HELP!! 2013 r20 taking on water and not getting up to speed???

[Chubbs#7]

Hello everyone this is my first post here! I'm not sure if i'm posting in the correct spot but please direct me to the correct area if not!

I recently got a 2013 r20, and it's my first boat. I've always enjoyed watersports on other peoples boats and decided to get one myself. HOWEVER, I have literally no clue what I am doing and it's complete amatuer hour.. With that being said, i'll dive right into the issues

We took the boat out on the lake this past weekend. Everything seemed great, and the boat was doing well. After about 2-3 hours, the boat would not maintain speed, and seemed to be taking on some water. We thought the varying speed was due to the Zero Off GPS system malfunctioning and tried playing with that but to no avail. The boat continued to take on water and continued to slow down. My hypothesis is that we didn't have all the plugs in, causing the boat to take on water and it messed with the electrical for the Zero Off system/ was too much weight for the boat to handle?

So after my story here's my questions-

1. How many drain plugs are on a 2013 r20?
2. If there are more than the one in the back of the boat where are the others located?
3. Is the Zero Off GPS system easy to use and i'm just stupid?
4. If I had all the drain plugs in why would the boat be leaking water and generally where would it be leaking from?

Please if you have any input please share!! I feel like it's a simple fix but my lack of inexperience is causing me a ton of frustration!

Thank you!!

[KoolAid]

A lot to this one.

How much water was in the boat? filling up the bilge? Was it warm? If not, it wasn't the engine or lack of plugs most likely.

1 - I want to say 5. Each knock sensor, one on V drive, one on Y hose at the exhaust and one at the front heat exchanger.
2 - Just the main on in the back.
3 - very easy to use. That doesn't mean you don't have an issue though. I am working on two boats that blow past the set speed. not sure the solution just yet. Be sure when you set a speed you give throttle enough authority to do its thing. Meaning go to wide open throttle once speed is set (or close to it).
4 - shaft seal, transom where screws go through, ballast system, damaged heat exchanger from lack of winterization.

[scottspray]

I vote ballast or shaft seal.
If you fill each ballast separately you can narrow down the source.
Are you taking on water before you get off the trailer or lift?
This spring I had a cracked rear hard ballast tank that was hidden under the floor.

[Chubbs#7]

A lot to this one.

How much water was in the boat? filling up the bilge? Was it warm? If not, it wasn't the engine or lack of plugs most likely.

1 - I want to say 5. Each knock sensor, one on V drive, one on Y hose at the exhaust and one at the front heat exchanger.
2 - Just the main on in the back.
3 - very easy to use. That doesn't mean you don't have an issue though. I am working on two boats that blow past the set speed. not sure the solution just yet. Be sure when you set a speed you give throttle enough authority to do its thing. Meaning go to wide open throttle once speed is set (or close to it).
4 - shaft seal, transom where screws go through, ballast system, damaged heat exchanger from lack of winterization.

The water was probably a 1/3-1/2 full around the motor. It drained for a good half hour and was pretty dang warm. We did cruise around the lake at low speeds for an hour or two which could have warmed the water up. While the boat was functioning normally it did once speed up past the desired speed but when it came back around it seemed to work fine. Once the speed started going down though if we set the Zero Off to like 7 mph it would slow down to that, but once we tried to set it past like 12 mph it didn't want to keep climbing in speed. When I get it back on the water ill have to check those areas and see if I see any leaks. Thank you!!

[Chubbs#7]

I vote ballast or shaft seal.
If you fill each ballast separately you can narrow down the source.
Are you taking on water before you get off the trailer or lift?
This spring I had a cracked rear hard ballast tank that was hidden under the floor.

KoolAid I talked to a buddy and he was thinking the same thing. Next time I can get it on the water i'll fill each sac and check for leaks. I'm about 99% sure the boat was not taking on water as we were getting it off the trailer. One thing to note though and I hope KoolAid sees is that I just noticed that the ballast that is right behind the drivers chair is currently full of water. We never turned any of the ballasts on while we were out so could that potentially be the culprit? Also, this sounds extremely stupid but we only hand tightened the plug in the rear of the boat so I have a feeling that could've caused some leakage as well.

[sandm]

I'll toss this out just incase.
our old 22ve started taking on water one outing. thought it was some kind of leak. took to MC dealer(no tige dealer close by) and $300 later they replaced 2 hose clamps and........
turned off the shower.
I had taken something out of the rear hatch where the shower is stored and somehow hit the button. it ran every time the engine was on. took a few hours to get enough water to cause the boat to bog down.
if you have a shower check that as well.

[Chubbs#7]

I'll toss this out just incase.
our old 22ve started taking on water one outing. thought it was some kind of leak. took to MC dealer(no tige dealer close by) and $300 later they replaced 2 hose clamps and........
turned off the shower.
I had taken something out of the rear hatch where the shower is stored and somehow hit the button. it ran every time the engine was on. took a few hours to get enough water to cause the boat to bog down.
if you have a shower check that as well.

Very interesting. I honestly do not have a clue if mine has a shower or not but i'll figure that out shortly. I'm assuming it's something stupid and relatively easy to fix but my lack of experience is a total killer

[sandm]

good luck. I am sure you will find it to be as easy as my shower fix was

[D&P Powell]

took to MC dealer(no tige dealer close by) and $300 later they replaced 2 hose clamps and........
turned off the shower.

If you would have called me on that new cell phone I sold you, I could have told you that and saved you some $$$. LOL

[sandm]

I tried dave, but I can only get a signal on that iphone when standing on 1 leg in the middle of a north facing crosswalk.

[scottspray]

I had a leak close to a drain pump that filled the bilge with water and left water in the ballast. Hard to tell if you haven’t run the ballast.
If the plug didn’t come completely out it wouldn’t leak that much. Needs to be tighter to be on safe side.

[Brianrzr]

Try to diagnose in steps.
1) drain all water out.
2) let float in water with everything off, watch for water level increasing.
3) turn on ballast pumps, check again for water level increasing.
4) fire up engine, and again watch water level.

[Chubbs#7]

Thank you everyone for the input! I really appreciate it and i'll keep everyone updated on what happens!

[KoolAid]

The water was probably a 1/3-1/2 full around the motor. It drained for a good half hour and was pretty dang warm. We did cruise around the lake at low speeds for an hour or two which could have warmed the water up. While the boat was functioning normally it did once speed up past the desired speed but when it came back around it seemed to work fine. Once the speed started going down though if we set the Zero Off to like 7 mph it would slow down to that, but once we tried to set it past like 12 mph it didn't want to keep climbing in speed. When I get it back on the water ill have to check those areas and see if I see any leaks. Thank you!!

If it was warm it was from the engine. So missing plug, popped freeze plug. Something after the impeller.

[WinniWeavers]

I also have a 2013 R20. Had a bad shaft seal that required a complete replacement. I suggest opening up the access hatch to the bilge while you are underway to see if you can tell where the leak is coming from.