hey guys i have an 87 ranger fisherman that has started taking on water. I noticed it the last few times out so last time i was very careful not to get any water in the boat and i still had about two gallons come out when i pulled the plug. I crawled under the boat while it was on the trailer and i did not see any cracks or holes in the bottom. This has always been a very dry boat, I never have water when i pull the plug it just started the last few weeks. Is there anything else i can check before i hit the ranger dealer?

thanks,

JW

livewell and bilge pump fittings. these things get brittle over time and will crack.

Does your boat have intake ports for aerators? Mine was doing the same thing and I finally tracked it down to a crack in the 90 degree fitting coming out of the port aerator pump.

Ha, Blu-Ranger beat me to it by 2 minutes!

So start at the bilge and aerator pumps and track them and see if they are leaking? It does have intake ports for aerators, not sure where they are i will have to do some looking.

thanks for the help,

jw

if you haven't replaced the aerator and bilge pumps and hoses, this would be a good time to do so remove your batteries and have fun working upside down

If the transom is weak it could be coming from it. check to see if it is leaking around the mount bolts or the other fittings attached.

I had to get my boat out on the water and stick my head down in the bilge
area and just watch for the leak. It was fairly good size so for me it
was clear where it was.

Thanks for all of the tips guys, i will look at all of the above and let you know what i find.

thanks again,

jw

I had a very slow leak, and finally found it by putting about 5 gal water in the boat while sitting on the trailer in my driveway. The water leaked out the same way it was leaking in while in the lake. It was a bad o-ring on the screw-in hull drain plug.

The deckplate in the splashwell on mine was the source....some silicone and the leak was gone.

sometimes the speedo hose leaks

If the above suggestions don't resolve the issue, check the underside of the rub rail where the rub rail meets the hull, especially from the seats back to the stern and around to the motor. The caulking can become brittle and crack.

Water can be forced through the cracks especially on takeoff and when stopping.