Water in the boat

[YVRguy]

This is mostly a story rather than a specific request for advice but any thoughts are appreciated.

Last weekend I took my lady and another couple on what was to be a 3-day sail on our 1986 Hunter 34. On the 2nd day we started sailing in brisk wind and the boat was heeled over. One of my guests went below for something and quickly returned saying there was water sloshing around in the main cabin. Alarmed, I went below to investigate. Sure enough there was a puddle of dirty water in the cabin and the bilge was almost full. To my further alarm the bilge pump didn't seem to be working. I toggled the manual breaker for the pump and I was relieved to see the water quickly drain away. An inspection of the sea cocks and other critical places revealed no obvious leaks but I was taking no chances - we immediately motored home. In the few hours it took to get home the bilge filled up again (albeit more slowly each time) and I needed to manually activate the pump a few more times.

With the boat secured, my co-owner and I did a more thorough inspection and the only thing we could determine was that the float switch for the bilge pump was not working. We found a slow drip from the propellor shaft near the stuffing box but it eventually stopped once we were tied up. Water continued to accumulate in the bilge but now much more slowly. We could see that the water was coming from other parts of the bilge and it was taking a while for the last of it to drain into the primary compartment where the pump is located. At this point the accumulation seems to have stopped altogether.

While we initially feared the worst, it now seems possible that the water had accumulated over a much longer period of time than I had first thought. We may have had a slow leak for a long time but didn't know it because the automatic bilge pump continued to do it's job and clear the water. (We regularly check the bilge and it's always been almost dry.) The sudden failure of the float switch allowed the water to accumulate and fill the bilge.

While this comes as a big relief we are still going to have our marine mechanic do a thorough inspection of the boat and advise us on whether we should pull her out of the water. We will obviously replace the float switch shortly.

I have heard that all boats leak a little bit from places like the keel bolts or the stuffing box but I'm really not sure how much is acceptable. Is it normal for the bilge pump to need to regularly engage and clear out accumulated water? I'm also curious as to why our leak seems to have nearly stopped now that we are at the dock. I'm left rather unnerved about the whole thing...

 

[Sandy Stone]

Not sure if this is applicable to your situation or not, but I'll chime in with this story:

On our recent cruise down the Gulf coast, we were sailing at night between Pensacola and Panama City. We had been trying to beat the arrival of a front, and failed, so we were now motorsailing into 20-kt winds about 30 degrees off the bow (another learning experience). Waves had built quickly to 4-6 feet, short period, so we were heeled over and really getting pounded. The temperature had dropped with the wind shift, so I went below to get some more clothes on, and was greeted with water sloshing around in the shower pan. Pulled up the floorboard in way of the keel sump, and found water there too. Hmm... just me and my wife, 1AM on a dark night, 20 miles out in the Gulf in bad conditions, and we're taking on water? Like you, I checked all the thru-hulls, paddlewheel for the speedo, prop shaft seal, and all looked good. Now I'm wondering about keelbolts. Then I finally remembered to taste the water - what do you know, it was fresh. (Best tasting bilge water ever.) We had filled the water tanks before leaving Pensacola, and the violent motion of the boat was evidently sloshing it out through the vents or maybe seams.
So the moral of this story is, did you taste the water? And as an aside, no amount of leakage around the keelbolts is tolerable. Good luck finding your gremlin.

 

[SoSound]

...On the 2nd day we started sailing in brisk wind and the boat was heeled over.

A friend of our had issues with the anti-siphon loop on their bilge pump. The loop was too low to remain above the water line when heeled significantly, and did pull water into their boat when sailing in 'brisk' conditions.

Our 1990 Beneteau always had a completely dry bilge, unless there was a leak somewhere.

[EDIT] And like Sandy Stone, there was an occasion where my 'leak' was the seal on my fresh water tank clean-out cap.

 

[Roland5048]

Is the water in the bilge salt or fresh? That's the first thing to figure out. Could be a leak in the fresh water tank when healed or seawater coming back through the bilge pump hose also when healed. I've had both these happen. Also, keel bolts should not leak. If so, you need to haul out and remedy that ASAP.
Roland

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

As others have said, it could be a leak of your freshwater system. If it's seawater though, you really should not have much at all. With a traditional stuffing box for the prop shaft, it should not leak at all when not turning, and only leak a drop every few seconds while turning. That should be it. Keelbolts, thru hulls, etc should not leak. So first check if it's from your freshwater tank, and if not, then check the stuffing box.

 

[YVRguy]

Thanks all - it's a real mystery. Bilge is bone dry now. Will be taking her out this weekend and we'll see what's what.

 

[Ron20324]

My slip neighbor had that problem of water in the bilge for several years. When he had a mechanic out to do other engine work, they found the water pump was dripping and running to the bilge. New pump, no problemo.

 

[Jalepeno]

I don’t get out as often as I’d like but do check on my baby every week or two. My bilge and motor pan (not connected to the bilge) are normally dry except for a bit of clean water in the bilge that the pump can’t pick up. Inspecting the bilge and Yanmar is part of my informal check list before heading out and every hour or two while sailing or motor-sailing. Last month while getting ready to head out I discovered about two inches of water in the motor pan after running the Yanmar at the dock for about ten minutes. It was dry before that. Close inspection reviled that the stuffing box was dripping about one drop per second just due to motor vibrations with the shaft stopped. Put her in gear and the drip slowed to about one drop every ten seconds. Stop the motor and the drip stopped.
The next day I bought the 1¾” and 2” open wrenches needed to adjust the stuffing box and turned the nut by one hex flat. No drip while stopped or idling and one drop or two per minute while running. Other than the original purchase inspection, survey and refit service nine years ago, I’ve never had any problems with the stuffing box. I check the motor surfaces and stuffing box temperatures with a simple infrared thermometer (with laser dot) available at Lordco, Princess Auto or C.T. (Canadian Tire) and if high compare them to my recorded baseline data.
Moral of the story is to always check your bilge(s), through hulls, motor (for oil level, leaks, belts, water strainer, cooling water flow, etc.) before and while you are out there.

 

[IH82BL8]

Just a thought, I wonder if your keel nuts need tightening. You said the problem subsided when you started motoring, so you would have been less heeled over and would have had less lateral pressure on your keel.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Essentially, you will have to be an investigator. To taste the water is a first start in all cases. If fresh, it is either from inside or leaking above due to rain all collecting in the bilge. If salty, the first thing is to run the engine with the prop turning to see if excessive water is coming thru the packing gland and if so, simple fix. If not, then check the tightness of hoses going to the exhaust.

 

[YVRguy]

Thanks again guys. Working through your suggestions

 

[IH82BL8]

If the problem were the packing gland wouldn't the leak have been worse while motoring and less while sailing? Also, my H31 has a pan under the engine and stuffing box that doesn't empty into the bilge unless it overflows. Is the H 34 designed the same way?

 

[YVRguy]

If the problem were the packing gland wouldn't the leak have been worse while motoring and less while sailing? Also, my H31 has a pan under the engine and stuffing box that doesn't empty into the bilge unless it overflows. Is the H 34 designed the same way?

I'm trying to figure this exact thing out. There is a path for the forward bilge to flow into the main compartment but I can see any way for the aft compartments to drain forward.