Lots of water coming into the bow... docking lights or bow eye?

[phenom_1819]

I have an '07 Supra 22 with the walk-through bow. Whenever we run with 3+ people in the bow, we end up with standing water over the floorboards, only in the bow. Happens without fail, every time. The boat is not even overloaded, and water does not come in anywhere but in the bow.

When I reach far forward under the bow, it feels wet all the way up... which leads me to believe it's most likely one of two things: leaking docking-lights or the metal bow-eye.

Has anybody had this problem? And was it the docking lights, the bow eye, or something else??

Thanks in advance.

Cal

[lowdrag]

Have you ever checked to see if the lights or eye are below the water level? I would think you'd have to severely weight the front of the boat to even get those points below the water line, to the point I'd feel uncomfortable driving the boat because of how it would be sitting in the water. Just a thought, but if you've got that much water in the front, you'd have to have that much water in the rest of the hull. Sounds like you've got water coming in from somewhere but putting 3+ people up front just makes it more obvious

[riveredge]

With the boat out of the water you could unscrew the docking lights to see if they're caulked or sealed somehow. Same with the bow eye, but it's probably harder to get to the nuts on the inside of the hull. It's gotta be one of those two things, though, unless you have some other hole up there. My '89 bravura sits with the bow about 10" above the water without any weight up there, and some water does come in around the lifting eye when I dive it into waves accidentally. Caulking solved that problem instantly.

[phenom_1819]

Thanks for the replies. I have inspected it while underway... the bow eye is underwater with three people in the bow, while the docking lights are not underwater.

I believe the water is coming in at slow speeds, as we're driving back to pick up a fallen rider... the water will curl off the bow and go well above the level of the docking lights. The bow eye is underwater all the time with 3 people in the bow. The docking lights seem the most logical to me, I just figure somebody else has to have had the same problem and I'm sure there is an easy fix... if it is the docking lights, I also don't know if the failure could be in the caulking behind the baseplates of the lights, or if it is the simple seal around the lens cover.

Trust me, the boat is not overloaded... and water is not coming in elsewhere. I'm 100% positive it is limited to the nose of the bow, and hopefully one of those two things. If it's not the bow eye or the docking lights, my only other thought is it could be coming through the sandwiched connection between the hull and deck, behind the rub-rail. But I think that's a long-shot....

Keep 'em coming!

[phenom_1819]

Apparently it's less common than I thought! I took apart the lights today -- that definitely seems to be where the water has been coming in. There was caulking on one light, but not the other. I re-caulked both, just to be certain. We'll see how well it holds up.

[Diggs]

hey cal,
i had the same experience with my 07 22.... I always assumed it was from the docking lights as well. i just wrapped everything in those compartments in garbage bags (mostly just orange life vests) and opened it up on occassion to dry it out.... I never went to the work to pull the lights out, but that is exactly what I figured it was... the 22 nose dips so low that those lights get a lot of water on them and around them....