Minor leak on 222

[Dave]

I have been getting a small amount of water in the bilge of my O'Day 222. When the boat sits at anchor, no water comes in. However, when I go out sailing, a small amount of water comes in (maybe a tablespoon after a couple of hours of sailing). I have checked all of the hose connections (sink, water tank, cockpit drain) and there appears to be no leaking from those potential sources. The leak is coming from the stern, but the lazerette is completely dry. When the boat was out of the water, I saw no obvious cracks around the keel. Note however that the boat has a thick coat of bottom paint (ablative) so I can't really examine the hull carefully. I did have the hose connection to the centerboard line replaced since that is where I thought it might be originating. However, that did not appear to fix the problem. This is the first year I have had the problem. Has anyone experienced a similar problem and if so, how did you diagnose it? Any insight anyone can provide would be most appreciated. Thanks.Dave

 

[George Chamberlain]

Does your 222 have a self bailing cockpit...

...that is connected thru the stern with a hose to the stern drain? May be a small leak/ crack in the hose, it would only be apparent with weight in the stern, ie, you are in the cockpit sailing. With nobody aboard, the stern drain is above the waterline and no water comes in.

 

[Dave Clark]

I was thinking the same thing initially

However, when I checked it, I saw no water around that hose connection and everything stored in the lazerette was dry. It's probably worth a closer inspection next time I go out. However, I don't want to leave the boat in the water too long with an undiagnosed leak.

 

[EJ Tews]

From The Stern?

Are you sure from the stern? I had a similiae issue in my O'Day 25 and discovered it was from the bow eye. The bow eye was just flopping aroundand as I sailed through a chop water would enter into the bilge. Just a thought!EJ TewsJennifer Lea

 

[Josh]

Cockpit Drain

The thru-hull fitting on my 22 had cracked and was allowing a small amount of water to come in. My problem worked the other way though, when it rained, water gathered, but not during sailing. I poked around for awhile and finally found that the plastic fitting had a small crack in it. I replaced it with bronze and now have no problems!If you have a trailer and a friend, you might want to pull the boat out. Take a hose, and spray each fitting as your friend goes around looking to see if it's leaking around them. Josh