This is too weird....

[emergpa1]

So we finally had a couple of days in a row without rain. So I made sure the bilge was very dry. I suctioned all the water out both in the salon, and in the hold under the cockpit. Dried it all out carefully with a cloth. And made sure the area under the settees was dry also. We did not get any more rain but still this morning when i got up, the bilge had a couple of cups of water in it again. Could it be coming from the hose or tube that runs from the cockpit through the bilge and into the keel? Maybe it has water in it from the rains, and is seeping out. Can it drain if the keel is raised? (It is raised now since it is sitting on the trailer). The boat seams dry everywhere, but any rain fills the bilge approx half way. The only leaks i can find is a small amount from the rub rail near the stern. It is only a trickle at best and i have never felt it was enought to account for the amount of water in the bilge after a rain.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
keith

 

[Mich222]

water in bilge

Is the boat "on-the-hard" or in water? Is the boat fully covered , or have a boom tent covering? Can you find any signs of water or water intrusion "upstream" from the bilge that are wet?

So we finally had a couple of days in a row without rain. So I made sure the bilge was very dry. I suctioned all the water out both in the salon, and in the hold under the cockpit. Dried it all out carefully with a cloth. And made sure the area under the settees was dry also. We did not get any more rain but still this morning when i got up, the bilge had a couple of cups of water in it again. Could it be coming from the hose or tube that runs from the cockpit through the bilge and into the keel? Maybe it has water in it from the rains, and is seeping out. Can it drain if the keel is raised? (It is raised now since it is sitting on the trailer). The boat seams dry everywhere, but any rain fills the bilge approx half way. The only leaks i can find is a small amount from the rub rail near the stern. It is only a trickle at best and i have never felt it was enought to account for the amount of water in the bilge after a rain.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
keith

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Keith leaks

Is the boat "on-the-hard" or in water? Is the boat fully covered , or have a boom tent covering? Can you find any signs of water or water intrusion "upstream" from the bilge that are wet?

Keith,

Leaks on sailboats are part of life. More so on old boats. Since I have a very similar boat, just not so fancy, here are some clues.

How did water get in, in the first place?

From the amount that you stated and locations, I would look for several leaks. Since boat is still in your back yard, consider the gold standard leak test. That is get into the boat and have some squirt the boat with garden hose. Let them start from front and work toward back.

Then you start in front when they are squirting from with flashlight. It would be best to remove that wood trim forward of v berth. While lying on back watch all screws such as those for cleats, bow hardware, deck trim, the small clips for attaching the anchor line to, the fitting under the anchor locker, the exiting thru hull.

While the squirter still squirts, put fingers under the groove for deck trim and deck hull mating. While squirter still squirts, check under V berth to see if any water made it all the way down.

Now you have the hole behing vanity and locker behind head. Look to see if any water. Feel all edges inside to see it wet. Reach up on inside of cabin liner to see if wet.

Continue to cabin area. Check under setees for any wetness. Check under both bilge boards. Stick head under setees with flashlight looking aft thru small gaps to see if you see any water.

Remove the covers and check behind to see if you see any wetness. Put hands back and around to see if you feel wetness. Climb in berth and remove covers and see if you see any wetness. The reach around and touch all fitings and mating surface to see if any wetness. Climb in bilge to see if you can see where wetness is coming from.

Keep in mind from amount of water, it sounds like more than one leak. It sounds like it is draining after the rain.

When closing hatch cover make sure that laps over boards as far as it can, and is not just at edge of top board.

Now, welcome to finding leaks on sailboats.

Ed K
26
addendum:

 

[RichBone]

When it rained I had water coming in through the outlet of the manual bilge pump when the pump handle was left in the top of the "suction" position.

Rich

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

I would look at the cockpit drain in transom first. Hold the hose right on the passage thru and then check keel sump for trickle. Good luck.

 

[emergpa1]

thanks guys for the posts. i have actually spent several hours in the boat while it was raining...we have had a lot of rain this year.. and all the cabin and forward area has been checked, dry as a bone, except of course the bilge. since i took the boat completely apart, i was able to check for leaks as i went. Nothing up front, nothing in the settees, nothing along the seam of the deck and hull, etc. under the cockpit, in what i call the hold, i did have a couple of bad leaks, the first were the instruments, leaking like crazy..pouring right over the rear bulkhead, my ac power circuite breaker box, and battery.(if we had been in the boat during a hard rain and used the galley sink we would have been electrecuted) all that is ruined...but I stopped that, the screws for the cockpit settee and locker hinges were leaking, fixed that,then the fittng for the tube for the keel fin, fixed that, the cockpit drain has been dry. then only other leak i can find are abouit three screws on the aft starboard rubrail, just a trickle really. The rear bulkhead is bone dry. the travelers were leaking, but i reseated those as welll (that was a bear) same for the winches. So i am looking at a leak through the bilge pump like rich was saying, or something to do with the hose that the line to raise the keel blade travels through. I did run a garden hose into that tube and got just a little moisture, but not enough to account, or at least i don;t think, but it may be a combo...also there is a NO MANS LAND under the steps of the gangway, aft of the bilge, that is hard to see into, i cut a small hole in the floor of the area under the gangway steps, but it looked dry. Or my boat is haunted.!.

 

[emergpa1]

i can't believe it, i went out to check the boat before i go to work and , you guessed it, more water in the bilge. I checked my pump, dry, so it has to be water seeping iin from the hose that the keel blade line runs through. I filled it with water from the hose yesterday and i bet it doesn't completly drain. I am not going to try to repair that on the trailer, i will keep an eye on it, and look at it at the club on the lift, i will let you guys know what i find out, it may be usefull info for the future.
keith

 

[RichBone]

Good Luck

Rich

 

[amyette94]

The only thing I can think of is like the dew on the grass in the morining is on the boat and as the day progressed the water just ran off and collected down there. I'm probably wrong, but thats my best guess

 

[emergpa1]

shoaldrafter started another thread with this topic called "keiths leak"
he had a good comment about the aft sink through hull
keith