www.iFourWinns.com

After swapping over my batteries to port I've just about trued up the boat.. so one problem solved Cheers Mike230 and LouC for your words of wisdom guys. I've been spending a fair bit of time looking through the posts here and this forum is all the better for your knowledge and experience.

So.. my next problem. Well, we decided to drop her into the water last week and move from a trailer setup to have her swinging on a mooring. I went to take her out on Saturday (6days on for her sitting in the water) and the bilge was heavily water logged. Water had come up around the bottom pulley wheels which is not a good look, and it took a good 12-15mins to empty.

So 2 things I'm thinking:
1. I didn't even realise there was an auto bilge, so will need to rewire those per the manual so there is constant voltage supply.
2. To get to the root cause of the problem, I want to work out where the leak is. I"m a firm believer of prevention rather than the cure. The water is salty so I'm guessing not from the inordinate amount of rain that's hit Sydney last week (also have a good "tented" water cover).
Any thoughts?
NB Boat is a 2005 Horizon 230 with a Mercruiser 6.2L Bravo engine

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2005 Four Winns Horizon 230 - Mercruiser 320hp 6.2L V8 Bravo

Glad the battery swap worked out OK....
One of the issues with sterndrives, is that there is a lot of places water can leak in, because of the transom mount, bellows, exhaust system, and raw water intake hose/impeller.

I'd try to get the bilge as dry as possible, then get a really bright flashlight and a telescoping inspection mirror (I've had one for years for working on my vehicles). You want to look around the transom mount, under the engine, near the Y pipe which can leak where it bolts to the transom mount, and the raw water intake hose, impeller housing and front circulation pump and hose. Even the drain plugs and the core plugs in the block and manifolds can leak. Impeller housings and the front circulating pumps often have a weep hole which will leak water when a seal or gasket fails.
When I put my boat in for the season (I keep it on a rotating mooring) I test the auto bilge switch before launching it and the first day or so I keep a close watch on the bilge. Usually I do not see any water in there at all, till it rains. I had to have my cover modified because the original one did not cover the anchor locker and this would drain into the ski locker and then into the engine bilge. but I have never had water even as high as the bottom of the oil pan because the bilge switch has always turned on. I have a Sure Bail switch, (one of those blue ones, very long-lasting, it's almost 10 years old) and a Rule 1100 gph pump.

If you see water leaking in around the bottom of the transom mount, it can be the bellows for the u-joints (relatively easy fix) or the gasket for the Y pipe (not easy fix, requires an engine pull). Based on my 10 year experience with a sterndrive, the bellows is a likely cause, I'd pull the boat after you do your checks and pull the drive and check the bellows for water. If you find salt water in there, think about changing the gimble bearing and u-joints. This happened to me once, and I had the gimble changed, the u-joints we were able to save by greasing the heck out of em. I find that the OE style bellows on OMC Cobras start to crack on the outside after about 5-7 years, thats a good time to replace them. I always pull the drive at the end of each season and check for water in the bellows. I have not had any other leaks believe it or not, even on this 24 year old boat.....Your boat being a 2005, might be due for a new bellows....

If it is indeed salt water, you want to get to the bottom of it right away, because it will rust the oil pan, pulleys and the starter in no time at all.

After you get it all cleaned up, spray the oil pan, engine block etc with Corrosion X, Boeshield T-9 or similar.

Salt water corrosion never sleeps.....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I also vote for replacing the bellows, regardless of whatever else you might find. My boat never sits in the water for more than a week at a time, and is stored indoors - but I plan to do the bellows next season, just because it'll be 7 years old.

Honestly, and especially with salt water, I'd keep the boat out until you find the leak. Another, less likely, cause is the seal around the depth sounder transducer, which is mounted just in front of the engine in a big hole that is bored all the way through the hull.

This isn't related, but just so you know - you have "permanently lubed" u-joints - which means only that when they wear out they have to be replaced, and there's nothing you can do to slow down that process. Putting a coat of grease all over the dive shafts couldn't hurt though, as one more way to keep corrosion at bay.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Take care of it as soon as possible and make sure you check that starter and coat it with something to keep the corrosion at bay. I really did not enjoy removing the starter and replacing since I don't practice yoga and some of the positions to get at those screws are unbelievable.