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Cade McDaniel

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Recently purchased 1990 Nitro fish n' ski. The boat leaks and I was wondering how to go about finding the problem. There is a ladder that is attached to the boat where I noticed a slow trickle of water and I patched it but still the same thing; bilges every 15 minutes. Is the live well system the first place to start? How?



Thanks,

Cade
 
Put it on the trailer... Then jack it up and put it on jackstands (gets the weight off the tires) level it as well as possible. Put the plug in and run some water into the bilge (this is why you want the weight off the tires...water is very heavy). Where water runs out... you have found your leak(s). If that reveals nothing then go for the livewell plumbing as a source. Good luck.
 
Also make sure you aren't overpowering your livewell drain. If it is on all the time you can often pump more water into the livewell than can drain out.
 
Livewell pumps don't run (haven't started that project yet), so I don't think that I am pumping too much in. Thanks for the reply.
 
I had this same problem and didnt realize it till i got across a rough lake fishing a tournament and water started filling the floor.Found that one of the tabs that holds the bilge for the livewell had busted and water was comeing in from it.Hope this helps.
 
I too, have a 1990 Fish and Ski which has a leak I have yet to identify. I also have to bilge frequently to keep the water out.

So far, I have plugged both live wells and filled them to confirm no leaks from the livewells themselves.

Haven't gotten around to checking the plumbing, but thinking if you open the main bilge port (in the center) and then plug the others (2 intake and 2 drain for each of 2 live wells) and then fill both live wells with water would be a good way to test the plumbing for the live wells. If the problem lies there would be water coming out the main bilge...

Bought it at the end of the season so haven't had a chance to try this but just passing on my thoughts. Is currently in storage but when I get it out for the season and give this a shot I will update this post.

Another thought is getting plugs that will fit all the live well ports, then take it out and see if any water is bilging, if no water bilging then leak IS likely with the livewell plumbing since sealing those drains would effectively fix the leakly live well plumbing.

Outside of that my next likely candidate is the ladder, I am betting that is the source but haven't had a chance to test it.

Anyway, just another fish and ski owner with a similar issue, will keep you posted what I find when I get it out for the season.

Also, here is a link to a thread I had to figure out which ports are which on the back in case it helps...

https://www.nitroowners.com/threads...hull-ports-90-nitro-fish-and-ski-110hp.84035/


Thanks,
Geno

PS just noticed this post is from 2009, so likely not still active, but please feel free to post here for thoughts on this issue...
 

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