Where does that water come from??

[SCOTT VICKERY]

On my Hunter 285 I cant seem to find out where the water in the bilge comes from. Any ideas??

 

[John K Kudera]

Taste it

I am not being smart, if you are in salt water, and the water is salty, there are thru hulls and stuffing box as a culprit, if the water is not salty, you have leaks to find! If you are on a fresh water lake, well, see all of the above!John

 

[Andy Falls]

Taste good

If it taste good (ha ha) or like old beer, it may be from the ice box. Some boats are set up so that the melting ice drains into the bilge. You can trace the drain line and put a valve on it if you like.

 

[Stephen Ostrander]

bilge water

The 28.5 ice box drain hose drains into the bilge. Also, any water that leaks into the engine pan via the stuffing box can find its way into the bilge. The engine pan is supposed to be isolated so that if oil leaks it won't get into the bilge, but if you get enough water in there and then heel the boat, it will drain into the bilge.

 

[Eric Lorgus]

Shower drains there, too

The 28.5 has a segmented bilge. I assume you're talking about the lowest one, where the pump is. There are 2 areas that drain there: the ice box and the head. If you take a shower or if the head overflows, the water will drain to the low bilge. If the water is in the upper bilge compartment (accessed by the aft bilge hatch, it's likely spilling over from the engine pan. Water will accumulate in the engine pan from either a leaking stuffing box or a leak somewhere in the cooling water inlet. Lastly, keep in mind once there is water in the bilge, the pump cannot empty all of it, as the contents in the hose between the thru hull and pump will always drain back once the pump shuts off.