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Water in the cabin

Nate Moroshan

Junior Member
Its been a week since i was last on the boat so i went by after work today and found there was about 3 inches of standing water in the cabin, apparently the automatic switch on the bilge pump stopped working but i think that's only a minor problem. My major question/problem is where and how do i check the stuffing box for leaks and anywhere else that water could leak in throughhulls ect. sorry for the new guy question its my first sail boat.
Thanks Nate.
 
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Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Nate,

Welcome.

Did you change anything on the boat last time you were on it? Was the stuffing box worked on recently? If it was maybe the stuffing box hose was not tightened correctly. The stuffing box is the last piece of hardware on the propeller shaft as you follow it aft. That would be a good place to start, remove the engine cover and climb back in there with a flashlight.

I would shut all the through hulls until you find out where the water is coming in. Did you get the bilge pump working?
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I agree that dewatering the bilge is only the first step.

If you have had a lot of rain lately, there could be leaks around windows, deck fittings or the mast base.

I also agree that the stuffing box would be good place to start.
While you are looking... check every single "hole in the hull." And do not forget transducers, either.

Even when the thru-hull seacocks themselves are sound, any boat over 20 years of age (to use round numbers) could have a crack in a hose that is clamped to that thru-hull.

Let us know....
:rolleyes:

Loren

ps: was it fresh or salt? (Yum!)
 
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Randy Rutledge

Sustaining Member
Is the water in the bilge salt or fresh? I assume your boat is in salt water. This would tell if it is topside water (rail water) or comming in from below the waterline.
 

ChrisS

Member III
Visit the marina on a rainy day

It's worthwhile to take a visit to the boat on a big rainy day, and inspect every part of the boat you have access to. I did this a few years back and found two sizable leaks that were (over) filling the bilge every time we had a big storm--enough to cycle the bilge pump on and off. You'll also be able to spot smaller ones that you'll want to fix, too. I now get only about two ounces of water in the bilge after a major rainstorm.

If there's no rain on the horizon you might want to have a friend with a hose duplicate a rainy day why you search every space.
 

Nate Moroshan

Junior Member
The bilge is working just not on Automatic so i need to figure that one out when I go back tonight, I'm really not sure on wether the water was salt or fresh but i would make a guess at it being salt we haven't had rain in the last week. I haven't made any changes yet but i am going to look at the stuffing box throughly tonight. If it does turn out to be a through hull or the stuffing box will the boat have to be hauled out for the repairs or is that something that can be done while she's still in the water? The windows and the rails have some leaks this something that i found out during the rains we had in December so my repair list just keeps growing nothing worth doing is ever easy.
Thanks Nate.
 

Dave Hussey

Member III
besides a "taste test", is there an alternate way to determine if the bilge water is fresh or salt? (like say for instance, litmus???) (no way am I gonna touch my taste buds to the crud in my bilge!!!) :p
 

Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Checking for salinity in the bilge.

Dave, Scoop up some of the water in a cup or other and pour a bit of it on a saucer or even just the bottom of the cup and leave it out in the sun to evaporate. The less there to dry out, the sooner you'll know by looking for salt deposits remaining behind. No salt, fresh water, salt, you got it, salt water. No sun? Take the water home and place it under a lamp in the garage or fly down here to Santa Monica, it was 81° F today. Cheers, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA
 

paul culver

Member III
How about conductivity for discerning fresh from salt water? You could use a multimeter in the ohms mode with the two electrodes spaced at a constant distance between them. Maybe just duct tape them together. Standardize in fresh water to see what the resistance is, then measure the bilge water to see whether its about the same (fresh) or lower (saline). I haven't tried this but it should work

Paul
E29 "Bear"
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Come on guys, a little bit of bilge juice is good for the immune system :)

Nate, how did you do locating the leak?
 

Nate Moroshan

Junior Member
Im pretty positive it was a combination of the stuffing box leaking and some rain that leaked in from the port lights. they are both on the fix it list.
 
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