Unknown Leak!

[Adk1]

Have a 1990 Starcraft 221v. Has always taken on water and cannot find where. Just had the bellows replaced, no change. I know it's an aluminum riveted boat but just doesn't seem like it would leak as bad as it does. Have inspected the hull, all seems fine. Intake to the live well seems to be ok. Have not taken that apart though. Suggestions greatly appreciated.

[rolmops]

Sometimes water comes in from the bilge pump outlet. On my islander that happened. The solution was redirecting the bilge hose so it was much higher inside the boat while the outlet stayed in the same place. Check valves are a big no no in bilge lines. (the bilge dirt gets them clogged and stuck).

[MCF]

Any old holes drilled into the transom, any current things like transducers attached to the transom?  Check those.

 

Check the hose and connections to the livewell.

 

Have to rule other things out before you focus on hull rivets.

 

[sherman brown]

check the transom good for unsealed screws or old holes. you could have some loose rivets thats also leaking. sometimes you can put your plug in and put water in the boat on the trailer and check the outside for leaks.

[Albemarle16]

I had a leak that I could not find for years (12 plus) on my 2004 Trophy 2352; started as a slow leak but progressively got worse.

 

It ended up being the gimbal housing gasket.

 

The manufacture did not cut the hole with a jig, and it was leaking from the day I bought the boat.

 

Has to replace the transom.....was not cheap.

 

It may be worth looking at this area.

 

Good luck.

[Hop]

Same thing happened to my 19 ft. Fishmaster.   Even though it looked good,  I  replaced intake to  bilge.  Dry as a bone now. Good luck. 

[FishingFool34]

You ever try pouring water into the bilge while it was on the trailer (with the plug in) and see if you can find where water comes out? might help narrow down the location. 

[Adk1]

Thanks guys. Had the gimble bearing and bellows replaced this year. I will try the water in the bilge trick while on the trailer

[Pennfish]

On 7/8/2019 at 10:35 PM, Adk1 said:

Have a 1990 Starcraft 221v. Has always taken on water and cannot find where. Just had the bellows replaced, no change. I know it's an aluminum riveted boat but just doesn't seem like it would leak as bad as it does. Have inspected the hull, all seems fine. Intake to the live well seems to be ok. Have not taken that apart though. Suggestions greatly appreciated.

Check all the hoses. My sea Pro had a compartment  drain hose that leaked under the floor. I plug the thru hull and it stopped. plug one fitting at a time to locate the problem. 

[shadster]

Intake and hoses for the live well or the fitting on the pump itself have a tendency to crack over time and allow water in. Might want to check those

[dbitting]

support the boat on the trailer and fill it with water. support to handle the water load while testing. I found each rivet that caused water to enter my boat  this way