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Water in Toon

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ABarbarian

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A couple of weeks ago I was moving by trailer in my driveway and heard water swoosh in the nose cone area on starboard side. I thought I had noticed it running a tad slow and nose heavy. Not extreme, but due to some of the other boats I’ve had, I’d consider myself pretty in tune with that stuff. Brought it to my dealer and they said they’d have it smoke tested. After 2 weeks, I checked with them and it was an “oh yea, it’s done. No leaks.” 1st- how long were you going to wait to call me? 2nd and most importantly- now what? They said they smoke tested and didn’t find anything. Then put it in their little private lake and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Charged me $450 in labor time. In the end, they told me it was probably condensation since I leave it in the water much of the time. It’s been eating at me and just went outside and wiggled the front. I just can’t believe it can condensate so much you can hear it. Enough that I think I should drill a hole and get it out and have it welded up.

I’d like to hear some feedback and any related stories from owners. How much water can really accumulate from condensation? I’m not sure I even believe they smoke tested.
 
I moved my trailer with pontoon on it when I picked it up from storage this year. I also heard some “water” swoosh type sounds. This was before I put it in the water for the season and thus it was sitting inside for ~8 months.
I was wondering if what I was really hearing was some sort of echo from small amount of condensation or possible some fuel in the tank? Everything seems magnified by the Aluminum. Mine seems to run fine. Do you have a center toon? Is it out of balance in the water?
 
It doesn’t seem out of balance at rest. It can’t be the fuel. It’s back port side. Swooshing is nose starboard.
 
ABarbarian said:
A couple of weeks ago I was moving by trailer in my driveway and heard water swoosh in the nose cone area on starboard side. I thought I had noticed it running a tad slow and nose heavy. Not extreme, but due to some of the other boats I’ve had, I’d consider myself pretty in tune with that stuff. Brought it to my dealer and they said they’d have it smoke tested. After 2 weeks, I checked with them and it was an “oh yea, it’s done. No leaks.” 1st- how long were you going to wait to call me? 2nd and most importantly- now what? They said they smoke tested and didn’t find anything. Then put it in their little private lake and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Charged me $450 in labor time. In the end, they told me it was probably condensation since I leave it in the water much of the time. It’s been eating at me and just went outside and wiggled the front. I just can’t believe it can condensate so much you can hear it. Enough that I think I should drill a hole and get it out and have it welded up.

I’d like to hear some feedback and any related stories from owners. How much water can really accumulate from condensation? I’m not sure I even believe they smoke tested.
Click to expand...
I just bought a 2003 Bennington, no leaks but I saw where you take a shop vac and such out any water. YouTube it
 
ABarbarian said:
A couple of weeks ago I was moving by trailer in my driveway and heard water swoosh in the nose cone area on starboard side. I thought I had noticed it running a tad slow and nose heavy. Not extreme, but due to some of the other boats I’ve had, I’d consider myself pretty in tune with that stuff. Brought it to my dealer and they said they’d have it smoke tested. After 2 weeks, I checked with them and it was an “oh yea, it’s done. No leaks.” 1st- how long were you going to wait to call me? 2nd and most importantly- now what? They said they smoke tested and didn’t find anything. Then put it in their little private lake and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Charged me $450 in labor time. In the end, they told me it was probably condensation since I leave it in the water much of the time. It’s been eating at me and just went outside and wiggled the front. I just can’t believe it can condensate so much you can hear it. Enough that I think I should drill a hole and get it out and have it welded up.

I’d like to hear some feedback and any related stories from owners. How much water can really accumulate from condensation? I’m not sure I even believe they smoke tested.
Click to expand...
If you are the original owner ,there is a Lifetime Structural Warranty .
Here is the phone number for Bennington, 888 906 2628. Have your Hull ID if you call .
 
Jack M said:
If you are the original owner ,there is a Lifetime Structural Warranty .
Here is the phone number for Bennington, 888 906 2628. Have your Hull ID if you call .
Click to expand...
We talked about that when I dropped it off at the dealer. But they say it passed the pressure test so there isn't a warranty issue. I'm just not sure they actually pressure tested it. Just sounds like more than a cup or 2 of water in the nose and condensation just isn't going to give you more than a 8-10oz and that isn't swooshing.
 
I convinced myself last night that I need to find an aluminum welder and bring it to him. We'll drill a hole, drain all the water and actually see how much is/was in there, maybe pressure test it ourselves, and then weld it up.
 
ABarbarian said:
I convinced myself last night that I need to find an aluminum welder and bring it to him. We'll drill a hole, drain all the water and actually see how much is/was in there, maybe pressure test it ourselves, and then weld it up.
Click to expand...
Abarbarian we had a 2003 Bennington that had water in the starboard tube. Took it to an aluminum tig welder and he drilled a hole and gallons poured out! He welded a threaded bung hole in case we needed it to drain it in the future. After extensive testing and searching he couldn't figure out how the water got in there in the first place! Took him about a half hour to finish! Screenshot_20260620-110017.png
 
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I can appreciate your thought process on this and with your dealer. That front nose cone is a pretty small one, and as you mentioned, sealed off from the other chambers. Is there any chance the dealership didn’t pressure test the front nose cone - maybe just the back to chambered sections? Did they assure you they pressure tested every chamber? Any chance maybe a newer tech got handed the job, and they only pressure tested the more accessible big chambers (middle & rear)? Just gets me wondering too…

Overall, the cost of what you want to get done is pretty minimal. So that’s the good news if moving forward that way. I would also keep it documented if possible - if the welder drills the hole and drains it, document in detail/video how much comes out. If indeed you are correct, perhaps circle back to the dealership to talk to them about the situation then?
 
Jeff you you got me thinking. ( lol ) All chambers are sealed , and the nose is also sealed . But I have seen the plugs on the top of the toons to pressure ck . ( OP stated Smoke Test ,thats new to me ) But on my current and previous Benningtons, I don't recall seeing a plug on the nose on any of them . In my defense, I don't remember what I had for breakfast either.
 
ABarbarian said:
A couple of weeks ago I was moving by trailer in my driveway and heard water swoosh in the nose cone area on starboard side. I thought I had noticed it running a tad slow and nose heavy. Not extreme, but due to some of the other boats I’ve had, I’d consider myself pretty in tune with that stuff. Brought it to my dealer and they said they’d have it smoke tested. After 2 weeks, I checked with them and it was an “oh yea, it’s done. No leaks.” 1st- how long were you going to wait to call me? 2nd and most importantly- now what? They said they smoke tested and didn’t find anything. Then put it in their little private lake and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Charged me $450 in labor time. In the end, they told me it was probably condensation since I leave it in the water much of the time. It’s been eating at me and just went outside and wiggled the front. I just can’t believe it can condensate so much you can hear it. Enough that I think I should drill a hole and get it out and have it welded up.

I’d like to hear some feedback and any related stories from owners. How much water can really accumulate from condensation? I’m not sure I even believe they smoke tested.
Click to expand...
Another question, what year is your Bennington?
 
It’s a 2018. And I’m not convinced they pressure tested the nose cone. Great idea on the video. If more than a cup comes out, my plan is to go back to the dealer and ask for the GM and sit down and have a civil adult conversation with my video and just see what he says. Give him a chance to make it right.
 
ABarbarian said:
I convinced myself last night that I need to find an aluminum welder and bring it to him. We'll drill a hole, drain all the water and actually see how much is/was in there, maybe pressure test it ourselves, and then weld it up.
Click to expand...
You can also try the propane gas level check and pour a cup or bucket of hot / boiling water over the side of the tube from the top down and then feel the tube to where it goes from feeling hot (no water) to where it feels cool and that should give you an idea of how much water you have in the tube.
 
HMMMMMM

mtudb24 said:
You can also try the propane gas level check and pour a cup or bucket of hot / boiling water over the side of the tube from the top down and then feel the tube to where it goes from feeling hot (no water) to where it feels cool and that should give you an idea of how much water you have in the tube.
Click to expand...
 
This is what little I know:
Some customer service people might talk smart but not be smart. A bubble test will pinpoint a leak. The air pressure from a shop vac will not bust a pontoon. Getting air pressure into the top mounted vent might be challenging. Flexible tubing and duct tape might be involved.
 
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