I/O bulkhead

[WaltF]

Ok.. BMR will possibly know this one...
Anyways, im trying to figure out how water is getting in the compartment where my engine is.
Its not much, but last year none ever got in there.
It only seems to get in there while underway....just sitting in the slip, its fine.

So yesterday i left work a couple hours early....justified as a 'service run' (plus beer was involved:) )

The water is still fricken cold so i wasnt looking forward to going swimming..
I just hung my head over the back and i see some of the underskinning warped upward about an inch along the side of the 'middle' toon if you will, where the engine is...
So i thought...ok thats how its getting in there....
Then i stuck my head down into where the engine is and couldnt find that gap....
Come to find out, you cant get to the front half of that engine compartment..
There is a 'bulkhead' separating the compartment in half...
The bulk head has a plug in it, about half way up.
So the question is...
Is that front half completely sealed? I mean, maybe it has a 'top' and that whole compartment is a sealed unit?
I know from there back, there isnt a top cause that where the engine is... and underneath, that section is screwed into the bottom of the toon.. but the front half isnt screwed into the bottom of the toon like that...
Cause at first i thought maybe water was entering into the front compartment and running back and that was where the water was entering.... now im not so sure...
Also, that still actually may be the case, as looking as close as i could, it appears as if that bulk head isnt completely welded all the way around....
It appears that there are 'gaps' along the edges where its not welded.... maybe to let water escape out of there if it got in there so it could get to the bilge pump?
But if its not sealed, why the plug?

So whats the deal with the front half of the engine compartment?
Any assembly manuals with a pic of what that thing looks like?

confused.. heh

Like i said, its not a big leak, so im not worried, but id like to figure it out..

[lakerunner]

Are you sure it isn't coming from engine as it only happens underway. Could there be a leak somewhere on engine?

[badmoonrising]

First thing I would check is if your intake/exhaust manifold quick drains are connected securely. If they are even a little loose, water gets in the bilge. Push them in until your hear a click, the springs locking into the bracket. You said you have underskinning - any bends or loose rivets (or loose screws if they were used to attach the underskinning) ? If those two are ruled out, on our PC it's possible to have someone look into the enine compartment while underway to see where the water is coming from. I had a similar issue when we first bought our PC. Water was getting into the bilge and it turned out water was being deflected up over the rear of the logs, hitting the back side of the stern rubrail and flowing up into the engine compartment because the carpet back there lets water up and over the engine compartment "lip", the seam where the engine pod is connected to the deck. Is the carpet wet back there ? I added to the factory underskinning and used 3M Marine 5200 to seal the entire stern fence where it meets the deck and haven't had an issue since.

As for the hollow part of the engine pod, our PC has no plug there, it's just hollow. There's also a baffle to prevent water from coming in over that.

[WaltF]

Good info!!!
Actually, when hauling butt water does indeed flow over the top of the back of the toons like it sounds yours did BMR....
I thuink thats where in looking hard next!
Im gonna look closer at the engine as well...
Thanks guys!!

Oh hey, our weather guys out here can kiss my A$$!
They said it would be 55 and raining.....
WRONG!! more like 75 and sunny!!!

Those BUMS!!! i cancelled our camping reservations and now im stuck working in the yard....
grrrrr

[lakerunner]

Email the lying bastards. One of our stations in Tulsa has this fat ass that stands in front of our county while talking about the weather in Oklahoma panhandle. As soon as bad weather passes Tulsa on the way to us they hardly report at all. I sent him an email requesting to move his fat ass to west of West of Tulsa so we could see our county. He sent this snide reply and now I hammer him endlessly when he is even slightly warm.