Catalina 28 ... water in bilge

[CFitz]

What could cause water in the bilge while sailing? Before we went sailing today the bilge was dry. While we were sailing we happened to check the bilge and it had collected quite a bit of water, around 6 to 7 inches. We turned on the pump and it drained out no problem....
Where could the water be coming from?
We are in fresh water only.

 

[jssailem]

Being in fresh water only makes the discovery a bit more challenging as you can’t taste it to decide it is from the deck or from under the hull, which comes in and tastes salty in the ocean.

So you need to look around the inside of the boat to see if you have a surface leak leaving a trail.

Did you really heel over so that water spilled in from a window or deck hardware?

Do you have a thru hull that is loose or leaking?

What about your stuffing box on your propeller shaft?

These are a couple of the usual suspects. Start the investigation. Become a detective and explore all possibilities. Usually the simplest is the most likely.

 

[Roland5048]

What conditions were you sailing in ? How many degrees were you heeled over and were you on a port or starboard tack? What side does your bilge pump out of? How far above the waterline is the thru-hull? I have a theory about this as I have the same situation at times. My guess is water back-flowing into the bilge.
However, could be a leak in the fresh water tank.

 

[CFitz]

So we went out again to see when this is happening ... we were on a starboard tack... didnt happen with any other conditions, seacocks under sinks dry, stuffing box has the usual drip.
We are also thinking it might be backflow through the bilge (located middle) or through the engine exhaust/outtake? (port side).
We are going to look to see how the hoses are situated when we go back again on weekend.
Any other thoughts that anyone can think to check?
Thanks

 

[Roland5048]

You stated that you were on a starboard tack. Is your bilge thru-hull on the port side. If so, when heeled enough on a starboard tack, water could be back flowing into the bilge. This happens to me at times, but I know when it does because I sail in saltwater. If the water were backing up through the exhaust, I believe you would not be able to start the engine.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Wouldn't a loop above the discharge hole prevent backflow?

 

[Roland5048]

Wouldn't a loop above the discharge hole prevent backflow?

Yes. And when fitted with an anti siphon valve, end of issue. Until something else goes wrong.

 

[CFitz]

The bilge thru hull is in the middle I beleive but we will check again ...

 

[Meriachee]

You may have had water in the engine bay. There is no drain to the bilge, but if there was water back there, bouncing around or heeling a bit will make it slop over the lip and head to the bilge.
There’s really nowhere else for it to collect, there is a section forward of the bilge on the 270 that is in front of the mast base, that will collect any water that gets past the mast base, but nowhere near that much and it does normally drain into the bilge.

 

[Meriachee]

The exit for the bilge pump is above the waterline. There is no thru hull in the bilge. That would be a “scuttle sea cock”

 

[Banooma]

This may be a silly question, but please humor me for a moment. I've had my boat for 12 years, and this is my first sailboat with an automatic bilge pump, so I have a lot of data points from a single subject. Unless there's a problem with the float switch, the bilge water never gets very high, but at the same time, it has never been what I would describe as dry. There is always some drip from the prop shaft/stuffing box. Is it not normal to have some water in the bilge?

 

[Justin_NSA]

This may be a silly question, but please humor me for a moment. I've had my boat for 12 years, and this is my first sailboat with an automatic bilge pump, so I have a lot of data points from a single subject. Unless there's a problem with the float switch, the bilge water never gets very high, but at the same time, it has never been what I would describe as dry. There is always some drip from the prop shaft/stuffing box. Is it not normal to have some water in the bilge?

The typical stuffing box is designed to drip a little so yeah, it's normal to see some water in the bilge. It will accumulate while it stays below the trip level for the switch and drop down below when there's enough to trip it. My Aqualarm switch is designed to stay on for a little while longer to pump out more water. But my bilges are always dry because I have a dripless shaft seal.

 

[jssailem]

But my bilges are always dry because I have a dripless shaft seal.

And I would guess you wipe up what little water gets into the bilge with a sponge, then you start looking for the source.

 

[Justin_NSA]

And I would guess you wipe up what little water gets into the bilge with a sponge, then you start looking for the source.

Yep, but the only water I get is from ice melting in the fridge. My compressor is bad so we use it as an icebox for now. Rather than patch the old system I plan on going with a newer more efficient system. We only have 20amp service on the dock. The admiral needs her A/C !

 

[Derek]

Just a thought .I have the habit of shutting off the water tanks at the stop valves and turning off the water pump every time I leave the boat. Then turn them on when I come down for a sail . So possible leaks source that appears to only happen when sailing could include leaking water tanks or lines and the hot water unit. I say this because I also had a leak that had me thinking , I sail in salt water, the bilge water was fresh , traced it to the hot water unit leaking aft end.