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Mystery Bilge Water in E 38-200 (1988)

Kerry Kukucha

Member II
Hello all:

After changing out the packing gland flax today, I had hoped that water dripping from the shaft (at increasing volume) into the bilge would be gone - no such luck!

A whole bunch of water came in through the shaft when I was doing the change over. Once the new flax was in (& after) there was no dripping at all while at the dock, so I emptied & dried out the bilge, only to find water re-materializing in two spots. One in the engine bilge pan (directly under the fan belt, alternator, etc) where the bypass tube exits forward - seems to be coming from under the tube, which is kinda strange given the area under the engine & shaft (uphill) is now dry & this spot appears higher than areas further forward. Is there another bilge area under the engine bilge pan?

The other area where water is coming in is the bilge compartment forward of the galley (at the 1st access hatch in floor) where the pipe from the bilge area under the galley sink connects forward). In both spots, water seems to be slowly upwelling from around the tubes that connect the respective bilges. It should be noted that the two small bilge areas under the galley sink are dry.

Would appreciate any & all thoughts/comments/speculation as to where the water might be coming from. I don't think it is from keel bolts, as they were tighted 2 years ago & when I sucked out all the bilge water (with a vacuum), the bilge was dry, at least for the moment & the first water to appear was from the connecting tube at the bottom of the bilge. Is it possible that within the structural grid, between the engine & the galley, water may have accumulated to a level where it is being pushed out in either direction - inquiring minds need to know!?!

many thanks,
 

gulfcoaster

Member III
Bilge Water mystery

We have a '87 32-3, so we don't have the same floor plan. We've had ours for 9 years. We went to a dripless packing two years ago and still had similiar water symptoms. We solved our problem by using a wet/dry vac. I acquired a two ft. long piece of 1/4 in. transparant hose. Ithen stuck it into all connecting bilge openings to suck out the water that accumulates between the bilges. I used one of the narrow vacuum fittings, stuck the hose in and blocked the rest of the opening with my finger to allow sufficient suction. We found that even if we sucked out all visible water we still had water between the visible openings. As we stepped on and off the boat, the residual water would spill over those little invisible ridges below the floor boards. The hose found the hiding places. We still get water in the bilge when it rains... Still working on that one. Hope this helps.
 

Steve

Member III
Siphon Break ?

Check the raw water siphon break hose circuit back to your exhaust through-hull. Is your water clear or dirty?

Steve
e35-3
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
No dumb questions right? Does the water taste salty? Hate to admit it but that's what I do when I first find mystery leaks.
 
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