Oday 28 owners need some help. We are getting water in the bilge just sitting idle at the dock. We recently had our boat out of the water for about three years. While out the head cracked and it has been replaced. We replaced the stuffing box packing. We have inspected all the hoses but no sign of water any where. The thru hulls valves look fine. When I sponge the bilge dry the water is coming from the aft. The stuffing box appears fine. Any ideas?
bilge water oday 28
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I'm assuming by "idle" you mean regardless of whether you run the engine? Also, is it correlated to rainfall in any way? In any case, here are a few things you could check -
1) The keel stepped mast will let water in whenever it rains. The amount of water depends on how well the boot at the cabin top is sealed, but there will likely always be some.
2) Are the hoses from the cockpit scuppers included in those that you checked?
3) I know you said the thru hull valves look fine, but what about the backing plates? The galley sink in particular has a backing plate that was quite well hidden by the hull liner on ours.
4) Have you inspected the deck fittings and hardware. Some that i remember as potentially problematic are the pushpit stantions and helm.
5) Do you see any water just in front of the engine (below the oil pan and fiberglass basin). There is a weep hole there that goes into the bilge. If you have water coming into the bilge from aft, then you may be able to trace it from around that weep hole. Also if that weep hole is partially clogged it may be letting the water into the bilge slowly, making you think you have an ongoing leak but really just holding water from some previous event.
6) Does your ice box drain into the bilge? Ours had a hand pump into the sink but some didn't.
1) The keel stepped mast will let water in whenever it rains. The amount of water depends on how well the boot at the cabin top is sealed, but there will likely always be some.
2) Are the hoses from the cockpit scuppers included in those that you checked?
3) I know you said the thru hull valves look fine, but what about the backing plates? The galley sink in particular has a backing plate that was quite well hidden by the hull liner on ours.
4) Have you inspected the deck fittings and hardware. Some that i remember as potentially problematic are the pushpit stantions and helm.
5) Do you see any water just in front of the engine (below the oil pan and fiberglass basin). There is a weep hole there that goes into the bilge. If you have water coming into the bilge from aft, then you may be able to trace it from around that weep hole. Also if that weep hole is partially clogged it may be letting the water into the bilge slowly, making you think you have an ongoing leak but really just holding water from some previous event.
6) Does your ice box drain into the bilge? Ours had a hand pump into the sink but some didn't.
All the above makes sense. How much water over how much time, does the water have any smell or taste? It has to come in somewhere. If not rain water then stuffing box, cooling system or sink drain likely. Try tracking it backwards with paper towels.
How much water are you talking about and over what period of time? If this was not a problem prior to your recent repairs it would seem a good idea to recheck the shaft stuffing by wiping it dry with paper towels then put a fresh one down. On my 28 the thruhull for the head is beneath the port forward storage bin in the settee. Have you ever replaced that hose? Also check your transducer thruhulls for speed and depth.
Thanks everyone. Our oday is a 1979. The amount is around 1/2" in about 4-5 hours. This past Sunday when we arrived at the boat I sponged the bilge dry and around 4-5 hours later the bilge probably had about 1/2". Let me just address some of the above by the numbers set.
1. We have a keel step mast
2. I crawled into the lazerett and went all the way to the rear of the boat. Everything was dry. Our scuppers appear dry.
3. How do you see the backing plates? The oday is an inner and outer liner. When I look at the thru holes they appear dry on top.
4. We have had no rain. The water has to be coming from the bottom of the boat at the rate it is coming in. I looked at the helm and it has 8-12" fiberglass post that the helm goes thru. Would it be possible to be coming in there but have no evidence of water around it? Does the bilge get water from the inner liner?
5. Not a significant amount of water at the weep hole. We adjusted the packing box Sunday to make sure it was allowing enough water to lubricate the box. The water has been coming in since we launched back into the lake. It has new flax packing. We did not go with a drip less seal.
6. Our icebox goes to the bilge but is dry. We have not used.
The hard thru hull looks fine and we have not replaced anything there. When I sponged the bilge the water replenishment appeared to be coming from the rear.
Does the bilge catch water from between the liners?
Really appreciate everyone's comments!
1. We have a keel step mast
2. I crawled into the lazerett and went all the way to the rear of the boat. Everything was dry. Our scuppers appear dry.
3. How do you see the backing plates? The oday is an inner and outer liner. When I look at the thru holes they appear dry on top.
4. We have had no rain. The water has to be coming from the bottom of the boat at the rate it is coming in. I looked at the helm and it has 8-12" fiberglass post that the helm goes thru. Would it be possible to be coming in there but have no evidence of water around it? Does the bilge get water from the inner liner?
5. Not a significant amount of water at the weep hole. We adjusted the packing box Sunday to make sure it was allowing enough water to lubricate the box. The water has been coming in since we launched back into the lake. It has new flax packing. We did not go with a drip less seal.
6. Our icebox goes to the bilge but is dry. We have not used.
The hard thru hull looks fine and we have not replaced anything there. When I sponged the bilge the water replenishment appeared to be coming from the rear.
Does the bilge catch water from between the liners?
Really appreciate everyone's comments!
If everything is dry under the engine I would look first at the sink drain thru-hull. Be careful, that monster is 1 1/2 inches in diameter and could sink you fast. Be ready to dive over board with a tapered foam plug. There should be in the locker under the sink a removable two part formica cover around the hose so you can see the wood backing plate. To replace the valve you will have to cut away some of the fiberglass liner.
If your 28 has a center board, that could be another source.
If your 28 has a center board, that could be another source.
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If water is coming in at the helm packing glad would it be visible coming over the fiberglass post that the helm goes thru?
Leaks in a boat are sometimes really hard to find. I've been looking for a year for a leak somewhere on deck that runs behind the overhead liner and drips out through a ligh fixture over the starboard settee. Hoses get old and deteriorate. They don't fail catastrophically but begin to leak as the flexible layers delaminates or they are vibrated endlessly. On my O'Day 28 the thruhulls are mounted on plywood backing plated. I'm sure it's good quality marine plywood but it can still fail, sealant can fail and the bronze thruhull itself can crack if stored over the winter with water in it. It's a daunting task and I wish you luck in finding it. Any leak should be easily found with a dry paper towel. Don't rule out your fresh water system. Can you vacuum out the bilge, dry it then just watch to see what direction the water is coming from? The top one inch of my rudder is out of the water when the boat is unoccupied. You should be able to see any water on a paper towel wrapped around the base of the post.
Thanks for the reply. We have not put any fresh water in the boat and probably will not until the spring. When I dry the bilge out I can tell it is coming from the aft. We too have a leak that is coming in topside except on the port side. It shows in our light fixture as well. I'm going to make a cover that will cover the Windows which are suspect. If no leak we know it is the Windows. If we still see a leak it is somewhere topside. We have filled all of or track and bow sprint holes with expoxy and re drilled. Any leaks there should not go in the boat core. Could be the grab rails which will also be covered. We will lay out some paper towels for our bilge leak.
No refrigeration. We looked over everything again this weekend and found nothing. All thru hulls were dry. The weeping hole under the motor is dry, all area around the helm shaft is dry. Most of the bilge is visible. We drained it and sponged it dry. We can see the water dripping in the bilge in the rear through a small opening. We are thinking we should put her back on the trailer to look for a crack in the keel. Another thought was while it is on the trailer fill up the bilge and see if we see any water coming out. We had probably an inch of water in 3 hours.
Yes...ours keel is incapusalted as well. Do you know if they are lead our iron filled? I hope ours is not leaking but ran out of places to check. One other thought is the helm. We have a wheel. No water is visible on the inside of the boat at the location but would it be possible to have water coming in to the inner core from this area and not be seen.
Ours was built later than yours (85), but on that keel was lead, encapsulated in some kind of epoxy. The epoxy only surrounded the lead, not the joint to the keel stub / hull. It is possible water could get in around the bolts, so you could check them, particularly the aft ones.
We have no keel bolts on our 79 model. I've been thinking more about where our transducer is. It is on the same side as the water leak. The transducer is under our port settee. It is totally dry there but is it possible the leak is just coming in at the bottom and going to the bilge under the inner core. I know the oday is an inner and outer shell with balsa on the top. I'm not sure how the bottom is.
Any thoughts on that idea?
Any thoughts on that idea?
The bottom is solid laminated fiberglass. No core in the hull. If you decide to re-bed the transducer be sure to clean off the sealant, whatever it is and use 3M 4200 or Boatlife liberally, not 5200. Some transducers are a puck inserted into a thru hull fitting and held in place with a pin or bolt. There are "O" rings in there to keep the water out. Wouldn't hurt to replace the "O" rings and coat with vaseline when you put the transducer back in. (vaseline helps the rubber rings slide into the tube and prevents it from corroding into place.) Oh, the thruhull supplying water to the head is probably right there too.
If the bottom is a solid laminate that's not the leak source. That takes me back to the keel. The head thru hull and transducer areas are totally dry.
I have a similar situation with our 1975 25. Water seeps into the bilge through cracks in the fiberglass on the bottom of the keel & inside the trunk of the centerboard. After haul out the keel drips for weeks. I had the cracks on the bottom patched but am at a loss on how to repair the ones inside the trunk. I'm considering removing the centerboard and sealing the bottom up.