Keel bolf leaking

[Dan Linebarger]

I just bought a 75 hunter 25 and noticed a little water in the bilge, If ine of the Keel bolts is leaking what is the best way to stop the leak? I am getting ready to take the boat out of the water for cleaning and painting. Thanks for any help!!Dan

 

[Jon Bastien]

Water in bilge

...is a fairly normal thing. Once water finds its way into your boat, it's going to trickle its way to the lowest point- your bilge. The keel bolts are not likely to be the source of your water, though- You might want to check the following:- Seacocks. Make sure they're closed whenever the boat isn't in use.- Icebox drain. Most came plumbed in such a fashion that the ice box drains to the bilge, and the bilge pump takes care of this.- Sink drain. On my boat, the bilge pump is plumbed to the sink drain (I plan to change this during the next haul-out). Make sure the thru-hull fitting for the sink drain isn't leaking.- Water tank. Ensure the lines from your water tank aren't leaking.- Weather. Has it been raining in your area lately? Could the water be coming in from above? We have a leaky hatch, and always get a little water in the head compartment when it rains.- Toe rail. Is the toe rail loose anywhere? This area is usually under a lot of stress, and is prone to leaking.Is the boat kept in salt water or fresh? If you're in salt water, you can taste-test the water in your bilge to find out whether it's salty (and thus a 'below the waterline' leak) or fresh (above the waterline leak).Also, is makes for a little bit of a mess, but one technique for finding leaks is to spread talcum powder around in your bilge. This allows you to find the leak by looking for the tracks in the powder... Good luck finding and fixing your leaks!--Jon BastienH25 'Adagio'

 

[John Allison]

Agree with Joe

I totally agree with Joe, the leak(s) is/are most likely not associated with your keel bolts. Likely sources of unwanted leakage are, in order of likelyhood: portholes, mast cradle bolts (including thru holes for wiring), toe rail, chain plates, hatch.  Wash downs always produce water in the bilge. These leaks generally appear around the sliding companionway hatch, hatch boards, lazaret lids (in particular the aft lazaret).  Thanks Joe for the powder tracing ... good idea. I have used water with food coloring at suspect areas to locate leak sources. Another way to find leaks, especially the toe rail variety, is to visually inspect the screws/bolts (from inside the cabin) holding the rails in place. Look for drips or droplets during a rain storm. They will generally appear at the tip of the bolt or screw.

 

[Sam]

Bilgewater source

Sail a 1978 H25.Found a small hole in the underside of the hose leading from cockpit drain.Replaced it a solved the problem.

 

[Mark Major]

Bilge water

Another source of bilge water if trailering is my dry hull leaks, taking at least 24 hours to saturate and seal.