How much water is "normal" in the bilge area?  We took our new boat out Sat and it ran great.  However, it did have some water in the bilge area.  Maybe an inch or 2 at most.  Is this normal?  

thanks

Larry

Some boats leak and some don't.  When I bought my present boat it took on water at an alarming rate.  I had the major problem repaired but it still takes on a couple of inches in the course of six hours on the water.  That's not enough to bother me.  Does your boat have a bilge pump?  It's also possible that the water you are seeing came from splash over the gunnells.  If it were me, I would take the boat out again and check it every half hour or so while keeping in mind the type of boating I was doing.  Good luck w the new toy.

Thanks for your reply.  I do think it is coming in from the gunnel overflow.  I didn't know how to refer to that area.  I do have a pump.

thanks

Larry

If it's stored outside it could come from rain water that collected in the hull.

It could come from the launching process.

You could have a leaking fitting in your livewell plumbing.

You could have leaking engine mounting bolts.

You could have a leaking through-hull fitting at the back of the boat.

If the boat is aluminum the hull itself could be leaking.

If you have any accesories like a transducer or speedometer mounted to the transom, the screw holes for those may not have been sealed properly and could be leaking.

I run my bilge about once an hour just to get rid of any water that has collected. A couple of inches is nothing to be concerned with.

Any leaks on a new boat should be addressed immediately.Back to dealer. 8-)

Plug off you live wells so no water goes in and don't run the pumps and see how much you get.  Very common to get leaks around them and to have them loose there seal at the top so water can splash out.  Half the boats I've owned got some water in the bilge if I used the live wells.  I've had as much as two or three gallons run out  when fished all day after loading the boat and pulling the drain plug, and have almost none run out if I didn't use the livewells.  For where the fittings, hoses and pumps are on most of them, it ain't worth the trouble to fix them unless you're getting a serious leak.