Stagnant water in the lazarette
- Thread starter xavpil
- Start date
Unlike powerboats, sailboats typically don't have holes to drain the bilge overboard. Typically water drains to a low point in the bilge and is then removed with a bilge pump and a sponge.
Speaking of bilge pumps, I'm not sure the chopped up garden hose is the ideal hose for a bilge pump. You might want to replace that green hose with a proper bilge pump hose.
interesting…..
while it doesn’t make sense to me right now because I’ve had the boat for two weeks, I’m sure it will in next year. Hopefully
Ill definitely will check that out. Thx. I ve been finding a lot of strange things regarding the hoses all over the place. I am replacing one by one …..
Small powerboats can have bilge drain because when they are up on plane and moving quickly the water will drain out the aft end so long as the boat is moving fast enough. Sailboats can't move fast enough, so water will run back in.
Alright it makes sense!!!
I guess water shouldn’t get in the lazarette if I have good seals anyway
i was just hosing it down, opened to clean the 10 years of dirt the previous owners had accumulated
thx!
Permanent fix is a small drain hole at the bottom that will allow this to drain slowly to the main bilge, if that is possible from this location. The salty term for this is "limber hole" but the concept is that the accumulated water in whatever part of the boat all drains to the same low part, and then you pump it out. Naturally, it takes some thought before you pickup a drill and start poking holes.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,278
NOTE! He said "at the bottom" not through the bottom.
Your lazarette is partitioned from other sections of the boat by what are called bulkheads. They are attached to the hull by glue or fiberglass tabs. Manufacturers install "limber holes" in the bulkhead to permit water to flow along the hull to the lowest area of the hull (the bilge). Then you can pump the water out of the bilge.
Boats are great collectors of contaminates. Dirt, feathers, bits of flotsam that find their way to the base of the bulkhead and tend to plug up the limber holes backing water up in various places. If you don't occassionaly clean up the spaces you will eventually find water accumulating. Then it is bucket, sponge, or hand pump needed to empty the space and clean out the limber hole.
I’ll look for the lumber holes. Thx!!NOTE! He said "at the bottom" not through the bottom.
Your lazarette is partitioned from other sections of the boat by what are called bulkheads. They are attached to the hull by glue or fiberglass tabs. Manufacturers install "limber holes" in the bulkhead to permit water to flow along the hull to the lowest area of the hull (the bilge). Then you can pump the water out of the bilge.
Boats are great collectors of contaminates. Dirt, feathers, bits of flotsam that find their way to the base of the bulkhead and tend to plug up the limber holes backing water up in various places. If you don't occassionaly clean up the spaces you will eventually find water accumulating. Then it is bucket, sponge, or hand pump needed to empty the space and clean out the limber hole.
If you need to drill your own limber holes through a bulkhead or stringer, make sure that you do not cause rot for yourself down the line. If drilling and leaving raw wood exposed to water (this goes for everywhere), drill a little larger and coat the inside of the hole and onto the surface on both sides with some sealant. Best is two-part epoxy that you mix up, typically used for fiberglassing. Even one-part sealant like 3M 4000/4200 applied with a toothpick over the inside of the hole will do. Any raw wood will rot.