I have a new 2003, 190 Bay (purchased new from Dealer in Nov. 04.... used 1.5 seasons). Yep... I'm new to ownership.... had to wait 65 years!
I apologize in advance it this is long but I have a hard time with naratives!
Being a new owner, I didn't realize I had a relative severe problem from the beginning. I had a leak that has taken me a year and a half to recognize and document (about 40 hours of usage). It took the boat almost scuttling at our shallow water dock for it to finally hit me in the head.... you know, light bulb going off! We had to leave it from the 4th weekend as water was so low there was no way to get it out and back to the marina where it resides in dry storage. A heavy rain storm ensued when we were gone and somewhere in that time line the 500 GPH bilge pump decided it had had enough...... battery was OK. Had it not been for a "really good neighbor" the 135 Honda would have been awash....
Here's what I ultimately found.
1. There is a separation in the left-side drain line of the splash well. This leaked much of any water entering the well into the bilge rather than draining it outside. Yes the transom was about 2 inches underwater.
2. As the water level increased in the boat the scuppers started pumping water into the boat.... never would have believed it!
3. After arriving on the scene, pumping it and replacing the bilge pump I set about in earnest to find the root cause.
4. With the pump disconnected and the boat at rest tied up at the dock on a calm day it took on water at the rate of close to an inch an hour…. Something that was never particularly evident with the auto pump running. I never spent that much time with it tied up at our dock. Last summer, during routine maintenance, I told the dealership I suspected a leak. Their answer….. No, everything was OK. I had filled the bilge a couple of times, when it was hauled out, and only noted minor drips from both bilge drain plugs and the live well intake port.
5. After much work it seems apparent the primary culprit is the drain line from the Gas Tank Overfill Drain. From the outside it is an open port (normally several inches underwater). Visually from the inspection port in the Splash Well it has a ¾ inch rubber line with what appears to be a check valve about 8 inches from where it exits the transom. It took quite a bit of sleuthing to finally figure out what it is ...... it’s not shown in the owner's manual nor could the dealer tell me what its purpose was by phone. It’s the drain line from the Gas Tank fill area for spill protection. This shouldn’t cause a major leak problem. So you except when placing a hose into the outlet that it would either spray back (from presumed check valve)... but it doesn't, so it's apparently either not a check valve or not working. Water vents from the drain hole by the Gas Cap. Still no major problem until you place a thumb over inlet..... then you hear water running into the bilge.
My questions are:
(1) I’ve established the potential for the line to leak, but since I haven’t removed everything necessary to access the line under the console, is it reasonable to assume there is enough backpressure when the drain hole is several inches under water to produce a leak of this size. If so, how isolated is this problem. Why would a fitting of some type be used (at least 2) inside the bilge, when the purpose of the line as I interpret it, is to prevent explosive vapors being introduce inside the bilge.
(2) It seems logical to me that the line in question should drain above the water line. Why several inches below?
(3) Does anyone have ideas suggestions on helping the scuppers seal out water?
(4) I’ve gotten several “schools of thought” on adding a redundant bilge pump. What suggestions do you have and if so, sizes?
Many thanks in advance!
Ben