Water in the bildge

[Steve]

I have an '87 Daysailor 3. I have an ongoing problem with the bildge compartment filling up with water every time I go sailing. It doesn't seem to cause any interference other than the extra weight. I usually pump the water out (with a hand pump) but it fills up again and again. The hull is completely sealed with the exception of the opening for the centerboard. The water must be coming in from that point but I can't figure out why. So here are three questions. Does anyone else have that problem with their DS3? If so, were you able to fix it? Can you pass on any advice to me?Thanks!

 

[Tony Maris]

Bilge Leaks for DS II

Steve, Pressurize the bilge and soap down the entire outside of the hull. Look for bubbles to form indicating a leak from a hole. Particularly the deck to hull junction around the edges. I have found that this area to very thin and it concealed a hole that I never noticed until recently at the transom corner. Check your transom corners thoroughly.

 

[mike mccalpin]

check drain hose

Open the back inspection cover and check for a leak in the drain hose

 

[Fielder Nelms]

Leaky O'day

I have exactly the same problem with my 1981 daysailer. If you figure out the solution, would you please let me know. I don't see any visible signs of leaks in hull, plugs, transom, etc. I think the problem has to be with the centerboard.

 

[Mark]

Leaky Hull

I purchased a 1983 Daysailer this spring, it too had some water in the bilge. Since I had solved a leaky centerboard problem on a previously owned Javlin I figured it would be an easy fix on the Daysailer.Only after getting the boat home a close inspection revealed that unlike the Javlin, the Daysailer's centerboard was constructed differently. The only two ways the centerboard can leak on a Daysailer can leak; through the screws that hold the chrome plates that support the centerboard pivot pin wedges, or through a crack in the upper portion of the centerboard trunk (that you can't see unless you remove the centerboard).Solution: If water is getting through a breach in the hull, it should also flow back out of that same hole. With the boat on the trailer remove the cockpit floor access screw plates and then fill the inner hull with water from a garden hose. Then check to see where the water leaks out from the bottom of the hull.As to my water problem, I could find no breaches in the hull and figured that the water must have gotten in through a loose cockpit access screw plate when left outside during a rain storm. Since I drained and dried out the inner hull I have not taken in any water again.