Hi, We recently we're heading out of the Marina and saw water pouring into the salon area. The PSs dripless was shooting out water. That water flowed into the salon, galley, and I bailed water out till a mechanic helped us get the water stopped. We have 2 auto bilges but the water on the cabin sole has no where to go. It was 2-3 inches deep. We don't understand Hake's design?
Seaward 25 taking on water.
- Thread starter port of mountainhome
- Start date
Bilge pumps primarily remove nuisance water from the bilge. As you discovered, they can't keep up with a major leak.
Welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the forum.
I presume it wasn't leaking before you left? I could think of a couple possibilities - Either the set screws loosened and the bellows lost compression, or the engine is out of alignment and the shaking opened up enough of a gap for the water. Since it didn't stop when you stopped motoring I'm leaning toward the first possibility. It's important to not reuse those set screws as they can lose their bite and cause problems like that. It's also possible to put a hose clamp or other retaining ring on the shaft as a backup.
David, You are right about the alignment and we also found out 2 of the motor mounts are not the right size. So when those parts arrive we will change all that and realign it because you are right it is off. But my other question is on a Seaward 25 why would the main salon area be able to hold all this water before it would drain to the aft bilge by the motor? I tried to post this on a Seaward site with no luck.
Thank you for the welcome and the beer looks good. My problem is we now have found out that the saloon can hold a lot of water with no where to go to. Not a great design. I was hoping someone with a Seaward would no a fix. We have thought of one but not going to start drilling yet. And no I don't mean into the bottom of the boat. LolBilge pumps primarily remove nuisance water from the bilge. As you discovered, they can't keep up with a major leak.
Welcome to the forum.
not familiar with you boat. Having said that and as a general principle, the last place you want water is in the engine compartment and where the electric system is. Isolating water to the salon also makes any leak more visible as it is within sight of the cockpit.
We have 2 auto bilge pumps that work. I guess I was just really surprised that so much water could accumulate with no where to go. Eventually it would of gone over the fiberglass lip back to the engine compartment but near the V berth we would of had about 4 inches of water. When the mechanic came on board his first comment was, oh my, we do have a problem. We are ordering a portable pump in case this happens again. We are checking out all the other bilge areas and my husband made the same comment about the electrical. We have ordered new motor mounts and will align our shaft so maybe the water won't be an issue. Thanks for the advice. This is a great forum.
Don S/V Illusion, So my husband and I talked and now after what you said, I understand. I should be more concerned about seeing the water and addressing the problem than my living space is filling with water. I am pretty green, but I am slowly learning. Too bad we got so old before we could start on this adventure. Thank you.
That’s why this forum exists.
as an aside, if you or anyone else is concerned about rapid detection of a leak, there are some pretty effective and cheap 12V water detector alarms which, if well-placed, can provide a greater sense of security to quickly warn of any issues.
I understand that the OP is green so I hope that this post will be taken as helpful.
The salon bilge is the lowest point on just about any sailboat I've been on. Where else could water drain to? Some shallow bilge boats even have a sump for water to drain into. Many sailboats, and other boats, have limber holes to aid in the draining of water into the deepest part of the bilge - where the pick up for the pump is supposed to be.
My Ranger 29 did not have an electric bilge pump. Instead it had a manual pump which could create a hefty gush of water. It was operated from the cockpit but the pick up was in the deepest part of the salon bilge. It discharged the water out the transom as I remember. That pump saved the boat from sinking on one occasion.
Every boat, from a row boat to a yacht, needs de-watering capability.
The salon bilge is the lowest point on just about any sailboat I've been on. Where else could water drain to? Some shallow bilge boats even have a sump for water to drain into. Many sailboats, and other boats, have limber holes to aid in the draining of water into the deepest part of the bilge - where the pick up for the pump is supposed to be.
My Ranger 29 did not have an electric bilge pump. Instead it had a manual pump which could create a hefty gush of water. It was operated from the cockpit but the pick up was in the deepest part of the salon bilge. It discharged the water out the transom as I remember. That pump saved the boat from sinking on one occasion.
Every boat, from a row boat to a yacht, needs de-watering capability.
I used to own a Seaward 25. The boat has a very shallow bilge under the floor, but there is really no place for water coming in by the motor to drain there.
I took the pic below when I replaced the sole in my boat. You'll notice the stainless cover that a previous owner installed in the floor toward the v-birth end of the salon. This is the location where you'll find the lowest part of the bilge. We had a Rule bilge pump installed there and there's barely enough room for it there. I always wondered where the water would go in the event of a large leak, and you found out. I figured I could just open the stainless cover to allow more to flow to the pump if necessary.
I would suggest replacing your PSS seal at this time as it's probably original. Suggest the newer, vented one, though it will be harder to get in place if you have the non-vented one currently. Also suggest checking your cutlass bearing for wear and replace if there is any play. You will also want to replace the coupling and have it fit and faced to the current (or new) shaft if you decide to do any of this. It wouldn't surprise me with things being off as much as you found, that you will find the coupling loose on the shaft. If so, you'll be looking at a new shaft too. I had all that happen on our boat and got to do it all over again after a previous owner replaced the pss seal, reused the old coupling, and it loosened up on me.
Concerning the Seaward forum, there used to be a very active one at trailer sailors .com but all the trailer sailors forums got moved over to a new site and the activity on the Seaward one has mostly ceased. It's a shame, as there was a wealth of info on these boats on the old site, and it's all gone. The Seaward facebook group has some activity on it, so you could try posting questions there. Good luck with the boat. They are nice boats.
I took the pic below when I replaced the sole in my boat. You'll notice the stainless cover that a previous owner installed in the floor toward the v-birth end of the salon. This is the location where you'll find the lowest part of the bilge. We had a Rule bilge pump installed there and there's barely enough room for it there. I always wondered where the water would go in the event of a large leak, and you found out. I figured I could just open the stainless cover to allow more to flow to the pump if necessary.
I would suggest replacing your PSS seal at this time as it's probably original. Suggest the newer, vented one, though it will be harder to get in place if you have the non-vented one currently. Also suggest checking your cutlass bearing for wear and replace if there is any play. You will also want to replace the coupling and have it fit and faced to the current (or new) shaft if you decide to do any of this. It wouldn't surprise me with things being off as much as you found, that you will find the coupling loose on the shaft. If so, you'll be looking at a new shaft too. I had all that happen on our boat and got to do it all over again after a previous owner replaced the pss seal, reused the old coupling, and it loosened up on me.
Concerning the Seaward forum, there used to be a very active one at trailer sailors .com but all the trailer sailors forums got moved over to a new site and the activity on the Seaward one has mostly ceased. It's a shame, as there was a wealth of info on these boats on the old site, and it's all gone. The Seaward facebook group has some activity on it, so you could try posting questions there. Good luck with the boat. They are nice boats.
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what year is the boat, what year is the PSS and what year and hours on the engine ? diesels have 4 engine mounts , if 2 are compressed past usefulness the other 2 likely aren't good either. sagging engine mounts can ruin the face out between gear box coupler and prop shaft and create a whole lot of gear box issues. sound like time to check the cutlass bearing too.