Motor Bracket Leaking?

bls-fla

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I have a Gulfstream, 23' with twin Yamaha 150s on a bracket. Last week during several days of heavy rain both of my bilge pumps quit and the boat filled with enough water to fill the bilge and put about 12" of water in the cabin. In the end there was very little damage, two waterproof fuse holders but that's about it. However, she's now sitting 1" to 2" lower in the water at the stern, enough to submerge the scuppers. I've looked in all the access panels and I've taken her out and drained everything I could but no change. It may be a coincidence that I recently had the boat out and refinished the motor bracket. I saw no problems and didn't open any access panels or remove the bracket. I recaulked the joint between the transom and the bracket. I don't know yet if there's water in the bracket but if so, where would it get in?
 
top access plate. i had water in mine. sealed the plate with high quality sealant and no water since then (remove it and seal correctly, not just around the perimeter). i opened the bottom drain plug annually to let any water out. good luck, ron
 
Thanks Ron. I'm going to open the access plate to see if there's water in there and I suspect there is. I'll make sure it's sealed properly then. I wonder if a previous owner might have drilled a hole through the back of the transom and penetrated the bracket box. If that's true it wouldn't have leaked until the bilge filled up. It's a theory.
 
Even if the bracket is full of water, it shouldn't effect the boat that much. It sounds like there is a leak in the bracket and a leak from one of the bolts going through the transom. Are there stains around one of the bolts? Even if the scuppers are under water, the deck should be above water.
 
Could have easily gotten water over the stringers and onto the sections under floor that have the foam, but have some space that would allow water to sit. Suggestion is to pull out on a trailer and find a very steep ramp and let it sit at a high angle for a bit and see what water you can get drained out that way, then pull the plugs to the bracket also.
The bracket should be seperate from the bilge due to transom as the seperator unless I haven't seen your model before and don't understand the configuration. Just my .02. 8)
 
the cockpit is not sealed so if enough water got in to submerge the scuppers i'm sure it would find it's way into the bilge. on my current boat, about 2 inches of water in the cockpit without the scuppers off loading and water will find it's way to the bilge.

on the 232, the twin bracket was huge and could hold a lot of water if it had easy access. that much weight (with the engines) could hold the scuppers further (already below wl) down. good luck, ron
 
I would guess your bracket access plate leaked. It's easy to open and check.
 
I would guess your bracket access plate leaked. It's easy to open and check.