So our Hunter 306 has what I call a blind bilge and a deep bilge. The deep bilge is what it sounds like: it's deep and has an automatic and a manual bilge pump, and its walls are defined by the hull of the boat. Between the deep bilge and the companionway steps is what I call the blind bilge (sorry: no picture). It is much more shallow, and is not served by a bilge pump, nor does it drain anywhere. It contains just a couple of keel bolts and a pan that fills up with rainwater leaks... sometimes. I'm 99% sure that the walls of the blind bilge are part of one of those drop-in structural pans that are glued/tabbed to the hull. In fact, the deep bilge continues on aft, underneath the blind bilge, but that part is completely inaccessible. There are a couple of holes aft of the engine, near the stuffing box, that let leaked water exit the structural pan (which forms the floor of the engine room, as well as the blind bilge) and proceed along the hull to the deep bilge.
Anyway, for years I've had some sort of rainwater leak that finds its way eventually to the blind bilge. I've tried to find/fix it many times, including removing and resealing the entire rubrail in 2020-2022. One of my other prime suspects for the leak was the entire companionway area, which is just over the blind bilge. This year, since the mast was off over the winter, I completely tarped this area, both to keep any water out and as a test:
I didn't go to the boat for about 4 weeks, mid-January to mid-February, and when I did, I had more water in the blind bilge than I've ever seen before: maybe 3-4 gallons, which I cleaned out. Because of the tarp, there's just no way that this came from the companionway (my prime suspect) or any of the fixtures under it, to include the mast step (which was covered as well). Given the aft-ish location of the blind bilge, I'm guessing the leak is in the aft half of the boat, which might be stanchions, bit I thought a couple of my other suspects were more likely. These include
1) engine panel in the cockpit
2) stern shower panel under the helm seat
3) old unused GPS unit bolted on the starboard side aft quarter
4) wiring bundle which comes up through the cockpit floor (under a removable panel you stand on when you're at the helm) and goes up through the steering pedestal
5) bilge blower vent on the port side aft quarter
Frankly, I think #1 is unlikely. #2 is an unknown. #3 I suspect is causing a small leak, but I can't see how 4 gallons of rain got through there. #4 seems a likely source, although it's been all gooped up with silicone for years. #5: you'll see below.
So here's the area where #4 (the wiring bundle) comes out under the removable floor in the cockpit, looking forward towards the steering pedestal:
Yeah: I know it's dirty. I cleaned it up, but I should have waited to take the pictures. The wiring bundle (helm instruments and engine throttle controls) can be seen exiting through the deck in the upper LHS and heading forward to run up the steering pedestal. Here's a close-up:
You can see where the dealer gooped it up with silicone years ago to try to prevent a leak into the aft cabin. It's a little hard to make out, but there is a major rain gutter just to the left of the exit point. This gutter catches all the water from the port side cockpit seats, and directs it in a firehose (if it's a big rainstorm) right at the place where the wires exit the cockpit floor. Not one of Hunter's better design ideas. This, together with the fact that I get rain water in the blind bilge in a really hit-or-miss way, makes me suspect #4 as the major source of leaks. There are many times when we get a decent rain and there's no water in the bilge. It only happens maybe 1 time out of 3, so maybe it's only when a really torrential flood hits that this gutter becomes a raging river and causes a leak? Hard to diagnose an intermittent problem. I've considered maybe cutting a short bit of PVC pipe to wrap around the wire bundle and either gooping it in place with some silicone or 4200.
Another suspect: #5, the bilge blower vent. Look what just happened this year:
This guy connects to the engine area right over the stuffing box via some 3" dryer hose. Clearly, the vent needs to be replaced. I just found and ordered a Sea-Dog vent (in stainless steel) to replace it.
Meanwhile, I've taped plastic over the vent, the shower box, the engine panel, and the GPS puck, and will await the major rain we're supposed to have on Monday to see what happens...
Anyway, for years I've had some sort of rainwater leak that finds its way eventually to the blind bilge. I've tried to find/fix it many times, including removing and resealing the entire rubrail in 2020-2022. One of my other prime suspects for the leak was the entire companionway area, which is just over the blind bilge. This year, since the mast was off over the winter, I completely tarped this area, both to keep any water out and as a test:
I didn't go to the boat for about 4 weeks, mid-January to mid-February, and when I did, I had more water in the blind bilge than I've ever seen before: maybe 3-4 gallons, which I cleaned out. Because of the tarp, there's just no way that this came from the companionway (my prime suspect) or any of the fixtures under it, to include the mast step (which was covered as well). Given the aft-ish location of the blind bilge, I'm guessing the leak is in the aft half of the boat, which might be stanchions, bit I thought a couple of my other suspects were more likely. These include
1) engine panel in the cockpit
2) stern shower panel under the helm seat
3) old unused GPS unit bolted on the starboard side aft quarter
4) wiring bundle which comes up through the cockpit floor (under a removable panel you stand on when you're at the helm) and goes up through the steering pedestal
5) bilge blower vent on the port side aft quarter
Frankly, I think #1 is unlikely. #2 is an unknown. #3 I suspect is causing a small leak, but I can't see how 4 gallons of rain got through there. #4 seems a likely source, although it's been all gooped up with silicone for years. #5: you'll see below.
So here's the area where #4 (the wiring bundle) comes out under the removable floor in the cockpit, looking forward towards the steering pedestal:
Yeah: I know it's dirty. I cleaned it up, but I should have waited to take the pictures. The wiring bundle (helm instruments and engine throttle controls) can be seen exiting through the deck in the upper LHS and heading forward to run up the steering pedestal. Here's a close-up:
You can see where the dealer gooped it up with silicone years ago to try to prevent a leak into the aft cabin. It's a little hard to make out, but there is a major rain gutter just to the left of the exit point. This gutter catches all the water from the port side cockpit seats, and directs it in a firehose (if it's a big rainstorm) right at the place where the wires exit the cockpit floor. Not one of Hunter's better design ideas. This, together with the fact that I get rain water in the blind bilge in a really hit-or-miss way, makes me suspect #4 as the major source of leaks. There are many times when we get a decent rain and there's no water in the bilge. It only happens maybe 1 time out of 3, so maybe it's only when a really torrential flood hits that this gutter becomes a raging river and causes a leak? Hard to diagnose an intermittent problem. I've considered maybe cutting a short bit of PVC pipe to wrap around the wire bundle and either gooping it in place with some silicone or 4200.
Another suspect: #5, the bilge blower vent. Look what just happened this year:
This guy connects to the engine area right over the stuffing box via some 3" dryer hose. Clearly, the vent needs to be replaced. I just found and ordered a Sea-Dog vent (in stainless steel) to replace it.
Meanwhile, I've taped plastic over the vent, the shower box, the engine panel, and the GPS puck, and will await the major rain we're supposed to have on Monday to see what happens...
Last edited:
