Bed Bilge Pump - Where does it get water from?

John342

I'm the New owner of an 342. I keep it under an roof normally but I moved it to friends the other day and it rained on it. It had more water in the bed bilge than in the back bilge. Where does the water come from that get in bed bilge area?

Handymans342

I had a leaking thru hull where the strainer is for the AC unit and the shower sump area

LaRea

One potential entry point for rain water is the rub rails.  Water comes in through a screw hole, maybe runs along the gunnel for a bit, then finds its way into the cabin.  The solution is completely remove the rails and replace all of the screws.  It's typically done with the boat out of the water.  

Get a person outside with a hose while you are inside looking for water.  Do one side at a time.  

davidbrooks

Anchor locker. A surprising amount of water gets in there during storms. A/C condensation. 

Black_Diamond

check your anchor locker drain is not clogged. Also your A/C condesate drain too. 

davidbrooks

I make it a habit to run the bilge pumps manually via the switch at the cockpit the same time as i run the blowers before starting.  The switch is wired to both bilge pumps and makes them run even if the water isn't high enough to run automatically.  I will also periodically use a shop vac to pull everything out just as you did.  One thing i noticed is that mid berth bilge area will get pretty nasty with mold if you let it stay wet.  That then gets on the bottom of the vinyl cushions.  All the reasons why i end up going to the boat at least an hr before everyone else.  Just all part of getting ready to go out.

Pat310

Went through this on my 310 last season. Check the caulking on the port hole window. Reseal the screws holding the windshield in place. I also removed every snap for the covers and sealed them with 3M 4000UV. This spring I also recaulked the hull joint and so far so good this year

Liberty44140

In addition to the above, check your ac outlet. My ac outlet on the 342 had a very slight leak so while the compressor ran there was a light trail of water down in to that bilge. Usually though this is ac condensation.

MarkB

There are two EASY leak points to happen and to fix. Both are related to the AC pump in that mid-berth bilge.  Firstly the AC pump has a half metallic, half plastic casing.  The plastic can deform (especially if it wasn't winterized properly) and cause leaks.  The gasket is a terribly thin piece of rubber, so any deforming would immediately cause a leak, no forgiveness. I took it out, and hand cut out a thicker cork gasket and refitted ... problem gone, likely forever.

Second issue, there is a cartridge filter that is just after that pump ... I once found that the lid, which is removable to clean out that filter, was not screwed into properly, and was leaking.  Close the through hull valve, and make sure that lid is screwed on properly ... if you do lose the water in that valve, you may need to reprime the line with water to get the flow going again.

A few tiny drips (even one drip a second) ... over an hour, it adds up to a lot, almost a gallon.  So it might look like a lot of water is coming in, but most of the time these things are just drips.