Newbie Question- Water in Bilge

[indy]

I am new to power boating and have been experiencing problems with water in the bilge albeit never enough to trigger the bilge pumps. While I have been told that’s normal and to expect some, I was determined to see just how and where it was coming from.
After checking all hoses and thruhulls I think I may have found the reason and I was hoping for some suggestions as to where to start on fixing the problem.
I am running an express cruiser with Volvo Penta 5.7GXI DP stern drives and have noticed a slow drip coming in from the transom area just behind the port engine. It appears to be coming from the area where the steering (tiller) arm connects to the drives through the transom. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[marshmat]

You might have a seal or two starting to get a bit worn. But every single sterndrive boat I have ever seen carries water in the bilge, always. If the pumps can't reach it, the only way is by bucket and sponge. But if anything looks out of the ordinary around that transom unit, by all means try to figure out what's wrong. Finding and fixing a leaky seal is a lot cheaper and easier than finding and fixing a bearing that seized because of an unrepaired leaky seal.

[indy]

Thanks Matt, Yes the bucket and sponge has come in handy, but a real pain! It drips while underway or at the dock. I assume to correctly repair the seal I will have to haul the boat out and remove the drive ? Doesn't sound like a DIY job, but as you say better now than later. Any thoughts as to the cost of such a job ?

Indy