I have just bought my dad's 1983 Hunter 33- he sold it to someone else about 13 or 14 years ago who is now selling it to me. In the compartment under the deck in the cabin, water is gathering over the course of several days. We've pumped the water out once, using the bilge pump, only to see that small compartment fill up again. If you let it go long enough, the water rises above the removable compartment lid into the cabin itself. I'm not sure where this water could be coming from and am wondering if this may be a leak in the bilge or if it's coming through the prop shaft, where it enters the hull. Has anyone else ever seen this and if so, how did you remediate it?
Standing Water in bilge pump compartment above the keel
- Thread starter dhjawor7
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- water leak
The water source must be higher than the sole for this to happen. Is the water salty or fresh (from rain)? You should be able to see if the prop shaft log is leaking, so you can indite or rule it out. Be sure to examine all of the thru-hulls for leakage. Other than the keel bolts (I assume you have a bolt-on keel) every other potential source should be visible. Maybe a hose connected to a thru-hull has a hole? If the water fills within a day, close all of the seacocks and wait. That should prove or eliminate a bunch of possible locations.
Sorry I don't know anything about your specific boat. All I can contribute is general information.
Sorry I don't know anything about your specific boat. All I can contribute is general information.
She's a fresh water boat so no sea water. I never thought of the keel bolts so it could be there, I suppose. It's an older boat- 1983. There's no evidence of any leaks from the hatch cover, etc. It really looks like the bilge fills up and if you let it, the water will rise above the floor board. In chatting with my sister who has lots of memories of the boat, many of which I have forgotten, it's apparently a long-standing issue....
I think those boats had gate valve thru-hull valves.. as Rich says close all those valves and see if the water slows.. Definitely have a "Plan B" available so that if one of the valves breaks off at the hull fitting, you have a way to quench most of the flow and get the boat out of the water..
First off, fix the float switch for your bilge pump you should never build water any more that an inch or so in the bilge.
That's a pretty good leak. The first thing to do is get a working float switch installed. It's gotta be a leak under the water line as opposed to rain coming in unless it only happens when its raining and I'm pretty sure you would have said that. Through hulls, keel bolts and stuffing box. Those are the ways in. Since the boat is new to you there is always the possibility of hull damage.
Thanks for all of the feedback. I pumped the bilge out yesterday and then shop vac'd as much of the crud out that I could so I could potentially see where the water might be coming from (not from any seacocks that I could see). It's coming in from the rear of the bilge compartment for sure so I'm thinking maybe a leaking bilge line or under the pump, maybe? Or from either the head somewhere or the prop shaft. My concern about the prop shaft though is wouldnt there be water in the engine compartment as well? At least a little? I'm not seeing any there. Still open to feedback or thoughts.
The area under the engine is usually isolated from the rest of the bilge to help prevent oil spills from finding their way into the bilge. Just watch the packing / gland nut if it is leaking there you will see the dripping. Sounds like you don't have a working float to automatically trigger the pump, this should be high on your priority list to get working and or add.
You would have to file this under too good to be true.
I have a leaky water system that duplicates your symptoms. When I fill the tank, the water slowly but surely fills the bilge. I have an automatic bilge pump,so it never reaches the cabin sole.
This would be your best eventuality. All the rest are more dire.
I have a leaky water system that duplicates your symptoms. When I fill the tank, the water slowly but surely fills the bilge. I have an automatic bilge pump,so it never reaches the cabin sole.
This would be your best eventuality. All the rest are more dire.