[pgarick]

So my skiff has a small leak that is on the floor, not in the hull. I'll give the best description that I can to see if anyone has any suggestion. I have been chatting back and forth with Sundrop on it but I'm not making much progress.
If I launch the skiff and tie her up to the dock, let her sit there for hours, no water at all on the floor. Once I load up myself and the kids and fish for 3-4 hours I collect roughly 1/8" of water on the floor only.
Since I have the pass through floor drainage I decided to by plugs drain holes up (thinking that may be where it's coming from). After plugging same problem is present, roughly an 1/8" of water after 3-4 hours of fishing.
The skiff is rated for 6 people/900 pounds, I would guess that with family loaded we're at 5 people/600 pounds.
The leak is present with no water in the livewell, also there is no water in the hull, it's just the floor.
I did a visual inspection outside the boat looking for cracks/dings, basically anything that may allow the entrance of water. My visual inspection came up empty.
I'm wondering if there is a colored powder or something of the like that I could purchase that may help me to determine the origin of the leak? The only way I am going to be able to find it is by having it loaded as she doesn't reveal a drop when tied off.
Any suggestions?

Rick

 

[Drum Runner]

Weight ratings.
The listed weight is not the weight of people combined. It's the weight of everything you put in the boat down to a roll of toilet paper combined....including fuel, tackle, bait....AND including people.

What kind of skiff, self bailing?

First thing to check is thru hulls. Those nylon thru hulls crack. If you have to replace, go bronze or stainless. It may save your life one day.

 

[pgarick]

Yes, self bailing skiff. I initially thought that it may be coming from there but plugged both drain holes.

 

[Drum Runner]

Check the thru hull fittings. You may have a crack in one.

Not understanding how you have floor drains to biilge and the boat is a self bailing. That's messed up.

 

[pgarick]

Check the thru hull fittings. You may have a crack in one.

Not understanding how you have floor drains and the boat is a self bailing. That's messed up.

Sorry, I do not have floor drains, apologize for the confusion.

 

[trigger22]

Since it is not in the bilge I would assume it is leaking around the self bailing area. Not necessarily the hole but the fitting.

 

[Drum Runner]

It's coming from a hull penetration unless you got a crack in the hull somewhere.

 

[pgarick]

The wife and I are scooting away for two days this week to celebrate our anniversary (child free). We intend on fishing both days. I suppose I will see if the problem exists with just the two of us.
Can't think of a better way to spend our anniversary

 

[pgarick]

It's coming from a hull penetration unless you got a crack in the hull somewhere.

Visual inspection reveals no cracks. I guess I'm puzzled because it's on the floor only but not in the bilge. I have attached a photo of the outside of the boat. This device has what looks like a ping pong ball which is used to keep the water from entering the boat. I purchased two plugs and sealed those off as part of my diagnostics.

 

[trigger22]

The seals on the outside look very suspect to me. I would remove them, clean the area really well and then reinstall them with a fresh bead of 5200.

 

[pgarick]

Trigger, are you suggesting that I remove the three screws shown in the photo and then lay down a bead?

 

[trigger22]

Yes that is exactly what I would do. I would also put a small dab of 5200 around the shank (not threads) of the screws

 

[pgarick]

Update. I removed the fixture from the boat. There was no seal present between fixture and boat. Instead there was a bead of sealant outside the fixture mounting plate

 

[pgarick]

Also, two of the four screws were in no way tight

 

[trigger22]

That should take care of the problem.

 

[NCTribute]

The scupper ping pong ball is not always perfectly water tight, it is really meant to keep backwash from coming through. Any dirt, mildew etc in the scupper will keep the ball from sealing. I have flapper scupper seals that only really seal when water is forced up against it from the outside

More importantly, if you are getting water from this area, then it means your floor is below water level when loaded, which is not a good thing even if the scuppers sealed perfectly. This means if you get caught in a thunderstorm your boat will not be self draining and will take on the rain water.

 

[pgarick]

The scupper ping pong ball is not always perfectly water tight, it is really meant to keep backwash from coming through. Any dirt, mildew etc in the scupper will keep the ball from sealing. I have flapper scupper seals that only really seal when water is forced up against it from the outside

More importantly, if you are getting water from this area, then it means your floor is below water level when loaded, which is not a good thing even if the scuppers sealed perfectly. This means if you get caught in a thunderstorm your boat will not be self draining and will take on the rain water.

Interesting Tribute and thanks for pointing that out. Next time I go out I will observe the floor level compared to water level. If I had to guesstimate, fuel,tackle, misc and family would total at best 800 pounds max.

 

[jcole]

Do yourself a favor and buy new scuppers. And not the exact ones you have now. I bought those thinking it'd be easier to clean them because they come apart. They have leaked from day one. On my other set you could just push in the balls to keep from getting wet feet when too much weight is on one side of the boat. These don't have enough lip on the gasket to hold the balls tight.

 

[pgarick]

WOW, believe it or not Academy Sports carries scuppers in stock. I'll be headed there tomorrow morning and proceed to replacing the scuppers.
Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Thanks!

 

[jcole]

I should also add if that is all of the water you get in your floor you really don't have an issue. Mine is far worse than that. Usually because of leaves or trash in the scuppers. That along with too much weight on one side. But with that said I do have a leak that I've been chasing since I bought the boat. Once I think its fixed the next time it comes back. And. My scuppers sit below the water line. Which their not supposed to.