H23 Bilge Water Problem

[Joe Gennello]

Hi Gang. I've just purchased my first boat. Its a 1986 H23 and while she seems to be in good shape I've been chasing some water in the bilge and lazerette. In cleaning her up and have found and replaced a cracked hose in the anchor locker that was leaking. However, I still have a small amount of water in the bilge and a bit more in the lazerette. Was I foolish to expect to find a hand pump somewhere? Is there a retrofit out there or should I just keep looking to eliminate all leaks? This site and especially the forums have already been a great help. Thanks in advance for any specific suggestions.RegardsJoejgennello2@comcast.com

 

[Rob Morton]

Bilge water

There have been several posts talking about this very problem. Look back a couple of weeks ago. Crazy Dave kind of summed it all up with the last post. Enjoy the boat, we have one the same year and we love it. We had a couple of Catalina's one was a 22 and then a 25 and now the h23 and we feel this is the "perfect" boat for us. Rob MortonS/V Euphoria

 

[Kevin Keen]

All boats leak

Joe:Two points: all boats leak, and for safety reasons you should sail with a manual bilge pump on board. We H23 owners are a little crazy in searching out every little leak and trying to make the boat bone dry. Check the archives for a wealth of literature on this topic. There is also a current thread running for H23 on caulking. Enjoy your "classic H23!"- Kevin

 

[Joe]

Thanks

Thanks for the replies. I've gotten a hand-pump and she's dry right now. I'll keep an eye on the bilge and lazerette and keep tracking down any leaks.RegrdsJoeH23 "Irish Girl"

 

[crazy dave]

leaks

If the boat is in the water and you do not get any water inside, then the leak is indicative of rain or top side leaks. The two most often are the shroud chain plate covers that have to be lifted, cleaned and recaulked. Another is the hose attachement to the anchor well.If you do not know how to find those leaks, close up the boat. Put plastic over the forward hatch with tape and the companionway too. Take a leaf blower, and insert into the plastic and tape it too. Have bucket of soapy water and brush ready with another person helping. Turn on the blower and brush down every fitting and where you see bubbles or Mr. Bubble, then you have a leak. It is not good to have a leaky boat with water standing in. Mold occours. I can tell you that a customer of mine once asked me to work on their 240. It was very moldy inside and out. Water got in as the belief of hatches not being closed was not clear. Anyway, I cleaned the boat first. I got sick with bacterial and vbiral infections as a result and was sick for two months. The customer screamed as to why I did not get the work done sooner. I politely told him due to his stinkin mess, thus the delay.

 

[Richard]

H23 Leaks

I've been able to keep water out of my H23 only by covering the companionway with a tarp along with one 20' tarp over the mast making a tent. I did this after we had several days of rain (before I put tarps in place) and I found 6" of water in the floor of the boat. Not only that there are small 1/4" weep holes that go from the bilge directly into the space between the floor and the hull so the water filled this area as well. I must have bailed 10 gal. of water out of the boat. Luckily I don't think Hunter uses any wood between hulls that could rot and weaken the structure. Other than this my wife and I absolutely love the boat, it's perfect for us.