Water under motor cover?

[Csm84123]

Hey

Just recently bought my first boat. A 1988 sea ray seville with a inboard mericruiser 3.0L 135 HP Engine. The boat looked to be in good shape för its age. Started first time i Turned the key. And interior in good shape. I have 0 previous experience with boats so be kind... Im learning. I have been out in the ocean every day för about a week now and love it. Today i pulled back the engine cover för the first time and noticed that there was standing water under the engine that looked dirty and mixed with oil. There is also a wooden cover on the floor between the driver seat and passenger seat that you can remove and under is a hole where there was also some standing water. Here i am guessing that when you are out driving when water splashes up it runs down here? But not sure. I also noticed a small pipe like hole down in the side of this area under the wooden cover? I emptyed the water out of there completely and even most the water that i could reach under the engine. Is this normal with alot of standing water under the engine? Om my dash there is a switch called bilage pump. I heard it is för pumping out water. Does it pump out water in engine area or under floor under the wooden cover area? I Turned it on anyways today and it didnt seems to pump out water from either of these two areas. Will post some pictures if i can here. Thankful for any useful info.

 

[BruceK]

Your bilge pump is not working. It will keep the water in the bilge down to acceptable levels. Get an auto one (without float switch) which will auto pump every couple minutes. If it senses water it will keep pumping. Use the dash switch to arm / disarm it.
Not much space beneath the engine and the small auto ones work well in this boat / scenario.

Rule LoPro LP900S Submersible Bilge Pump 12V 56lpm

The holes you refer to are limber holes. They allow water to drain to the back to be pumped out

PM me an email address, I have the original owners handbook and workshop manual for your boat

 

[BruceK]

I think you may have to make a few more posts before the PM message feature opens up to you.

 

[Csm84123]

I think you may have to make a few more posts before the PM message feature opens up to you.

Thanks For the reply. Is the bilge pump supposed to pump out water from both these areas? It does make sound when you turn on the bilge pump switch like a pump that is trying to... Where exactly does the water pump out of the boat at? No plug or anything that has to be remove? Email adress is Clinton.melton@hotmail.com

 

[Baddox]

The water will drain down to the lowest points in your boat, the bilges – that’s where I’d expect to find the bilge pump. Find the pump and follow the pipe from it to work out where the water exits the boat if it helps you.
The engine looks very wet, if it were mine I’d be concerned about a petrol engine getting so damp andabout the spread of oil too. A through clean and drying with some cloths to remove the water and oil would be prudent. Then you can start to work out where the oil and water are coming from, which is more important than where they may go.

 

[BruceK]

Thanks For the reply. Is the bilge pump supposed to pump out water from both these areas? It does make sound when you turn on the bilge pump switch like a pump that is trying to... Where exactly does the water pump out of the boat at? No plug or anything that has to be remove? Email adress is Clinton.melton@hotmail.com

from the bilge pump water pumps overboard. There is a pipe going to a through hull high on the starboard freeboard at the transom. I have sent the files. There is a diagram showing it. Either your pipe has come off or the impeller on the motor is jammed full of crud if it's not pumping overboard.

 

[simonfraser]

Is this salt or drinking water ?
taste it

 

[julians]

some water in the bilge is normal - as per the posts above, but there shouldnt be water splashed all over the engine surfaces like in your photos. You need to find out why the engine is getting splashed with water and fix that. It could be a leak from the cooling circuit of the engine, or something else. If you open the hatch while running the engine - see if you can see any water spraying from somewhere.

edit to add : unless you'd just taken a large wave over the whole boat before those photos were taken - in which case its probably normal.