17ft 1986 basstracker leaks water... what do i do now?

[Jari Razskazoff]

So my dads 17ft 1986 basstracker has a slow leak somewhere in the hull of the boat. Its slow enough where I can run the bilge most of the day and it empties the water, but you know that could potentially be a sticky situation. Is there a way to fix this leak, maybe by sealing the whole outside of the boat? Or, do I need to remove all the wood, and everything from the inside of the boat, and re-seal all rivots,seals,and points with sealent of some sort? I sure hope there is an easy fix for this.

[marine_man]

First off, does it always leak, or only when you run the livewell? Have the livewells been working properly? A cut hose on the fill side of the livewell will pump water into the boat only when the livewell is on. A cut hose on the drain side of the livewell will constantly leak water.

The other thing you cna do is put the boat on the trailer, and fill the bilge with water. Then watch for were the water comes out... hopefully that will get you started in the right direction.

marine_man

[Jari Razskazoff]

i don't think the livewell has anything to do with the leak.

[Sandmannd]

I've taken my boat down to Bakken's Boat Shop when I had a problem. They do great work and are very reasonable.