Wet bilge/keel box

[Hydro Therapy]

I recently looked at a Pearson 27 that appears very nice. The one thing I noticed is the bilge /keel box area has water in it. I'm thinking that is normal since it has an inboard diesel. The owner says the stuffing box drips when in use and it drains into the bilge/keel area.

I'm used to my O240 which has an outboard. The keel area is always dry.

Just wanted to make sure the wet area is normal for an inboard.

Thanks

 

[Justin_NSA]

Not normal, but fixable by restuffing it or going to a dripless. Mine stays dry.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Wet,

I have an inboard engine & used to have a stuffing box & when at slip or anchor this would allow water drips to the bilge. For me, not anymore. I have a dripless stuffing box.

My ice cooler has a direct drain line to my bilge & this is no problem. Besides living in salt water, I don't mind a fresh water flush thru my pump-out system from time to time.

What is important is, if water drains to your bilge, make sure you have a good pump & battery power to drain when you are not aboard.

I would also make sure that it IS your cooler draining & not something else.

CR

 

[Hydro Therapy]

Thanks for the quick replies

 

[Head Sail]

Some skippers go through great pains for a dry bilge. Some don't and therefore have wet bilges to deal with. I'd be concerned with the rate water is coming in. If you are in salt water, knowing the salinity level of the water can help determine its source. Being in the northwest, when it rains I get water coming down the mast. I vacume it out with a shop vac and it stays dry until the next rainfall. It's on my to do list to stop some of the intrusion since a dry bilge would reduce the humidity levels in the cabin enough to help inhibit mold growth. The stuffing box does drip (normal) when running so I get some salt water. Like CR said, make sure your bilge has the power to keep you afloat if gone.

 

[MitchM]

some other reasons in addition to the stuffing box a bilge can be a little wet: on our last 2 boats, the air conditioner condensate, the refrigerator condenser plate and also the shower all drained into the bilge. the standard bilge pump pumps out the bilge, but the water in the hose runs back in.l so there's 1/2" of water that the standard bilge pump just can't get out. (Unless you spend $400 for a par jabsco belt drive bilge pump...) One of the trickiest wet - bilge problems I had 2 boats ago was chainplates that needed re- bedding. water would get in under the plates, and leak down the inboard side of the hull . after every rain the bilge would be a lot fuller than it was from just normal nuisance water-- refrig/ac. whilst sitting next to a chainplate one very rainy day , i heard a drip drip drip noise. Rx: time for some re bedding.....

 

[Terry Cox]

Our boat came equipped with the standard bronze stuffing box. It used to drip, but no more. When I repacked it a few years ago I used a new PTFE packing material. Works the same as the old flax stuff except better. No drips at rest or while the prop shaft is spinning, maybe a drop every few minutes. No big deal. I can adjust it so there are no drips while the shaft is spinning. Hand tight is usually sufficient.

Most of the time our bilge is dry, especially while at the slip. But boats do accumulate water in the bilge, whether fresh or sea. I just use a baster to remove the small amount that gathers. Again, no big deal.