My Beneteau 373 leaks...

[twofoot]

I own a 2007 Beneteau 373. We have had a water leak for some time. The company I purchased the boat from has been very cooperative, unfortunately, they cannot locate the leak. We have stopped screwing down the floor boards because we need to wet vac the bilge on a weekly basis, approximately 15-20 gallons per cleaning. The last time we were at the boat, (mid May 2010) the front tank was almost empty, the aft tank was full. Most if not all the water collects around the kitchen area and fills up the middle three compartments. Everywhere I/we inspect, it appears dry… Does anyone have any advice or recommendations? We know our internal water system is leaking, frustrated…

Many thanks

 

[Weasel]

373 Leak

Does your boat have A/C? If so, and the A/C unit is located in a compartment off the lazzarette, you may have condensate overflow. My condensate flowed into the area yo have described. The limber hoses should permit the water to flow into the bilge sump. Pour some blue food colring in your tanks, then see if the water is colored. Hope this helps. If it is the A/C get a condensator from Mermaid Marine and you will have no problem.

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

We know our internal water system is leaking…

If the water is coming from your internal [fresh] water and your tank seems to be emptying, you should be able to track down the leak, even though it may take some time to find it.

Couple of things to check:

Does the water leak if the pump is OFF at the breaker? [Leave the pump off when you leave the boat for the week]. If it still leaks, then I would check the tanks and hoses from the tanks to the water intake manifold first.

If it only leaks when the system is pressurized, then check from the pump to the hot water heater, the water heater itself, and the hoses from the water heater. A leak from the heater, especially if from the pressure relief valve, might be going right into the sump, so you might not get water in the various "compartments" between the stringers.

If not the water heater, then check your hoses from the distribution manifold to each outlet (head, galley, showers, etc.). Might take a while but do this only if it leaks when the system is pressurized.

 

[Mike B]

Also check the swim platform shower control and spray head. They can leak and if they do the water will run down under or around the engine and into the bilge. Sometimes it collects under the engine, sometimes not. One tell tale is constant water in the sump below the packing gland. You can check the shower assembly by running your hand under the it. If you feel any kind of moisture fix or replace it.

Another trick to try is putting some water coloring in the tank. It helps you determine if it's a fresh or salt water problem and the color leaves a nice trail to follow.

 

[twofoot]

Thank you all very much, Weasel, Paul and Mike B. I am going to forward this data to the salesman. I hope this issue can be resolved. Any other insight will be very appreciated.

 

[Bob Mack]

Thank you all very much, Weasel, Paul and Mike B. I am going to forward this data to the salesman. I hope this issue can be resolved. Any other insight will be very appreciated.

Hi, I also own a 2007 373 and would additionally recommend checking whether the check valve on the engine cooling water discharge loop is leaking water. I've had to replace it twice. There is a clear discharge pipe affixed to the starboard wall of the engine compartment just forward of the oil dipstick location. if there is water in the area below this could be the cause.

It's a difficult leak to spot as it only occurs when the engine is operating. (Is the water in your bilge salty?) As a short term fix I've occasionally plugged the tube, but the long term repair is to channel the tube to the exterior thru the hull, or to install a non vented anti siphon loop.

Have had no other water leakage into the bilges you describe. In fact I don't think my bilge pump has ever had to pump except for testing.

 

[DougM]

I don't think he would find salty water in the bilge. The boat sits in FRESH water...
It makes it a little hard to tell whether its coming from outside.

I've seen other posts that mantion the water heater fittings as a possible culprit. It seems they have a tendency to come apart.

 

[twofoot]

Thank you all....Still searching for my leak...

 

[JohnShannon]

The most important bit of info is, Is this water inside water or coming from outside.

If the water is coming from inside, annoying but can't sink the boat no matter how bad the leak gets.

If the water is coming from outside, then the boat can sink esp if the leak gets worse.

Can you drain all interior water and see if the leak goes away.

 

[twofoot]

Good morning all. Thank you for the numerous replies. Monday 6/7/10 I extracted 1 gallon of water. (John Shannon, the water is from inside the boat). Wednesday morning, I removed 1 gallon of water. The water is now collecting in the bilge compartment between the kitchen sink and the aft cabin. Is it possible, even on these colder days in Ohio, that the kitchen freezer/kitchen refrigerator could produce 1 gallon of condensation? My boat salesman believes the leak is coming from the Aft Tank, he believes he needs to remove the Aft tank and repair or replace the unit. Is this major surgery???

I really appreciate the advice and suggestions everyone has provided. Please respond, I check every day...

 

[oceanbird]

Hello twofoot,

I had exactly the same problem with my 373. The problem was a hose had come off a water distribution manifold under the sink in the head directly above the shower sump pump. In fact water got into the sump pump and damaged it.

This may not be the problem in your case but I thought it was worth a mention.

I woke up one morning with water in the bilge and it was pure luck that I found the disconnected hose (when trying to fix the shower sump pump!)

Good luck.

 

[ARUNDEL]

Water Leak

I had a similar leak with my 1994 351. We built a pressure tester for the water lines from hardward store parts, which included a pressure gauge then plugged one end. Using a portable air compressor (the type to fill tires) we pressure tested the line. Sure enough, we found a leak in a water line going from the water heater to the galley in the black-with-red striped vinyl tubing they were using at the time. Luckily, we located the leak close enough to the water heater that we could splice in a new section. You can get replacement tubing from Beneteau if you have to snake a new line through, which I'd recommend since they put the lines in with tie wraps which make it almost impossible to follow the old line out with a larger diameter new line.