222 bilge ignorance

[48dodge]

Well, I've had my 222 for a few months and have just started working on getting it cleaned up and ready to go for this summer. When I bought the boat it had a bilge full of water and I drained it out from the cabin sole and under the cockpit seat. Thought that was it until I went to pull the water tank out from under the berth in the bow. There's a couple of inches of water in there! What's the lowest point on the 222 and what's the best way to access it?One nice surprise this past weekend is I got around to cleaning the sails and they are in better than expected shape. Don't know if they'll hold their shape yet, but they'll definitely be good enough to get me going. And for the big surprise, I found a spinnaker in one of the sail bags!

 

[48dodge]

Kind of a false alarm

Opened up all of the access hatches and looked around all under there and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I noticed that the water is just being held up by the portipotty wall. So there is water there, but it stops at that wall so it's quite a bit smaller an amount that I thought it was. I'm guessing all water is "supposed" to drain to the cabin sole as the lowest point, though. Am I correct in thinking this?

 

[Chuck R]

cabin sole.

Hi 48dodge,My 222 is still new to me too as I've not had "GETAWAY " quite a year. The amazing thing is there are no leaks in mine. ( I'm knocking on wood ). There is not even a bilge pump!! Or is there a seacock.. Sailing most of lake Erie last summer we never got enough water in the bilge to even wipe with a cloth. I rented a dock as I wanted to sail as much as possible and learn the boat. Hopefully yours will work out to be the same. Does your Hull # start with XDY?Chuck R

 

[48dodge]

XDY

There's aren't any real leaks in mine. The main reason that there was water in my boat that I can tell is the PO made the companionway out of cheap plywood and the top piece warped inward and the bottom piece warped outward creating a perfect scoop for catching rain. Yes my hull # starts with XDY, it's an '84. It needs to be painted but cleaning it up has been a major improvement. The interior cushions are beyond help so I may try to pick up sewing as a hobby in the near future...

 

[48dodge]

Boat hasn't been in the water since last summer.

Boat hasn't been in the water since last summer. Water tank was full of water, no leaking there. It had just caught the water there when the rest of the bilge had water in it. When I drained the water from the rest of the bilge, it got caught in that section. Probably a total of about 1/2 gallon. All of the hoses are going to be replaced shortly. Luckily none of them are leaking, but they're being held together by molecules right now. And the water supply lines are soldid but pretty gross looking. No other thru-hulls

 

[Joe11688]

Lowest point on the 222 for water

Judging from experience with my 1986 222 O'Day, anytime water has gotten into the bilge for one reason or another, it has always collected under the plywood sole plate in the cabin, and under the two plywood covers behind the inside companionway step. Sometimes water can get entrapped in the fore peak. Most of the time this water was coming in from either under the gunwale molding, or maybe from an electrical through hull fitting next to the mast. I plan on checking the condition of the self bailing cockpit hose, which may be accessible by unscrewing the small plywood bulkhead at the end of the settee berths. Most of the time, my 222 is very dry. Years ago, I mounted a hand bilge pump inside and under the cockpit, that can be accessed via a plate on the Port foot wall with a detachable handle for the pump. The suction hose is located in that portion behind the inside companionway step, and the outlet hose exits on the transom near the boarding ladder. I've never had to use this pump since I installed it. To my knowledge, these are the two places where water can collect in my 222.Joe