Water leak

SJCoalter

HI Guys, im new to boating and this forum so hopefully i explain this correctly. I have recently purchased a 2002 Rinker fiesta vee 270, it seems to be a great boat and the more i am getting to understand how all works the better it is.

Yesterday when i went downstairs after being away from the boat for nearly 2 weeks and i found the carpet at the foot of the steps was soaking wet, after a bit of searching i found a lid under the rear bed, this box held the Attwood Shower Sump Pump - 750 (it was full of water but not leaking), there is also a bilge pump and what i think is the water feed pipe into the toilet, the on/off lever valve is attached to a fitting that is in the very bottom of this box, there seems to be a very slight weep coming in from the bottom of this. I've added a picture once i got all the water cleaned up but it is still weeping constantly from the area marked below.

 

My problem is i do not know how to get to the other side of this fitting, could someone advise me?

I have a standard manual pump action toilet, does the water for this come from the water you are sailing on or from the fresh water holding tank? I know the waste goes to the waste tank.

YYZRC

You need to pull the boat out of the water to reseal the fitting. The pump toilet uses the water you are boating in, not fresh water from the tank. 

The box is for your shower drain. Looks like it’s time for a new one. They break constantly if used often. 

LaRea

Can you tell if the fitting is bronze vs. plastic (Marelon)?  And does it have a big green bonding wire attached to it?  

If it's Marelon and it's leaking, replace it immediately.  If it's bronze and has no bonding wire, get a pro to install a bonding wire when you reseal or replace the fitting.  Either way, do it as soon as possible.  

earl1z19

LaRea said:

Can you tell if the fitting is bronze vs. plastic (Marelon)?  And does it have a big green bonding wire attached to it?  

If it's Marelon and it's leaking, replace it immediately.  If it's bronze and has no bonding wire, get a pro to install a bonding wire when you reseal or replace the fitting.  Either way, do it as soon as possible.  

Judging from the handle its probably bronze

SJCoalter

Cheers Guys Ill arrange to get it lifted out of the water as soon as possible. It is a brass fitting.
I was thinking that the shower drain looked past it's use by date so ill get a new one of them popped in while its out of the water.

YYZRC

Check your other thru hulls while you have the boat out!

TickledPink

I have the same problem, just noticed today. I've only had the boat a week and am new to boating.
I lifted the small hatch under the stairs and it's bone dry.
Where else can water be getting in?  It's just that piece of carpet outside the bathroom. The aft cabin is dry and the carpet under the table is dry.

MarkB

I don't suppose the fitting just needs to be torqued? Maybe try that, if you have some diving gear, or can hold your breath for long enough??

Rich_

TickledPink- If the bilge is dry, I'd be looking at anything above that might be leaking during rains and dripping on the carpet.

MarkB is replying to a post from August 2022. This is something that I would definitely have the boat out of the water to tighten just in case it snaps off. Either way, if it is a through hull, get it fixed as soon as possible. 

aero3113

Windshield screws would be the first to reseal if the water is from the top side. Pull the seal on the outside of the windshield and seal each screw one at a time.

Rich_

As to the shower pump sump- it should not be in the same situation as this boat, but that is eventually what sank it. The boat broke free of its pilings in a storm. The owner tied the dock/boat to his bulkhead for some unknown reason. This was an extreme low tide pictured, but every low tide it would lean over.

Eventually the shower sump started leaking, and being on the starboard side, as the tide would rise and before the boat would float, water backed in through the drain eventually filling the boat until it no longer rose with the tide and sat there for years.

We got tired of looking at it so myself and a friend knocked on the door and offered to remove it. Went and scouted it out at low tide and could hear water coming in as the tide rose, tracked it mainly to the shower sump. At the next extreme low tide, we went with spray foam and filled everything we could on the side and put a pump in as the tide rose.

Boat floated.

Called in some favors (plus good local publicity) and had it hauled.


Brought it to another site and crushed it with the excavator, and put it into a 60-yard dumpster never to be seen again

YYZRC

You're a mensch @Rich_ ! That poor boat is so stained it looks burnt!

Rich_

Did a good deed for a neighbor on the same creek because we could not stand looking at it every day. Saddest part is that it was a nice boat at one time.

Dream_Inn

That is great @Rich_ !!  It's nice to see it cleaned up before it really makes a mess in the water.  We had someone in a house near our marina one day think it would be ok to just take their old boat and put it in the weeds near shore and let is sink.  Like we didn't know where the boat came from??  They finally had to pay to have it removed.

MarkB

Rich_ said:

TickledPink- If the bilge is dry, I'd be looking at anything above that might be leaking during rains and dripping on the carpet.

MarkB is replying to a post from August 2022. This is something that I would definitely have the boat out of the water to tighten just in case it snaps off. Either way, if it is a through hull, get it fixed as soon as possible. 

Woah, is it Feb 2023 already?? LOL

Rich_

And.....?  If someone spent 5 months with a known leaking through hull, they might want to inquire about gamblers anonymous.