I have a i/o boat with a 89 ford 2.3l engine. I am getting water in my oil
Could this be caused by anything other than a cracked block or blown head gasket? If not is there a way to troubleshoot without tearing it down to the headgasket?

Thanks for any suggestions

I'm sure there are other ways it could happen, but the most likely is the HG.

Some engines, typically Ford and Dodge have a tendancy to build up condensation... probably a breathing problem of some sort. It depends on how much water is in the oil... if there is a white froth built up on the oil spout/cap, it could just be from condensation and water vapor. Again, it depends on how much water is in the oil

Foamy crap and sludge = condensation (not bringing engine up to temperature for water to boil out of oil or PCV system not working right)

Water in oil when you drain the pan or oil turning to milkshake = blown HG or water getting into the boat and flooding through the seals (if that's possible), sorry I don't know a lot about boats but I doubt that your boat is flooding or you would be less worried about the engine!

I concur with Jlewis. People don't realize that running an engine cold will cause water vapor to condense inside the engine. That can happen if you only run a cold engine for a couple of minutes and then turn it off, OR if your thermostat is stuck wide open. Usually when a thermostat goes bad, it almost always becomes stuck closed. The possibility is that perhaps you don't even have a thermostat installed? Check to see if one is even installed on the engine.

Do you notice any strange looking stuff in the coolant? If the head gasket is defective, or if a cylinder is cracked you would see a slow accumulation of brown "stuff" in the coolant. There is another way to check for leaks, but most auto shops don't sell a leak-down tester that airplane mechanics use.