How do I get rid of it on my h23?

[Ward Niffenegger]

I got water inside over the winter due to a crack in the starboard window. While it did no damage, it is now between the hull and the floor of the cabin. It seeps slowly into the floor board area around the keel bolts. If I jump up and down on the floor at the companion way I can hear it sloshing around under the floor. Is there a drain hole or someplace that may be plugged? I assumed it should have run out into the bilge area but hasn't.I didnt want to start drilling holes in the bilge bulkhead before I ask this 'all knowing' group.ThanksWard

 

[mmsailor]

water,

Ward normally when we have gotten water in our 23 it is in the water and it eventually runs to the area under the removable boards, just a thought if the boat is still on the trailer and the bow were elevated would the water run back to the stern locker area or is there somethigng that is keeping it where it is , this is hard for me to viusalize, , good luck Mike B

 

[Tony Thomas]

Here is your answer!

The best thing to do is take a wet/dry vac, duct tape, and a piece of tubing/hose. If your boat is like mine you will have small holes near the keel bolts. You kind find the vinyl tubing at a hardware store. All you need is about 2 to 3 feet. Use the duct tape to create a seal between the nozzle hose of the vaccum and the tubing that you got at the store. Just put the tubing through the holes to suck the water out. You may want to move the tubing around back and forth in the hole to make sure you get all the water out of the crevices. Good luck.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

water

Ward;Once you have fixed the leaks, that is good news. The 23 wing keel did have one little problem. Water gets trapped into areas that are inaccessible to get the water out. Best advice is to get water out of the bilge area and use a wet/dry vac or as the other post indicated. Suck out as much water that you can and then put a heater near the bilge area in order to dry the other water that is ttrapped. Once dry, the job is done. If you ;continue to get water, guess what, you still have a leak. Good luck. To all those who cannot locate your leaks, try the baggy effect by sealing the cabin up and force air into the cabin Take a brush and soapy water and brush down all hardware and seam joints and you will see bubbles, guess what that is where your leak/leaks are.Crazy Dave Condon

 

[Mark]

Syringe

I have used a large syringe with 1-2' of vinyl hose on the end to suck up the water in those areas you are referring to.

 

[Ward Niffenegger]

GOT IT FIXED.... THANKS

Thanks for the input guys.After going over every square acessible inch of the boat cabin and bilge area, I acme to the conclusion that Dave spoke to..... Water can get to places it shouldnt be and once there can't be gotten out easily.Originally, the water entered the starboard broken window and settled in the storage area under the cabin seats. There it froze, expanded and developed a VERY small hairline crack This alowed water to gain entry into a compartment between the cabin floor and the hull. There are no openings on my boat for it to escape. I drilled a hole near the bottom under the cabin floor boards. Water POURED out. I then used all the techniques you guys described and dried the inside. I plugged the hole and glassed over the hairline crack. Just to make sure, I filled the area under the seats with water and got no leaks.Thanks everyone for the input. It helped a lotWard