I've read through the archives but haven't quite found the answer to my problem. I have water leaking into the main bilge. It is coming from the aft most area and is trickling down from somewhere. It is not coming from a keel bolt. Could this be coming from the rudder post? Does the rudder post drain into the main bilge or into the engine bilge? If it drains into the main bilge, what route does it follow? I have tightened the stuffing box so this is not the source. My engine bilge is dry. As always thanks for the input and guidance. Mike
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Easy to check
The rudder stuffing box is easy to check on the H33. Just remove the bulkhead at the rear of the quaterberth on the port side. Take a flashlight, and lay down in the berth with your head to the stern. The stuffing tube will be very easy to see. If it is leaking, you will see water right in front of the tube in the hollowed out area. If it is leaking, I believe it then will drain under the engine area to your bilge. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
The rudder stuffing box is easy to check on the H33. Just remove the bulkhead at the rear of the quaterberth on the port side. Take a flashlight, and lay down in the berth with your head to the stern. The stuffing tube will be very easy to see. If it is leaking, you will see water right in front of the tube in the hollowed out area. If it is leaking, I believe it then will drain under the engine area to your bilge. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
H33 interior drainage
Mike, nothing is supposed to get into your engine sump but leakage from the engine. It is designed so that fluids from the engine or engine filters stay in the engine sump and never get into the main bilge until it overflows the aft lip of the engine sump. If you have water ponded above the aft lip of the engine sump, then the passageway between the botom of the engine sump and the hull is crudded up and can be cleaned out by rodding out from the aft end of the engine sump. Ken Palmer's good photo of the rudder shaft packing nut identifies a prime canditate for leakage. If it is leaking there, then the tube will be wet. It'll also leak much more underway than when stopped. By accessing the very bottom v of the hull ,(either by seeing it directly, with a mirror, or by groping in the dark if necessary) you can determine where the water first appears and thus eliminate all potential leakage sources that would drain and reach the centerline upstream of the first wetness. You should be able to inspect directly or perhaps with a mirror the strut attachment bolts that Jim Legere points out as a potential leakage source. rain leakage from the cockpit decks may probably result in a ponding of water aft of the rudder tube block that shows in Palmer's photo.
Mike, nothing is supposed to get into your engine sump but leakage from the engine. It is designed so that fluids from the engine or engine filters stay in the engine sump and never get into the main bilge until it overflows the aft lip of the engine sump. If you have water ponded above the aft lip of the engine sump, then the passageway between the botom of the engine sump and the hull is crudded up and can be cleaned out by rodding out from the aft end of the engine sump. Ken Palmer's good photo of the rudder shaft packing nut identifies a prime canditate for leakage. If it is leaking there, then the tube will be wet. It'll also leak much more underway than when stopped. By accessing the very bottom v of the hull ,(either by seeing it directly, with a mirror, or by groping in the dark if necessary) you can determine where the water first appears and thus eliminate all potential leakage sources that would drain and reach the centerline upstream of the first wetness. You should be able to inspect directly or perhaps with a mirror the strut attachment bolts that Jim Legere points out as a potential leakage source. rain leakage from the cockpit decks may probably result in a ponding of water aft of the rudder tube block that shows in Palmer's photo.
Mike, let me know...
...how you make out. I am having the same problem on my '79 h33. I am very interested in knowing how it works out. Email: bartellmike@aol.com.
...how you make out. I am having the same problem on my '79 h33. I am very interested in knowing how it works out. Email: bartellmike@aol.com.
I second the advice you are getting
I've had leaks in all the areas that Terry, Jim, and Ken mention. The good news is that once fixed correctly, I've had no more problems. IF your boat is/was in salt water, you may find that crevice corrosion has resulted in holes in the stainless steel rudder stuffing box cap and you will need to get a new one made, as new stuffing will not fix the problem.
I've had leaks in all the areas that Terry, Jim, and Ken mention. The good news is that once fixed correctly, I've had no more problems. IF your boat is/was in salt water, you may find that crevice corrosion has resulted in holes in the stainless steel rudder stuffing box cap and you will need to get a new one made, as new stuffing will not fix the problem.
another source of bilgewater
Mike: I don't know how the H33 is configured, but my bilge on an 81 H37c was filling up from two leaking freshwater tanks (See archives). If you have old aluminum tanks, see if emptying the fresh water stops the leak, or put in some food coloring or.... RS
Mike: I don't know how the H33 is configured, but my bilge on an 81 H37c was filling up from two leaking freshwater tanks (See archives). If you have old aluminum tanks, see if emptying the fresh water stops the leak, or put in some food coloring or.... RS
Don't suppose its your ice box ....
draining into the bilge?? You know there is a drain that runs from the bottom of the ice box to the bilge. If you use ice for cooling, that could be as source of several gallons of water. just a thought.
draining into the bilge?? You know there is a drain that runs from the bottom of the ice box to the bilge. If you use ice for cooling, that could be as source of several gallons of water. just a thought.
here's one more possibility
While I totally agree with all of the other suggestions posted, I just found a possible culprit on my H33. It seems the rubber hose between the shaft log and the shaft packing assembly had loosened up and was sliding off the shaft log. In my case, I tried to tighten the hose clamp which actually ended up pinching the end of the rubber hose off the tube rather than clamping it on. This was done with the boat out of the water while changing the packing. When the boat went in... Whoosh! Water was gushing in! Fortunately a new hose hose clamp solved the problem. Maybe you're getting a trickle from that spot. Also, until I was poking around near the shaft packing I had no idea of the separation between the engine bilge and the "drip area" for the shaft that Terry spoke off. As he mentioned, the opening was full of crud and everything was going into the engine bilge (I thought this was normal). It's clean and working much better now! Good Luck!
While I totally agree with all of the other suggestions posted, I just found a possible culprit on my H33. It seems the rubber hose between the shaft log and the shaft packing assembly had loosened up and was sliding off the shaft log. In my case, I tried to tighten the hose clamp which actually ended up pinching the end of the rubber hose off the tube rather than clamping it on. This was done with the boat out of the water while changing the packing. When the boat went in... Whoosh! Water was gushing in! Fortunately a new hose hose clamp solved the problem. Maybe you're getting a trickle from that spot. Also, until I was poking around near the shaft packing I had no idea of the separation between the engine bilge and the "drip area" for the shaft that Terry spoke off. As he mentioned, the opening was full of crud and everything was going into the engine bilge (I thought this was normal). It's clean and working much better now! Good Luck!
Here's what I found
This weekend I took all your suggestions and went to the boat. What I found was a leaky rudder post. I tightened it a lot and took it out for a while (about 5 hours of motoring). Still the bilge pump went off about every half hour. I checked it when I got back and the coupling was wet again. I'll try tightening it more but maybe it needs new packing. It seems to me this would be unlikely for a rudder but I guess it's possible. Mike
This weekend I took all your suggestions and went to the boat. What I found was a leaky rudder post. I tightened it a lot and took it out for a while (about 5 hours of motoring). Still the bilge pump went off about every half hour. I checked it when I got back and the coupling was wet again. I'll try tightening it more but maybe it needs new packing. It seems to me this would be unlikely for a rudder but I guess it's possible. Mike
I'd try some new packing first, but....
That was the problem I had that forced me to get a new packing nut made - new packing would not stop the leak until I had a new packing nut made - for my boat, at least, a new part could not be obtained from Hunter or other sources so I had a local machine shop make one from stainless steel. Others on this site have had the same problem. You have to drop the rudder to fix the problem, if you need the new nut.
That was the problem I had that forced me to get a new packing nut made - new packing would not stop the leak until I had a new packing nut made - for my boat, at least, a new part could not be obtained from Hunter or other sources so I had a local machine shop make one from stainless steel. Others on this site have had the same problem. You have to drop the rudder to fix the problem, if you need the new nut.
Packing size?
Does anyone know the size packing I would need for the rudder stuffing box on a 33?
Does anyone know the size packing I would need for the rudder stuffing box on a 33?
Ken Palmer's Photo forum article
Mike, look under photo forum articles for the H33. palmer posted a fine article for the packing replacement.
Mike, look under photo forum articles for the H33. palmer posted a fine article for the packing replacement.
Stupid me
Terry, You're right. Ken's article is great. I read it a while back and didn't remember the packing size was there. Or the number of layers. Senior moment? Too many days at sea? Info overload? I dunno. Maybe it's too many hours on my head in the locker.
Terry, You're right. Ken's article is great. I read it a while back and didn't remember the packing size was there. Or the number of layers. Senior moment? Too many days at sea? Info overload? I dunno. Maybe it's too many hours on my head in the locker.
You guys are too kind
Just catching up on the postings and ran across those nice words. The rudder stuffing box is still working; no leaks. I may have to re-visit the rudder next fall though. It appeared that there was water in the rudder again, although not as bad as last time. I should really do it the proper way and perform surgery rather than drill holes and fill. Or maybe I should look into replacing it with a new one. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty H33, Rochester, NY My web site link below
Just catching up on the postings and ran across those nice words. The rudder stuffing box is still working; no leaks. I may have to re-visit the rudder next fall though. It appeared that there was water in the rudder again, although not as bad as last time. I should really do it the proper way and perform surgery rather than drill holes and fill. Or maybe I should look into replacing it with a new one. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty H33, Rochester, NY My web site link below
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