2008 340 Wet Stringers

JBD Regina Marie

JBD Regina Marie

New Member
Dec 3, 2016
29
Catawba Island OH
Boat Info
2008 340 Sportsman package
Engines
T 8.1 V Drive
I had a survey 6 years ago, found no water intrusion. Pulled the boat for the winter (heated storage every winter) and found one motor shifted, stringers are not solid enough to hold the bolts in the motor mount. My mechanic found up 60% to 100% saturation in all 4 stringers.

This ever happened to anyone? How does it happen? Mechanic is restoring with Seacast. Anyone ever have this done?
MyBoat.jpeg
 
Do you normally have a lot of water in the bilge? Water can weep from a non-sealed hole somewhere, but only if there is water down there. Is it possible that the surveyor just missed the start of something bad like this?
 
JBD Regina Marie said:
I had a survey 6 years ago, found no water intrusion. Pulled the boat for the winter (heated storage every winter) and found one motor shifted, stringers are not solid enough to hold the bolts in the motor mount. My mechanic found up 60% to 100% saturation in all 4 stringers.

This ever happened to anyone? How does it happen? Mechanic is restoring with Seacast. Anyone ever have this done?
View attachment 119301
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sorry you're going through this. I can't say I've heard many stories on the later models, especially those mid-late 2000's

It can be hard to do but definitely try to find out where the water or moisture is originating so it doesn't do more damage.
 
Have you ever noticed your bilge pump running regularly? That sounds like an awful lot of damage...I'd imagine you have quite a leak someplace?
 
My guess is you leave your boat uncovered 24/7 and the rain water finds its way into the bilge. Fresh water will rot would faster than salt water. If your bilge pumps aren't up to par the problem gets worse.
 
Shenanigans77 said:
These horror stories are why im religous about keeping the bilge dry. Any sign of water and im in there shop vac’ing away.
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same. One of the worst yet most satisfying things ever is finding and remediating sources of bilge water on a new boat. It took me a while on our 290 because the rubrail was leaking, much easier on our 410...just a few screw holes and the transom shower caulk was dried out. Its amazing how easily water will find its way in
 
Strecker25 said:
same. One of the worst yet most satisfying things ever is finding and remediating sources of bilge water on a new boat. It took me a while on our 290 because the rubrail was leaking, much easier on our 410...just a few screw holes and the transom shower caulk was dried out. Its amazing how easily water will find its way in
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Took me two fricken years to figure out my hot water heater had a slow leak...at the TOP! Ahhh...boating....
 
Stee6043 said:
Took me two fricken years to figure out my hot water heater had a slow leak...at the TOP! Ahhh...boating....
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LOL wow thats a new one. Mine was a pinhole on the bottom way towards the back, only way I found it was by pressurizing each leg of the freshwater system and watching for 30 minutes while the gauge dropped. so frustrating
 
Here's some additional information:

1- I don't have dripless shaft seals, so there is always a bit of water in the bilge. In fact most days when I go to the boat and stand on the swim platform the bilge pump kicks on for a few seconds. Also after trolling for hours and then get on plane the pump runs for a bit.
2- I do leave it uncovered.
3- The bilge pump does not get the bilge completely dry, there is always a half inch or so of water in it.
4- Not sure that it matters, but I do put 400 hrs per year on my boat.
Finally, the mechanic services my boat at the dock twice per year and never said anything looked wrong/bad in regard to water.
 
mrsrobinson said:
And I have been listening to YOUR advice about buying my next boat? ;-)
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Hah...ahh you're spot on. That made me laugh out loud.

Man...that water heater was a trip. Such a slow leak, only under pressure...brutal. It wasn't until I was parked particularly bow-high in winter storage last year, with a full water tank, that I was finally able to see the dang thing.
 
JBD Regina Marie said:
Here's some additional information:

1- I don't have dripless shaft seals, so there is always a bit of water in the bilge. In fact most days when I go to the boat and stand on the swim platform the bilge pump kicks on for a few seconds. Also after trolling for hours and then get on plane the pump runs for a bit.
2- I do leave it uncovered.
3- The bilge pump does not get the bilge completely dry, there is always a half inch or so of water in it.
4- Not sure that it matters, but I do put 400 hrs per year on my boat.
Finally, the mechanic services my boat at the dock twice per year and never said anything looked wrong/bad in regard to water.
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I'm shocked they're not dripless on a 2008. what seals does the boat have?
 
Strecker25 said:
I'm shocked they're not dripless on a 2008. what seals does the boat have?
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That is odd. I looked up the model archives for the 08 340DA and it specifically mentions dripless seals. So what happened that they are apparently not dripless?
 
TTG said:
That is odd. I looked up the model archives for the 08 340DA and it specifically mentions dripless seals. So what happened that they are apparently not dripless?
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I meant this question for the OP. Sorry.
 
JBD, this is quite the rarity in these boats (to have rotten stringers). It's just not something that you see/hear of very often, at all. Getting enough water into the bilge in just a couple hours to kick the pump on is not normal, either. Once you get this repaired, you definitely want to track down the source. While leaving the boat uncovered increases the chances of water getting into the bilge, it doesn't really explain the rotten stringers.

Yes, a bilge pump can't evacuate all the water. Use a shop vac and/or towels and then monitor closely. You wrap paper towels (for example) in key areas - even if they would dry up, you can still tell that they had gotten wet. I think, given how fast water is entering (based on your comments), though, that just spending some time in the bilge may show you something.

Regarding the stringers... if water was continually dripping on the motor mounts, though, that could explain the rot. Corrosion/rust would set in around the hardware and start to allow water to seep in. But again, you'll have to play detective and figure out where/how/why water is getting in there. You may want to get into the bilge while someone uses a hose to simulate rain.
 
Shenanigans77 said:
These horror stories are why im religous about keeping the bilge dry. Any sign of water and im in there shop vac’ing away.
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I had to give shit to the guys who keep pulling my drain plug when they took the boat out this fall. I said I have a dry bilge and he said well you would be the only boat in the marina :eek:
 
JBD Regina Marie said:
Here's some additional information:

1- I don't have dripless shaft seals, so there is always a bit of water in the bilge. In fact most days when I go to the boat and stand on the swim platform the bilge pump kicks on for a few seconds. Also after trolling for hours and then get on plane the pump runs for a bit.
2- I do leave it uncovered.
3- The bilge pump does not get the bilge completely dry, there is always a half inch or so of water in it.
4- Not sure that it matters, but I do put 400 hrs per year on my boat.
Finally, the mechanic services my boat at the dock twice per year and never said anything looked wrong/bad in regard to water.
Click to expand...
My guess is they are "no longer dripless" as a boat that year should have them. Might want to get that checked out. So if there is standing water in your bilge, water can get to the stringers via unsealed holes. Take a look for anything in the stringers that is unsealed and that may be where your problem starts. Good luck.
 
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