Water (and more) under the grid or liner pan

[allanmcbride]

Hello, I am helping a friend on a Hunter 28.5, which has bad odor prob due to water, and an earlier holding tank hose leak. I have fixed the hose leak, but can not be certain that I have gotten all water out from under the liner beneath the cabin sole. The bilge pump is in this liner, but there is/are ways for water to get below the liner and bilge pump. This is the prob.
After thorough cleaning of all areas accessible under the sole, and then sailing (and heeling) , more very ugly water comes into the liner from below. There are some holes in this liner - like limber holes - but do not drain to bilge. I have inserted a vacuum pump hose (to which I fix a small diameter hose) into these holes to suck out this water and accumulation. But not sure that I get it all.
Have considered but am reluctant to cut holes in this liner pan.
Any advice would be appreciated re this matter -
- getting access to the area below the liner
- has the boat (1986) been modified - hard to believe that a boat would be made in which the bilge pump is not in the lowest part

Right now I am considering just cleaning and vacuuming all the cavities, and putting some disinfectant into the cavities and then vac that out.

Any advice, comments would be appreciated.

 

[Allan12210]

Allan,

The 28.5 is the same vintage as my 34 and may follow much of the same design. The issue with water under the bilge (really the sump that is suspended above the true boat bottom) has had to be resolved on the 34s and the 31s. If you go to the search function and look for "False Bilge" you will see a number of posts that deal with the problem. In a nutshell, it is solved by removing the bottom of the existing liner and remounting the bilge pump on the hull bottom. Nasty odors will go away. An easy test would be to drill a 1/4" hole through the bottom of the pan (1/4-3/8") and if the design is the same through the piece of 1/2" rotted plywood under that. There will then be a gap to the hull. You don't need to drill any further. If smelly water comes up, then follow what the others in the forums have done.

Allan

 

[allanmcbride]

My thanks to Allan12210 for your quick, informative and helpful reply/advice.

 

[jtm]

I am original owner of an '85 h28.5
The issue with the bilge, drain and ribs seems to be a birth defect/ design oversight by Hunter.
The ribs have limber holes and /or holes drilledthru to accommodate the heater hose from the engine compartment to outer port side to the area just centerline forward of the settee seat- where my water heater was planted. ( I've since moved it to aft cockpit locker when the hoses were compromised by vibrations at the rib limber holes.)

My bilge compartment has a rib bordering the aft side and it has a a couple holes in it to allow the shower hose and the ice box drain into the bilge. On the center line on that rib is a hole where I insert the same hose I use to extract the engine oil. The rib unfortunately acts as a dam precluding drainage to the bilge.

I never liked the lack of straight flow thru to the bilge- from engine compartment packing drip to whatever might leak inside from the base of the aft cage stantions or seepage from my almost cockpit floor height emergency tiller cover.( the design was raised in subsequent builds)

To minimize water being stranded between the ribs I have inserted a small rectangular Tupperware container under the packing. A hose from the tupper container runs thru the now orphaned heat rehouse opening at the forward lip of the engine compartment, then runs to the (vestigial) outer heater hose rib holes and into the bilge.

It's works pretty well and odors are minimal. Every now and then I flush the area with WM's citric wash and it does a good job of freshening up. After sailing some, I then vacuum out what ever residual wash is still left behind that aft bilge rib.