I went to check on my boat on Saturday, at a marina on the Chester River just off the Chesapeake, and found about 35-40 gallons of what looked like river water, not rainwater. Obviously, the storm surge was considerable from the tropical storm coming up the coast, but I can't figure how that much water got in the bilge. It was brownish-green, and there was a lot of small debris from trees and such. The batteries were flat, as if the bilge pump ran until the batteries died, and the water just came up above the cabin sole in a small area at the bottom of the companionway. I used the battery selector switch to disconnect the batteries. The batteries started to charge. There was also clear rainwater a couple inches deep in the cockpit (the drains clogged) that was about 8' x 8'. After I cleared the cockpit and pumped out the bilge manually, no more water started to come in. Any theories on how this water got into my bilge?
30-40 gal. of river water in bilge O'Day 32' CC
- Thread starter jknappsax
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Speculation only, but sounds like wind driven rain water. It is amazing how much water can be blown in through the companionway boards and the sliding cover with sustained winds.. The shreaded leaf debris will clog the drain openings and then water runs in from everywhere! The water color is probably from the leaves .. when we get tropicals or hurricanes close to here, it is not uncommon to see a lot of wind driven rain in the bilge . I tie a small tarp tightly over my companionway slider and boards when storms threaten..
rain vs bay water
If there was debris in it ask yourself the question, what hole in the boat would that come trrough. Clearly not some underwater hole as that would be pretty obivous. It sounds like rain water, it did rain a lot last week in MD. Given that the cockpit drains where cloged you might check them for leaks before where the drain clogged. These are low pressure connections as they never see any standing water. So they may leak into the boat once you have standing water over them. the rain may also have filled the cockpit and it ran into the cabin through another hole that normaly would not pass water.
Did you taste the water? Salty or not?
If there was debris in it ask yourself the question, what hole in the boat would that come trrough. Clearly not some underwater hole as that would be pretty obivous. It sounds like rain water, it did rain a lot last week in MD. Given that the cockpit drains where cloged you might check them for leaks before where the drain clogged. These are low pressure connections as they never see any standing water. So they may leak into the boat once you have standing water over them. the rain may also have filled the cockpit and it ran into the cabin through another hole that normaly would not pass water.
Did you taste the water? Salty or not?
running a bilge pump on the charger
I don't know how big your charger is but a bilge pump is only going to draw a few amps max. almost any charger should be able to charge the batteries AND run the bilge pump. I'd check my charger.
It could also be the case that the power was out at the marina for some period of time and that, of course, would cause the batts to drain. But once the power came back on the bilge and batts should have run/charged even if you have a 5 amp charger.
I don't know how big your charger is but a bilge pump is only going to draw a few amps max. almost any charger should be able to charge the batteries AND run the bilge pump. I'd check my charger.
It could also be the case that the power was out at the marina for some period of time and that, of course, would cause the batts to drain. But once the power came back on the bilge and batts should have run/charged even if you have a 5 amp charger.
I could see some water being rain-driven past the companionway boards, but all the water seemed to be originating from the bilge. The carpets in both the aft cabin and main saloon were a little wet, but if the water was being forced bast the boards, I would have expected the berth, bulkheads, etc. would show signs of water ingress.Before I cleared the cockpit drains, I checked the cockpit drains where they pass through the engine room, and there was no indication that anything had leaked in there, or anyplace else under the cockpit. I don't think that the water was forced back through the waterlift muffler. I did find one of the 4" duct that runs from a clamshell vent into the engine room was out of position. It's normally straight down from the clamshell, then vertically next to the fuel tank. It was extended straight from the vent to about midline in the engine compartment, but I can't see how that much water could bet blown into a 4" vent. The stuffing box waas repacked last year with Goretex Virtually Dripless packing, and showed no signs of the water coming in there. I've been chasing and fixing small leaks on the cabintop and deck that had caused core damage, but most of the leaks have been fixed, and in any case, they were minor, just enough to damage the core as the PO was very lax on maintenance.
The charger is a Xantrex 10A dual-bank smart charger, and I don't know why it didn't start recharging the batteries once AC came back. The only electrical connection submerged was the automatic bilge switch, and that should be ok submerged. I'm pretty much perplexed by this, as I've had the boat for 5 years, and it has been through weather at least this bad, and never had much in the bilge. It's possible the wind was shoving the water in a different direction than usual, but it was an AWFUL lot of water, and I really can't see where it came in.
Thanks for the responses; any other ideas?
The charger is a Xantrex 10A dual-bank smart charger, and I don't know why it didn't start recharging the batteries once AC came back. The only electrical connection submerged was the automatic bilge switch, and that should be ok submerged. I'm pretty much perplexed by this, as I've had the boat for 5 years, and it has been through weather at least this bad, and never had much in the bilge. It's possible the wind was shoving the water in a different direction than usual, but it was an AWFUL lot of water, and I really can't see where it came in.
Thanks for the responses; any other ideas?
my rule 500 in my sump in the formosa runs on 1.9 amps per hour 24/7 / 365 when not pumping and uses 3 amps per hour while pumping. yes if you havent the battery capacity and charging capability to maintain that level of charge plus some for good measure, then you are not keeping up with your pump needs, and either your battery or charging must be modified to be able to function during the entire time you are away.
for what it is worth, my 2200 gph pump uses same amount of electricity as my6 500 gph pump. 1.9 amps per hour at rest and 3 amps per hour at work. 24/7/365. both together is double. EVERY HOUR.
do you have any film on th e hull near you r engine intake thru hull or any of the others on board?? there could be a leaky thru hull fitting you cannot find?? no moisture at the water strainer??
i found a film of water on my ericson's hull after i bought her-- the engine thru hull was weeping and i didnt see that when i took her to the moorings. would have sunk the boat had i left for the time i needed to be away for work ... check very carefully. if you cannot see the area with eyeballs, take a digital pic with either fone or camera--then you can see what is going on in nooks and crannies. is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack-- but something will be found-- just have to look really really well. good luck. i hate chasing leakages. also check thr mast step--even if it is deck stepped-can be a a leaker--
for what it is worth, my 2200 gph pump uses same amount of electricity as my6 500 gph pump. 1.9 amps per hour at rest and 3 amps per hour at work. 24/7/365. both together is double. EVERY HOUR.
do you have any film on th e hull near you r engine intake thru hull or any of the others on board?? there could be a leaky thru hull fitting you cannot find?? no moisture at the water strainer??
i found a film of water on my ericson's hull after i bought her-- the engine thru hull was weeping and i didnt see that when i took her to the moorings. would have sunk the boat had i left for the time i needed to be away for work ... check very carefully. if you cannot see the area with eyeballs, take a digital pic with either fone or camera--then you can see what is going on in nooks and crannies. is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack-- but something will be found-- just have to look really really well. good luck. i hate chasing leakages. also check thr mast step--even if it is deck stepped-can be a a leaker--
All of the thru-hulls are easily checked, as the all are in the engine compartment, right in view. There's no evidence of a thru hull leaking. And I would think that I would have seen evidence of this in the last 5 years; I spend WAY too much time in there, and the only liquid I have ever had a problem is SWEAT ( it gets sticky in there when working). The hull there is painted with some kind of very tough (I believe original) glossy gray paint, and any leaks would show up. The rudder does not have a stuffing box; it comes up below the berth in the aft cabin, to well above water level, and is a snug fit to the tube it rides in. I pulled it last year and lubed the shaft, and it doesn't have enough area between the shaft and tube to leak, even if the water level could ever get that high, as the boat should rise with the water level. I could believe that it could have come in through the 4"vents in the engine compartment. I'll be going down to the boat this weekend, and maybe figure it out a little more.
A friends cockpit drains clogged up with storm debris, allowing rainwater during a tropical storm to rise and enter the cabin under the hatchboards and/or thru the lazarettes. It was the strangest thing because there was no real evidence of how the water got in. After we pumped it out, a slip neighbor stopped by with pics he took of the flooded cockpit, proving how it happend.
I appreciate you relating an instance of something like this happening to another sailor. When I asked the marina owner how high the water got, he basically said that it was impossible for this to have happened, but he's usually of no real use. Thanks for all the responses.
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