I keep getting some water in the bilge (about 1 gallon in 24 hours) I have checked the engine compartment and it is dry and also all the floor boards aft and forward of bildge area (speed senser area is also dry), all areas are dry but when I lift the center floor above the bilge area, there the water stands again. I have removed the water and cleaned the bilge area to try to see where there water is coming from but can not see a pattern. Could this be coming from the bolts holding the keel ?? I seems to be sea water as it has a small salt taste. I am in brackish water. My boat is a 42 Hunter passage.
Water in the bilge
- Thread starter Harleyman18483
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food dye?
I have a similar problem. I've wondered if there is any reason not to flush some food dye through the toilet and by that means assure whether this is the source of the water in the bilge.
I have a similar problem. I've wondered if there is any reason not to flush some food dye through the toilet and by that means assure whether this is the source of the water in the bilge.
Good idea John.
Use food coloring and add it to the holding tank and to fresh water system as well. I am assuming harleyman has been all over his thru hulls & pacing gland as well as keel bolts. Regards, Fred F.
Use food coloring and add it to the holding tank and to fresh water system as well. I am assuming harleyman has been all over his thru hulls & pacing gland as well as keel bolts. Regards, Fred F.
If you have had a freeze, look at hoses, valves,
thruhulls and the engine/motor. A gallon a day when using the boat isn't much but another freeze could bust things open. Have you grounded lately? Have you had alot of rain? Could it be deck stantion leaks? Hope you find it soon, just for the comfort of knowing! r.w.landau
thruhulls and the engine/motor. A gallon a day when using the boat isn't much but another freeze could bust things open. Have you grounded lately? Have you had alot of rain? Could it be deck stantion leaks? Hope you find it soon, just for the comfort of knowing! r.w.landau
When did it start or when did you first note it?
128 ounces per gallon means 5.3 ounces per hour. Dry everything completely and wait and see where it starts to get wet. If the leak is the size you say it ammounts to 31 teaspoons per hour. Or one about every 2 minutes. This won't be easy to find but it also isn't likely to get better by its self. Consider a teaspoonful of water to learn just how much or little that is and then conduct your search accordingly.
128 ounces per gallon means 5.3 ounces per hour. Dry everything completely and wait and see where it starts to get wet. If the leak is the size you say it ammounts to 31 teaspoons per hour. Or one about every 2 minutes. This won't be easy to find but it also isn't likely to get better by its self. Consider a teaspoonful of water to learn just how much or little that is and then conduct your search accordingly.
You do not describe how you measured the
accumulated water nor how did you dry the bilge up so I will start way at the basics. Pardon me if the information is unnecessary. The hull of the boat has nooks and cavities all over the undersole. This nooks hold water just as well as the bilge. Sometimes it takes days to thoroughly be able to dry up a bilge as when you soak up the water it is just as soon replaced with water coming from other compartments. Some boats have showers, refrigerators and lavatory sinks which drain into the underside. A rain leak from last week's storm may still be trapped down there. Salt water entering through the packing gland last time you used the boat may still be trapped down there. Also there will always be some water left in the bilge as the pump will loose suction before removing it all up. There will also be water backflow and its volume will depend on the diameter and length of your discharge hose. The best way to observe the magnitude of a leak is to check how often is the bilge pump cycling and don't go by how quickly the bilge fills back up after you soak the water out. 1 gallon in a 24 hour period is not a whole lot. Ross broke it down to about a teaspoonful an hour and that small amount can be inconclusive on whether you have a leak or not. Good luck and good hunting.
accumulated water nor how did you dry the bilge up so I will start way at the basics. Pardon me if the information is unnecessary. The hull of the boat has nooks and cavities all over the undersole. This nooks hold water just as well as the bilge. Sometimes it takes days to thoroughly be able to dry up a bilge as when you soak up the water it is just as soon replaced with water coming from other compartments. Some boats have showers, refrigerators and lavatory sinks which drain into the underside. A rain leak from last week's storm may still be trapped down there. Salt water entering through the packing gland last time you used the boat may still be trapped down there. Also there will always be some water left in the bilge as the pump will loose suction before removing it all up. There will also be water backflow and its volume will depend on the diameter and length of your discharge hose. The best way to observe the magnitude of a leak is to check how often is the bilge pump cycling and don't go by how quickly the bilge fills back up after you soak the water out. 1 gallon in a 24 hour period is not a whole lot. Ross broke it down to about a teaspoonful an hour and that small amount can be inconclusive on whether you have a leak or not. Good luck and good hunting.
Gunwales
Hunters used to be notorious for leaks that got inside the rubrail and between the deck and hull, seeping into the bilge. I finally sealed my 29.5 and that solved the problem. Hunter finally built a better way and my 320 doesn't leak. Wilmington seems to have gotten a lot of rain lately, and the water running down the rubrails could have easy access. Try drying out the bilge and hosing down JUST the rubrails to test the theory. When you solve the problem, we'll send you the Middle East to fix that.
Hunters used to be notorious for leaks that got inside the rubrail and between the deck and hull, seeping into the bilge. I finally sealed my 29.5 and that solved the problem. Hunter finally built a better way and my 320 doesn't leak. Wilmington seems to have gotten a lot of rain lately, and the water running down the rubrails could have easy access. Try drying out the bilge and hosing down JUST the rubrails to test the theory. When you solve the problem, we'll send you the Middle East to fix that.
Leak checks
The usual suspects are 1. the stuffing box easy to fix first check to see if the water is salt or fresh If its fresh its not the stuffing box. If its salt look at the stuffing box see if its dripping pretty good tightn it up. 2. the rub rail not easy to find not that easy to to fix you can use a washable colored dye to find where the leak is. thats the hardest part. once you find the leak you have to remove the rub rail and caulk the joint with 3m 4200. And finally the 3. the windows. easy to find. not so easy to fix you have to take them out and re seal them.
The usual suspects are 1. the stuffing box easy to fix first check to see if the water is salt or fresh If its fresh its not the stuffing box. If its salt look at the stuffing box see if its dripping pretty good tightn it up. 2. the rub rail not easy to find not that easy to to fix you can use a washable colored dye to find where the leak is. thats the hardest part. once you find the leak you have to remove the rub rail and caulk the joint with 3m 4200. And finally the 3. the windows. easy to find. not so easy to fix you have to take them out and re seal them.
It wouldn't be a Hunter if it didn't leak....
just kidding all you Hunter fans but an old Hunter dealer told me that. Anyway, pump the bilge water out, then dry it out with a towel... Get it as dry as you can. Spray Foaming Bubbles all over the bilge and look for water coming in arount the keel bolts and any cracks in the bilge area. Check the keel stub when the boat is out of the water. Is it hollow between the boat and the lead section of the keel? Water gets trapped here...
just kidding all you Hunter fans but an old Hunter dealer told me that. Anyway, pump the bilge water out, then dry it out with a towel... Get it as dry as you can. Spray Foaming Bubbles all over the bilge and look for water coming in arount the keel bolts and any cracks in the bilge area. Check the keel stub when the boat is out of the water. Is it hollow between the boat and the lead section of the keel? Water gets trapped here...
Rub Rail Leak
If it is the rub rail, run a bead of silicon along the top and bottom of the rail. This will stop external water intrusion into the hull deck seam.
If it is the rub rail, run a bead of silicon along the top and bottom of the rail. This will stop external water intrusion into the hull deck seam.
Leaks leave tracks
Shake some talcum powder in the areas you can get to, including around the rudder post and accessible areas adjacent to the bilge and come back a couple days later and you may at least see the tracks of any water comming down toward the bilge. If no tracks down into the bilge you may have water comming in thru the keel bolts.
Shake some talcum powder in the areas you can get to, including around the rudder post and accessible areas adjacent to the bilge and come back a couple days later and you may at least see the tracks of any water comming down toward the bilge. If no tracks down into the bilge you may have water comming in thru the keel bolts.
Do you have a ....
....bilge filter fitted to your bilge pump? You should have one. Your automatic bilge pump is not able to discriminate what it pumps overboard. A bilge filter that is able to remove petro-chemicals should be a necessary part of the bilge pump system. This way any diesel, oil, or gasoline that makes its way to the bilge will not automatically be pumped overboard but be trapped by the filter. The EPA is set to prohibit ANY bilge pumping next year. It would have been a much more intelligent choice to simply filter the water.
....bilge filter fitted to your bilge pump? You should have one. Your automatic bilge pump is not able to discriminate what it pumps overboard. A bilge filter that is able to remove petro-chemicals should be a necessary part of the bilge pump system. This way any diesel, oil, or gasoline that makes its way to the bilge will not automatically be pumped overboard but be trapped by the filter. The EPA is set to prohibit ANY bilge pumping next year. It would have been a much more intelligent choice to simply filter the water.
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