found leak finally
 

I have alway had some amount of water in the bilge of my 2000 35' Fountain classic. At first I thought it was from the ice chest. But last week end I didn't put anything in the ice chest and still had a couple of gallons of water in the bilge after a days boating in the ocean. I tasted the water and it was salty. I had the boat in for service and mentioned this to my mechanic. He looked and said that the water was coming in through the seal on the gimbal shaft where it pivots for the steering. You could see the stains there where the water had been coming in. I am having it fix now, and hope to have a dry bilge next time out. I will report back with the final results.
David

Sounds fairly familiar....:D

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=170934

Hope your results are as good as mine! Water in the bilge SUCKS!

I finally pulled the carpeting up in my cabin and cut a small access hole in the floor after trying for months to contact fountain to ask what to do about water in the bilge. The plywood in the floor is wet and warped. The fiberglass is fine but the whole problem could have been avoided if they put an access door in the cabin floor like there is on the depthfinder compartment.