343 rudder leak?

[windrushjim]

Our 2008 343 has always had a dry bilge, but this year we are collecting about 2/3 cup of sea water on a motor run of 3 hours in fairly choppy water, say 3-4 ft swells. Meanwhile, not a drop of sea water showed up in the bilge when motoring back the exact same trip in very calm waters. My first thought was leaky thru hulls, especially the ones above the water line. I've hung towels and rags around all over to check the thru hulls-- not a hint of leaks via thru hulls. Next suspicion was the dripless prop shaft seal. No sign of any water drips there-- ever. The leaking water appears under the fuel tank, in the depression under the dripless prop shaft seal, and sometimes a little water spills over to the next forward hull rib, about even with front of the 3YM30. No leaking water collects ahead of that point in the boat. The raw water pump seal is not leaking-- the weep hole area is free of corrosion. I tied towell strips to the two hoses connected to the bottom of the raw water filter-- bone dry. BTW, when sitting at the dock, never a hint of leakage, whether raw water and shaft cooling water seacocks are open or closed.

So I'm getting very suspicious of water entering somehow via the rudder shaft. I have put a towell just forward of the bulkhead in front of the rudder tube assembly and the towell comes up dry. But the boat's structure in the vacinity of that rudder tube seems pretty complex and not easy to reach for trouble shooting purposes.

I'd love to hear from someone who also has had this problem, and I am especially looking for help on how/where to access to get to the top of the rudder tube to see if this is really where the water is coming from.

Thanks to anyone who has any suggestions?