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Mystery water in bilge

bgary

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
Tom Metzger said:
...water siphoned into the bilge when powering because the stern squats down and puts the thru hull below the water.
Click to expand...

Innnteresting.

I'm halfway tempted to pull the hoses off both bilge-pump thru-hulls, put bungs in them temporarily and motor around for a bit (forward and reverse) just to see if I can exclude them entirely from the list of possible sources...

My "instinct" (for whatever that's worth) is that the manual bilge pump acts like a gigantic check-valve for any water coming from the stern... but maybe that's not the case for the electric bilge pump, plumbed to the next thru-hull over.

Hmmm
 
Kenneth K

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
bgary said:
My "instinct" (for whatever that's worth) is that the manual bilge pump acts like a gigantic check-valve for any water coming from the stern... but maybe that's not the case for the electric bilge pump, plumbed to the next thru-hull over.

Hmmm
Click to expand...

I think you're probably right about the manual bilge pump being a one way system. But also, the leak may not be occurring "through" any particular length of the bilge hose. It could be leaking at any threaded joint or any hose clamp or any split in any particular hose along the way. A leak like that would run along the bottom of the hose where you wouldn't be able to see it, or along the bottom of the hull.
 
Joliba

Joliba

1988 E38-200 Contributing Member
Sorry to jump in here so late...But did you confirm that it was sea water getting into the bilge? I had a similar mystery on a boat about 25 years ago. I thought the boat could sink when I wasn't there, but the bilge only filled while sailing. It turned out to be a crack near the top of my fresh water tank that only sloshed out water while heeled or bouncing around in waves. Just a thought.
Mike Jacker
 
E

e38 owner

Member III
Do you get water in the bilge when engine runs but not in gear in slip
Do you get water engine in forward in slip
Do you get water engine in reverse in slip
Do you have a hose clamp on the shaft as a safety for the dripless below
Do you get engine vibration at different rpm
Do you get water sailing no engine
 
F

fool

Member III
Kenneth K said:
I've always been curious: What does the vent tube do? Mine doesn't have one.
Click to expand...

For vessels under 10 knots engine speed the vent "burps" air from the seal after launch. Those without one might have to remember to "burp" the air manually at the bellows.

For vessels over 10 knots engine speed water is injected through the vent into the seal and purged out of the shaft during operations. This will cool and lubricate the seal.
 
P

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Stuffing Box on Helm Shaft

Hi Bruce
Ah.. I had the stuff box on the rudder post leak at about twenty years. Forgot about it as it was easy to find. The rear berth upholstery was wet where it touched the rudder post.
Good luck. You will find it.
Best Regards
Pat
1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 
Christian Williams

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
To see if a dripless is leaking under power, just lay a paper towel under it. They put out a radial spray pattern if there is debris between the contact plates, or perhaps if the bellows is slack.

The plates can be cleared with a quick swipe of rag (sea water will come in).

These things shouldn't leak. If the cause of the leak isn't obvious, I'd have it looked at right away. Total failure of a DSS will sink the boat.
 
Mark F

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Bruce,

Your idea of plugging the transom through-hulls for test purpose sounds good. I would stick plugs in from the exterior and not disconnect the hoses. On an E23 Mk1 I had water showing up in the bilge when sailing hard or motoring fast. It took quite a while to figure it out but it ended up being a transom through-hull that past through the multiple layers of the transom. The external fitting had an extension sleeve that leaked when the stern wave got higher than the through-hull. In a quick and dirty attempt to check if that was the issue I goobed some sealant in with my finger and it stopped the leak, completely.
 
oldfauser

oldfauser

Member III
Mystery water in the bilge

I know this is an older post; thought i would add our solution for future searches! Cockpit scupper drain hoses that drain under the sink... we had a tear in ours - lots of "mystery " water in the bilge, quarter berth...
 
Last edited:
bgary

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
oldfauser said:
add our solution for future searches...cockpit scupper drain hoses
Click to expand...

It's funny (or, at least, timely) you should mention that.

I continue to be fascinated by how much water comes into my boat when it rains. I've actually isolated the forward bilge pocket from the main bilge, so I know how much water is coming down inside the mast vs. water that is coming in... some other way. I still get 2-3 gallons of water in the main bilge in a good rain which, lately has been several times a week around here.

I've investigated all the usual suspects. mast boot is good, no signs of water coming in through hatches or portlights or deadlights, no water in any of the places (dinette/settee lockers) that would indicate hull/deck or stanchion-base issues, no wet headliner foam under any of the deck hardware. Etc.

I've noticed there's always a puddle on the floor of the sail locker (starboard lazarette), so I taped the edges of the hatch with preservation tape a while back to see if it was coming in through there. Reduced the amount of water a little, but not enough to convince me that was "the source".

On a whim, I taped over the outboard cockpit scuppers a couple of weeks ago before leaving on some travel. Checked the boat on Saturday, and main bilge was almost dry. Forward pocket had 6" of clear water in it, so I *know* it rained while I was gone, but... almost no water in the main bilge.

So... apparently, a lot of the rain that falls into the cockpit is finding its way into the boat by way of the OUTboard scupper hoses - the ones that lead to the counter under the transom. I'll replace those in the next couple of weeks, and then repeat the experiment, sealing the INboard scuppers - the ones that go to a thru-hull under the sink - to see if that's "the rest of the story".

$.02
Bruce
 
bigd14

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Rudder deck plate?

I had a similar issue and suspected the rudder deck plate/bearing. While dropping the rudder I rebedded the plate and found wet core (left it alone for now) so clearly water was getting under it. I thought rebedding would solve the issue, but alas, I realized it also leaks through the screw in cover plate. I need to figure out what substance applied to the threads will stop water ingress but still allow removal of the plate. I should note that water ponds slightly here due to the new scupper ball valve grates I installed. They don’t quite fit flush.
 
oldfauser

oldfauser

Member III
bgary said:
It's funny (or, at least, timely) you should mention that.

I continue to be fascinated by how much water comes into my boat when it rains. I've actually isolated the forward bilge pocket from the main bilge, so I know how much water is coming down inside the mast vs. water that is coming in... some other way. I still get 2-3 gallons of water in the main bilge in a good rain which, lately has been several times a week around here.

I've investigated all the usual suspects. mast boot is good, no signs of water coming in through hatches or portlights or deadlights, no water in any of the places (dinette/settee lockers) that would indicate hull/deck or stanchion-base issues, no wet headliner foam under any of the deck hardware. Etc.

I've noticed there's always a puddle on the floor of the sail locker (starboard lazarette), so I taped the edges of the hatch with preservation tape a while back to see if it was coming in through there. Reduced the amount of water a little, but not enough to convince me that was "the source".

On a whim, I taped over the outboard cockpit scuppers a couple of weeks ago before leaving on some travel. Checked the boat on Saturday, and main bilge was almost dry. Forward pocket had 6" of clear water in it, so I *know* it rained while I was gone, but... almost no water in the main bilge.

So... apparently, a lot of the rain that falls into the cockpit is finding its way into the boat by way of the OUTboard scupper hoses - the ones that lead to the counter under the transom. I'll replace those in the next couple of weeks, and then repeat the experiment, sealing the INboard scuppers - the ones that go to a thru-hull under the sink - to see if that's "the rest of the story".

$.02
Bruce
Click to expand...


the outer scupper drains are connected to the "T" that drains under the sink on the E32-3 that i sail on (routed different than what is shown in the manual!) - we had two small holes in the hoses! check them by pouring a bucket of water in the cockpit with the hatches open to watch the hoses - We could see the water running in!
 
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