Water in bilge

skidrow

Lauanched the boat for 2015 and the next day I discovered the bilge pump going off and a few inches
of water in the bilge. I vacuumed it out three times that day only to find water the next day.
Had the exhaust, drive and shfiter cable bellows all replaced in the fall. Checked all hoses etc, y-tube and couldn't see any leaks.
My mechanic looked around for 20 minutes and couldn't locate a leak.
Put the boat on the trailer and vacuumed all water that I could out.
Mechanic sat in the boat while I backed it into the water so the drive area was covered.
He looked for about 25 minutes and all of the drive area was dry.
It appears that water is coming from midships and trickling down to the bilge area.  I checked the aft cabin bilge area
where the a/c and head get their water...all dry.
We pulled out the boat and checked the hull for any cracks etc...also checked for any rot...nothing..

Was wondering if the rain in the spring etc. was enough that it is now up under the gas tank area bulkhead and its
trapped by debris and very slow to come out?
I put the boat back into the slip and will keep an eye on the water level.
I will also run a scope up under the tank to see whats there.
Hopefully its just rain water thats collected.

Anybody run into this?
Thanks

Cableguy Greg

What about the A/C? The tray drains to the bilge. It could also be the hot water tank. If the drain for it is open a little bit, it will drain to the bilge.

PartsMan

I had the same thing this year could not find a leak. Went in on Friday and now dry by Wednesday. BAFFLED! At least I'm dry now

I was thinking the same thing that when I was on the hard the boat was not angled to drain and it took 3 days to work it's way out

LaRea

Can you tell whether it's fresh water vs. sea/river water?  You could always try emptying the fresh water tank to see if the leak stops.

skidrow

Thanks for all the comments...

The a/c drain hose is dry...the how water tank drain hose is dry...the water appears to be fresh, not too discoloured. The fresh water tank is already empty..so I will check again tomorrow with scope and a wire puller up under the fuel tank to see if I can free up any debris that may be slowing down the draining....

The Main Exchange

For what its worth I had the same issue, it ended up being the hull drain fitting loose in the hull. With 6 people sitting having drinks the pump would run every hour. The swim platform cleats also leak while underway as the water washes on the platform and runs into the bilge.

skidrow

Just came back from boat ..emptied another 2 or so gallons....seems to be slowing down...hull plug is in good and tight...I vacuum the bilge area completely dry and water is seen trickling from midships, coming out from under the gas tank...Will be checking it daily..

JC290

have you taken your boat out for a day yet? it could just be rain water still trickling back depending on how you sit in the water it can take some time to get it all to run back if it is in fact rain water from being on the hard. 

The Main Exchange

Make sure the hull drain housing is sealed and tight. We craned out removed outdrive and found the housing was not tight and the sealant had dried out. When inspected looked tight until we tried the 3 screws.

MarkB

Mine ended up being the strainer for the aircon water feed. Gasket wasn't sitting tight so it dripped pretty good. Check where your seacocks are.

Dirtythirty

Dealing with a similar issue also,  i know my boats not leaking, but I can't figure out if its AC or rain.  my bilge pump doesn't seem to be pumping it dry either.  We have had rain the last two days, and I've used the AC also,   I'll let you know what I find out .

MyDreamComeTrue

@Mark B:  I had same experience with a/c filter bowl. Gasket wasn't seated properly and water dripped into bilge for a few days before we figured it out.  Not enough to sink the boat, but it soaked my carpet.  I'm a little more cautious now with checking periodically.

skidrow

It appears that it was water trapped under the gas tank area........water has finally dried up!-

skidrow

Spoke to soon...checked bilge today and vacuumed out some more water..

not a lot..took boat out for a spin and slow ride with the bow up before on

plane...checked a couple of times and there was water again in the bilge...

Docked boat and vacuumed out the rest of the the water. Almost filled a

4 gallon shop vac....dried up everything in the bilge, checked all hoses

again on engine...all dry, steering pin etc..all dry...Water is pooling at the vee

in the aft section under the gas tank and then dribbling out through the hole

into the bilge. The water is clean and not scummy...appears fresh.

I checked the front a/c and head valves..all dry in this bilge area.

Genny  intake is dry...all genny exhaust hoses dry.

I'm thinking a tiny crack or hole in the hull???

Trying to get a schematic of the hull design showing the stringers

in the hull area but so far can't find one....

Suggestions??

MarkB

I'd be very surprised if you didn't notice a hole in your hull. That hull is very thick, and you're not going to get a 2" penetrating hole without noticing it. Besides, if the boat hit something, you would likely have done major fibreglass damage at the very front, and you would have a lot of wet pillows/carpets. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt this is a problem with the hull.

When you ramp up speed, you have everything sloping aggressively to the stern. If there's any water accumulating at the front, it will quickly fill the stern.  I would run the boat with the engine hatch open, and have someone observe (safely) what is happening with the water. I would probably use a cellphone to video it as well. You should do it as you first launch and then keep an eye on things as you plane, and then come off plane again.  By the way, did you ever stop hard, and have the wake come over your swim platform? That will put lots of water into your bilge.

Handymans342

Both my engine water intake thru hulls weep. They need to be resealed

skidrow

Thanks for replies.....
Mark, I have already checked with the hatch open and the boat's bow up before plane and water is coming from the front, underneath the gas tank, moving towards the stern. It is a slow small puddle that forms.
As for stopping quickly, I have never got any water into the bilge from the swim platform....didn't do that today and today was the first time out on the lake for
a test.

As for the tru hull intakes....checked and double checked... dry as a bone.
Water is definitely coming from midships, either from the rain/snow that had accumulated before being shrink wrapped in the fall or from a small leak...
It's driving me and my mechanic nuts.

MarkB

It doesn't take much to accumulate a gallon. You would need 2 drips per second to accumulate 1 gallon in 2 hours. So I'd keep looking. A hole in the hull would be way more than that given water pressure.

dalek

My boat was in fresh water between last November and this March without moving or having the engine started. I checked the bilge approximately on a fortnightly basis. Every time there was water I sucked it out. About a third of the time the bilge was absolutely bone dusty dry, the other two thirds of the time there was a gallon or more of water. I am similarly baffled.

Handymans342

I know on the 342s rain water comes in thru the engine exhaust blower vents. 

MarkB

dalek, if it's intermittent like that, it has to be water ingress from the top (ex. rain, washing boat).

skidrow

So finally pulled out the boat on to a hydraulic trailer..able to wash down the hull in the areas that the trailer bunks covered...no cracks or anything obvious to the

hull...lMechanic looked at the genny strainer..missing a screw....took out the other 3 screws

and two of the three screws broke off....cleaned everything up, drilled new pilot holes and a little 3m, reinstalled.

Also reinstalled the complete drain plug assembly....

Boat back in the water and bilge is dry...now will check tomorrow...hoping

that what was causing the leak.

brianflhrci

Hopefully you've found it.  We had/have an issue with a small leak where what I assume is a freeze out plug for the AC pump was pushed out enough to allow a small dribble while in the water.  We rarely use the AC and it was barely visible but was glad to find it.

The Main Exchange

Fingers crossed for you skidrow

JohnnyCake

Drain plug might also leak. Check this out:

http://rinkerboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/13993

skidrow

Thanks All....I checked the bilge today and it's bone dry......not celebrating yet but
will give it another 24 hrs before I'm satisfied......

skidrow

 Well its been almost 2 days and the bilge is still completely dry...Guess that's what happens when thru hull devices go bad....the layer between the outside fibreglass and the inside glass can trap water and eventually it will make its way out. You don't notice anything visibly leaking at the actual inside sight as its trapped water.

Very deceiving to say the least. Thanks all for the help.

NAUTIBUOY

Thanks skidrow....

I've been fighting the same problem for almost a year now on my Fiesta Vee 270....I've had the B3 outdrive serviced twice since everyone just assumes the water in coming from there.  

My dock mechanic and I vacuumed the bilge out and powdered the area and used his camera to look all in the drive area and was convinced the water it was coming from the front/under gas tank but no body else believed us.

I'm going to cut and paste you post and send them off to the last mechanic that was paid over $2200 to fix my problem and see what they say.

My center bilge stayed dry through all of this.

I also moved my AC condensate hose to my shower sump last season.  That works really well not dumping it into the rear bilge. 

Rinker did tell me if my center bilge was dry I didn't have a seacock problem though.

Thanks again for your post.

skidrow

Good Luck...its a 50 cent fix with a couple of new#6 stainless screws and

some 3m sealant....