses too. I had the output hose split and got messy til i fixed.

[Bruizza]

We had the top of a ballast pump come off and a lot of water was in the bilge. Might want to check those as well.

[Vicseek]

Thanks for the ideas! I'll start checking this week!

[auburntigegal]

Vic, did you find your problem?
We went out yesterday. We are in dry storage and when they sat us in we started taking on water! We could hear it running in. They guys at our marina are great! Big shout out to Sunrise Marina and Erwin Marine Sales service folks! They came right down and after lifting boat, pulling plug, back in, found that it was our prop shaft. The set screws were not holding whatever the thing is called tight against the seal and they fixed it right away! Saved our day!

[Bruizza]

I have also had a ton of water come in the boat from the shaft seal packing being loose. Just one more thing to check.

[scoot18]

Possible to be your fuel tank vent. I know I have taken on a lot of water through the fuel vent on the port side. Usually when we have her good and weighed down, with a bunch of people on board, the top of the gunnel is down to the water line, putting the fuel tank vent under water a good portion of the time as the waves roll down the side of the boat.

Do you know if you had that much listing to the port side?

[cday76]

Sounds like the water is coming in through the vents in the rear. Those side vents for the blower are a pain in the ***!!!. I'm doing one of two things, plugging the vents and drilling a new large vent hole elsewhere or running a 3" PVC pipe between the two vents with a hole on top of the PVC with the blower motor mounted on top. Also check to make sure your cupholder is sealed up good along with the rear coolers. My rear coolers have a black rubber plug with a small hole. If that rubber stopper is missing that hole is larger and can be letting water. But most likely the water is coming in through the large fancy/stylish rear vents. Basically a hole in the hull the size of the silver vent. I take in a ton of water through those when the lake is rough. I'm sunk right to the edge of the rub rail and at certain speeds or if the driver does a slight right turn while sunk on the left side it stays under water while surfing. I also had the V-drive seal issue and it fills the boat while at surf speeds. However when you get above 15 it will drain itself. If it's a V-drive seal it will fill up FAST!!!. Within 5 minutes it will be enough water to kick the bilge pump on.

In this video you can see the rear vent and how close it stays to the water. When taking a wave from the side this vent goes under and takes in mass amounts of water.

https://vimeo.com/46895742