How much water is too much water in the bilge

[FirstStar]

New R5 here. Pulling the drain plug the last couple times there seems to be a lot of water in the bilge. Last night I would guess 3-5 gallons came out. There isn't any water coming from the top side (coolers, wet kids, etc.) Is this something I should worry about?

[kbloom72]

That sounds like a lot to me. How long does the boat sit in the water? I would put the boat in the water at the pier and get in the engine compartment. Run the boat and look for leaks. Also check around the transom.

[Krob1114]

Sounds like that should be more than enough to make the automatic bilge pump come on.

[Big Block Power]

I don't get a drop. You got water coming in from something.

[dustinm]

We never got a drop either with our 220. And that amount is concerning.

Rub rail?

[bruceb58]

Yes, it is something you need to worry about. How old is your boat. What drive do you have? If its an older boat, when was the last time your u-joint bellows was changed. You say new....is it new or new to you?

[FirstStar]

Boat is a new 2021 R5 with the 380 volvo penta. Next time a take it out I will "pop the hood" and see if I can find any leaks. Any likely place to look? I am suspicious of the new Volvo winterization system.

[bruceb58]

Boat is a new 2021 R5 with the 380 volvo penta. Next time a take it out I will "pop the hood" and see if I can find any leaks. Any likely place to look? I am suspicious of the new Volvo winterization system.

You haven't done that yet? Yes...look around and look for leaks! If it was my boat, I would be laying in the bilge with the engine running looking!

It could be anywhere. Fortunately, you have a fresh water cooled boat so that cuts the number of places down a bit.

If no leaks while running, you will have to do another test by laying in the bilge while its in the water.

After you do a couple of these steps, call the dealer.

[Luv2HuntAR]

Wow. I don't think your bilge is working. My bilge kicks in when I pull the plug on my ice chests. There's a little water in the bottom after the bilge is done, but not much.

[Elkhunter2372]

Boat is a new 2021 R5 with the 380 volvo penta. Next time a take it out I will "pop the hood" and see if I can find any leaks. Any likely place to look? I am suspicious of the new Volvo winterization system.

I doubt the culprit is the easy drain…and once you use it to winterize…you’ll love it.

[lespaulrob]

one thing I'm really pleased with is the functionality of my bilge pumps! they REALLY keep my bilge dry. My first boat was a Chaparral and I'd have at least 5-7 gallons of water in the bilge at all times but with the R6, when the kids get back on the boat and the water from their swimsuits drain, the bilge will kick on as soon as we get up on plane and pumps it dry even with that little bit of water. I've only seen the aft pump come on automatically though. The Forward one has never kicked on.

[FirstStar]

Took the boat out tonight for a dinner cruise - love the boat! We were on the water for about 3 hours. I turned the manual bilge on a few times but never saw any water. The last on plane trip I turned it on and water came out the drivers side. Since I wanted to see how much was in there I quickly turned it off. The bilge was empty when I started. Took it out of the water and drained the bilge through the plug. The five gallon bucket was probably 1/3 full when it finally drained. I was all over the engine compartment running and not and don't see any sign of a water flow. I'll text the dealer tomorrow and see what they think. I have a ton of plans this summer and don't want it at the shop if it can wait until the end of summer. My only concern is several of my planned trips I have a slip it will be moored at overnight. Thoughts?

[Luv2HuntAR]

Can't be a good thing. There will be somebody on this forum more qualified than me that can help, but my gut tells me you don't have a good seal where the lower unit comes through the transom. Also, with that much water, your bilge should be kicking on automatically. I hope you get it figured out without too much pain and effort.

[Norris_Boating]

Definitely call the local dealer.
With that being said the more info you can give the the better it is.
I would go out and leave the back open, anchor some where and hang out for 2-4 hours, the longer the better. Continue to check the engine compartment and keep an eye out for the auto bilge. You need to see if water is coming in while at rest.
You can then try to put your boat in neutral and run the engine for a little bit and see if anything comes in.
Finally, if you haven't seen any water build up at this point, run it on plane for awhile and see if you notice water build up.
This is an R5 not R5 surf correct?

[FirstStar]

I have talked to the dealer and he has echoed the comments here - its not normal. He has seen some failures with o-rings on the new quick drain system. I'll be on the lake Sunday and plan on keeping an eye on it and see if I can tell when it us filling up - floating, idling or on plane. Thanks for the info.

2021 Cobalt R5 380 Volvo Penta