I was given a Balboa 24 and have not sailed it yet, but there is a leak somewhere; we cannot figure it out; it is still on a trailer and somehow rain water gets in somehow and goes in the thru-hull area; does anyone know how water could possible get in the thru-hull area? we even have it tarped; but we can hear the water sloshing around and have to shop-vac it out of the hole that would hold a potty. need to figure it out before we even take on the water. any advice would help.
Balboa 24 ; water getting in thru-hull somehow
- Thread starter Blessed
- Start date
How non-porous is that tarp and how much of the deck it covers. Any fixture affixed to the deck can be a source of leaks (stanchions, shrouds, handrails, pulpits, mast tabernacle, scuppers, .........) The boat has a fresh water tank, does it have water, could it be leaking? Water can get trapped in the hull stringer below the sole ( it can be gallons) and the boat may show dry until some motion partially releases some of it. Some have suscessfully traced a leak with talcum powder; by laying some talcum powder on the inside walls of the hull when it gets wet it will show where the water may be streaming down. Beware that a leak may travel horizontally before it decides to flow down. Get yourself a manual pump and a bucket to remove water, a wet-vac is not going to do you much good when the boat is in the water away from shore power. With the boat in the trailer there is no indication if there are any leaks in the hull or the thru hulls. Try to find and correct the rain leaks, move the boat with the trailer and keep scooping up water until you feel there is no more water trapped. last insure no rain water is getting through the tarp and that the tarp covers the whole deck. After you get the leak under control put the boat in the water and start checking for any leaks emanating from below.
Rain has an uncanny ability to get into boats. Since we don’t know if the mast is up or if it is covered, those are two obvious questions left unanswered in your post. There are some easy tricks to find leak sources but let’s start with these questions.
Most boats leak rainwater to some extent. There are so many possible places a boat might leak it would be difficult to list them. How much water are we talking about? A few gallons of water in the bilge isn't going to sink an otherwise sound boat. If you are not sleeping on the boat and you daysail in settled weather, I wouldn't even be afraid to use the boat. Stopping rainwater from getting in is a methodical process. You need to eliminate sources one by one. It wouldn't hurt to be aboard (On the trailer) when it's raining hard and see if you can see where it's coming in. During a recent trip on a Tartan 37 we had very hard rain. It wasn't hard to find the leaks. It was hard to avoid them. Start with hatches.
Can you be more specific about the thru hull area? Isn't it the lowest point in the boat?
Can you be more specific about the thru hull area? Isn't it the lowest point in the boat?
I don't understand why you suspect a thru-hull when you are describing rain water getting into a boat that is not in the water. Perhaps you are talking about a deck fill? Rather than describing the area where you find the water (which is usually a low point where the water flows to) you might describe the suspected sources, like deck fittings or other penetrations, like mast lights, ports, stanchions, etc.
I would only worry about sailing the boat if you have actual thru hulls that are below or very near the waterline that you find reason to think are a problem. Rainwater is not going to be a problem when you are on the water during a clear day. Why do you suspect a thru hull? So far it doesn't sound like a thru hull could possibly be the issue.
I would only worry about sailing the boat if you have actual thru hulls that are below or very near the waterline that you find reason to think are a problem. Rainwater is not going to be a problem when you are on the water during a clear day. Why do you suspect a thru hull? So far it doesn't sound like a thru hull could possibly be the issue.
I used to have a Balboa 26. I would also get a lot of water between the cabin liner and the hull. I eventually drilled about 20 small holes into the liner in descrete places and then shot expanding closed cell foam inbetween to fill the voids. The 3M products are all very good.
*Recently when I went below and I was standing in the companionway, there wasn't any water to see but as I walked toward the forward cabin, I could hear the sloshing noise of water inside the boat that I could not see; then I really rocked the boat with my legs back and forth and could really hear all the water that was someone inside the inner part of the boat, making me assume it was a thru-hull; we were not told much about this boat when we were given it. then I was in the forward cabin and could see the tip of the water trying to come out of the hole where you would put a head.
*thank you; yes, I thought of doing that; being on the boat and actually have my husband spray the boat with a water hose and I will be below to check out for the leaks;
stupid question; what is the difference between a thru-hull and a bilge area. maybe it is the bilge area and I am calling it a thru-hull. Remember - I am new at this..........
*thank you.
they are regular tarps; 3 separate tarps covering different areas of the boat; there are 2 sinks on the boat but they are not working; so we cannot blame it on them; I will buy a manual pump from amazon soon; we cannot put the boat on the water yet until we get someone to re-do our electrical so we have running lights; we just got new rigging; then we need an outboard; its coming along, but need to stop the leaks too.
Questions are how we all learn. Thru hulls penetrate the hull either above or below the waterline. They are for instance for a head discharge, or engine cooling water intake among other uses. Many boats are built with a liner which has the seats/bunks, galley etc. formed into it. The liner is not the hull. There is a space between the hull and the liner which I would call the bilge. Boats are typically designed to allow water to accumulate there and most have some means of "De-watering." It might be an electric bilge pump, a human powered bilge pump, or even a portable pump with a long hose to reach overboard. You should have a means of de-watering. On small open boats it could be as simple as a bailer made from a milk bottle.
@Blessed we are all glad that you are on here asking questions! That is the way to learn and there is a lot of knowledge in this forum to help you along. It sounds like you could use some help with the terminology as well. When you use terms that we are all familiar with (like thru-hull) but you are actually describing something else, it does get confusing. My advise is to get familiar with all of the articles that you can identify on your boat and learn the correct terminology. Help will be far less confusing.
On the topic of thru-hulls, that is a great place to start! Get familiar with each one that is on your boat. Identify each one and learn it's purpose. As mentioned, they are nothing more than a purposeful hole thru the hull that has a fitting at the surface of the hull and they will all have a hose attached to prevent water from entering the boat! If you have a hole thru your hull, that does not have a hose attached to it, that would be a big problem that you should resolve. Thru hulls are used for a variety of purposes. They are drains - from the cockpit, from the galley sink or the vanity sink, from the anchor locker. Thru hulls discharge black water from the holding tank or the toilet. Thru hulls may be vents, from the fuel tank, the water tank, the holding tank. Thru hulls intake water for the engine cooling, perhaps your galley sink intakes raw water to use in the sink. Some boats may have a thru hull to draw water for a heating/cooling system and another thru hull to discharge the water. You may have thru hulls for underwater instruments to read depth and speed (transducers - which are the only thru-hull that won't be attached to a hose). And you may have a thru hull for the engine exhaust if you have a small inboard engine. Thru hulls may discharge water by gravity or by pumps and thru hulls may or may not be fitted with valves that you would shut off for various reasons.
Check on their condition as well as the condition of connecting hoses. It is very important that thru hulls below the water line have the appropriate hose connections that are double-clamped to prevent inadvertent failure and potential sinking.
All that said, it sounds like you are describing a section of the bilge below the flooring that traps water that enters from rain.
On the topic of thru-hulls, that is a great place to start! Get familiar with each one that is on your boat. Identify each one and learn it's purpose. As mentioned, they are nothing more than a purposeful hole thru the hull that has a fitting at the surface of the hull and they will all have a hose attached to prevent water from entering the boat! If you have a hole thru your hull, that does not have a hose attached to it, that would be a big problem that you should resolve. Thru hulls are used for a variety of purposes. They are drains - from the cockpit, from the galley sink or the vanity sink, from the anchor locker. Thru hulls discharge black water from the holding tank or the toilet. Thru hulls may be vents, from the fuel tank, the water tank, the holding tank. Thru hulls intake water for the engine cooling, perhaps your galley sink intakes raw water to use in the sink. Some boats may have a thru hull to draw water for a heating/cooling system and another thru hull to discharge the water. You may have thru hulls for underwater instruments to read depth and speed (transducers - which are the only thru-hull that won't be attached to a hose). And you may have a thru hull for the engine exhaust if you have a small inboard engine. Thru hulls may discharge water by gravity or by pumps and thru hulls may or may not be fitted with valves that you would shut off for various reasons.
Check on their condition as well as the condition of connecting hoses. It is very important that thru hulls below the water line have the appropriate hose connections that are double-clamped to prevent inadvertent failure and potential sinking.
All that said, it sounds like you are describing a section of the bilge below the flooring that traps water that enters from rain.