Bracket leaking bad

[Jacktrop99]

About 2 months ago I took out the bracket drain plug on my 1990 228g and a crap tone of water came out and it rode like a dream it felt like my Yamaha 200 was a 225. But it was sitting on a dry stack for a week and in the water for a day and then it feels like the bracket is full of water again. The bolts on the bracket have a sealant looking thing around them that's peeling off and same for the bracket. I want a cheap fix for the bracket but something that's not crappy if you know what I mean.

 

[ROBERTH]

It took me about a year to figure out the areas where water was seeping in my bracket. I sealed with 4200 around the bracket and bolts, used teflon tape on the drain plug for the bracket. This helped, but was still gettting some water in. Finally, I figured out the round pop outs were leaking in water. I replaced them with the screw in type and have not had a drop come in since.

 

[PointedRose]

If there is water intrusion you’re going to want to deal with it sooner than later. Not sure there is any cheap fix really unless you have access to some equipment to lift the engine off, take the bracket off, and really assess it. A few tubes of sealant isn’t going to break the bank, but if you need to pay someone else to do it, it’s paying for the use of equipment and the time/materials. Start with local people you know that might be able to help you out. Once the engine off you can assess if the transom needs any work which you might as well do if you have the engine off and get it to where the boat lasts as long as you want to keep it. If you don’t have the resources to get to the bottom of the issue, I’d suggest considering selling the boat and finding another one that isn’t risky. You could probably build a gantry system to get the engine off, but do your research and get some help. If you don’t know anyone locally, can’t afford to pay a marina/boatyard, throw an ad for Craigslist but I’d supervise the entire process if going that route.

 

[Halfhitch]

On the cheap ..... fill the bracket with table tennis balls........fill the bracket by stuffing some yoga balls in and inflating to 5 lbs or so...........get a scrap piece of styrofoam from a marina and chop it up in small pieces and fill the bracket...... fill the bracket with anything that is non absorbent, light weight and can be installed/removed easily. Your imagination is the limit. McGiver was cool!

 

[Fishtales]

Could you foam the bracket with a product that does not absorb water?

 

[ROBERTH]

Why go to all the troubles filling with something. That is just a bandaid. Find the culprit and Seal it right and be done with it. As mentioned, check the access hatch after making sure it is properly sealed. Maintenance is always present on a boat.

 

[leeccoll]

I pulled my bracket off a few years ago and sand and saltwater came a gushing out. I epoxied the bolt holes in the transom, then liberal amounts of 4200 to make a nice bead between the bracket and transom.

After that, I filled up the bracket with light weight ping pong balls in case water ever found a way in, and help with buoyancy.

I then used 5200 on the round inspection plate with the 5 screws in it for the best adhesion I could think of. Those screws were not very robust in my opinion.

It is still water tight, but I periodically check by just pushing the bracket side to side and listening for sloshing.

If you pull your bracket and re seal it, you will gain peace of mind.

 

[wrxhoon]

If your boat is on a trailer fill the bracket with water then you will be able to see where it leaks from. If no water comes out then it is the inspection plate on the top.

 

[ROBERTH]

Leecoll, doesn't yours have the drain plugs on the bottom? Mine is the Springfield bracket with swim platform over the top which covers one of the 3 inspection plates. It has 2 drain plugs on the bottom, which I had to replace since they were a nightmare to remove when I first purchased my boat. I now remove them periodically and use some thread sealant to help ensure they don't get bound up again. So far, after finding the leaking in the pop in type inspection plates, the screw in types seal better. I also used elastomeric sealant which is the best around for adhering to the plastics, including starboard material.

 

[leeccoll]

Hi Roberth,

Mine are permanently bonded to the bracket, the PO never maintained them, and I didn't feel like going through the effort of drilling and tapping them. Also had it powder coated while it was removed, so it is what it is in my case

Hope you are doing well!