mid ship bilge and hello from Australia

downunder

Greetings from Down Under

I am on the Gold Coast in Australia and own a 2001 340 fiesta vee. [Purchased late 2015.]

Never owned a boat before and it’s been a big learning curve , lots of problems / money but have enjoyed the whole deal.

Just when you think the whole thing is close to sorted along comes another problem and would appreciate your help / opinions.

Our marina gets lots of marine growth on the hull and I use a diver every few months to clean the hull and drives [ I slip the boat and anti foul it also].

I had just fixed a fresh water leak in the rear bilge which I traced back to leaking back sink tap , replaced it and all good, then had the driver clean the hull and drives and then noticed a salt water leak in my back bilge .Then noticed I had more salt water leaking very slowly in the mid ship bilge!.

I monitored the back bilge leak and am  getting  about one and a half us gallon over 7 days.

The mid ship bilge leak is a real mystery , maybe about a quart in your terms, as soon as I clean it out it just pools up again overnight. Seems to be coming from forward as I can feel water pooling in front of the mid ship bilge area. The water seems to be seeping between the glass structure and the epoxy paint layer on top of structure. Have checked the seacocks for aircon and toilet] and cannot see any leaks.

Some questions,

Where would the water in mid ship bilge be coming from?

Would this water be making its way to the back bilge area? [I can see a water trail just near the start battery on the starboard side in the back bilge..

Could the diver dislodged something and caused a small leak.?

Both transom shields were replaced December 2015  and recently I had three mechanics check out the engines , transom shields and bilge but they could not see any direct leak from engines  or transom etc.

I really enjoy the forum and look forward to keeping in contact.

Regards  john

Handymans342

John, I have a 342 and my thru hull fittings in the mid bilge for the AC and the toilet fill were leaking and needed to be resealed. Or it could be the shower sump pump leaking. I have a friend in Brisbane. Been there. Great area!

LaRea

G'day mate -- sounds like two separate leaks.  The mid bilge has no way to reach the aft bilge.

Handymans342

LaRea said:

G'day mate -- sounds like two separate leaks.  The mid bilge has no way to reach the aft bilge.

Mid bilge aft bilge same???

Liberty44140

On my 342 the aft bilge (engine room)and mid bilge (under aft bed) are completely separated. Aft water doesn't make it in to mid bilge.

Handymans342

I can tell you that when my boat took on some water earlier this year it made it from the front to the engine room very easily. 

downunder

thanks for your replies, much appreciated.
I am really puzzled where the water in the mid ship bilge goes to?
I have a bilge pump there and its working but never seen or heard it pumping out any water etc. Fast as i take it out using a towel it just pools up again but only gets to about one inch deep max.
i will put up some pics sunday evening your time.

Handymans342

You have to dry it out 100% then watch with flashlight. Its frustrating

Dream_Inn

Welcome to the forum!  The bilge areas are separate & as Handy stated, you need to dry it out completely and then watch it.  You can use something like a dry power to trace where it's coming from. I suspect one of the seacocks (thru hulls).  I've also seen the shower boxes leak, but it sounds like yours is constant from day to day.  You should also make sure your bilge pump works.

raybo3

Hey Downunder welcome to the RBOC

zaverin1

Most rinkers   think have same setup when it comes to mid ship.
sump will have a pump with a float and also a separate shower box with a pump inside that uses separate discharge hose.
on my 280 pump with float is there for any water that enters. I have a drain by the door that goes right into mid ship sump. Rain water or wash down etc.
also any other leak that makes it there would be pumped out.
shower box is obviously to filter and pump out the shower drain.
i replaced my box this spring but during wintering learned that my discharge hose is split and needs replacing lol
i never used the shower so didn’t know. 
If i did use it main pump would still pump the water out so it serves dual purpose.
i would dry it out and figure out where the water is flowing from.
it will be either from the front -back or sides of the boat.

Ian

The 340/342 may be different but while these are 2 separate areas and pumps, on my 310 there is a hole on the starboard side higher and towards the outside through to the stern area, looks like it drains under the fuel tanks. I assume that in the event the mid bilge fails (or you are taking on that much water) it overflows into the engine bay.

zaverin1

Ye my boat will also flow into the main bilge from mid
ans from main to mid depending on pitch 

Handymans342

I have the same hole under the stringer

downunder

thanks for your welcomes and comments.
have done some more follow up, put some cooking dye in mid ship bilge and got traces appearing in aft bilge . I started looking at water pooling forward of mid ship bilge. Took a pic and then took the table base off and can clearly see water down there and so put my phone down and took another pic. Looks like the angle the boat is sitting at is not really helping drain things to midship bilge area. I checked under the sink and no leaks.So still not sure of source of water. Have rechecked the sea cocks and shower box . Getting a shipright to have a quick look at it tomorrow.

downunder

hey apologies for size of those pics,
i had another "expert" look at the leak the other day, he turned off the sea **** in the aft [engine bilge] I got down there today and managed to open it again, what a mission!! never realized what gymnastics are involved in owning a boat!!
john

Handymans342

You need to get a hot tub as well and do yoga

MarkB

As others have stated, the mid bilge will overflow to the aft bilge for safety. As per your picture it will fill up to the overflow point and then the level won't change. Finding the leak is annoying, but as Handy says, you have to completely dry the area with paper towels (brings a few rolls with you). And be quick to see where you discover a stream of water, using your phone to help.  I've had my aircon water pump leak (at gasket), and strainer leak (wasn't closed properly after cleaning). It only takes a few drips a second to fill a bilge pretty quickly.

reneechris14

What about some powder or something to make the leak more visible. I mean not a bunch to mess up the pump. Just to help trace it.

downunder

well after lots of looking and using the wet and dry vac, i have located the source of the bilge leak.
It is in the aft bilge, in front of the starboard engine but high up in a top corner section.
here is a pic and you can see the trail. A local mechanic says its from a separate compartment and he thinks it is coming from the swim platform support where it joins the hull . Any thoughts?

Handymans342

That looks opposite to where the platform is mounted.

davidbrooks

On my 342 i have one on both sides.  I always thought that was the overflow from the mid bilge area. Swim platform is just attached with bolts through the transom wall.  Pretty confident it isn't from that.  

Ian

Yep, I agree with Handy - unless your engines are in backwards And David - this seems to be the forward overflow into the aft.

downunder

thanks for replies, nope engines are not in backwards lol probably my brain is from too many beers!
when you say the forward overflow into the aft , do you mean forward from the bow area?
Its getting late over here [ 11.30 pm] so will catch up tomorrow.
plus just to confuse you we are coming into summer!
I am taking the boat out tomorrow and will keep looking.
cheers

Handymans342

Maybe water tank or hot water heater??

davidbrooks

Water tank and hot water heater sit on a ledge, no drain through the fiberglass to the bilge.  I really do think that these are drains from the forward compartments into the engine bilge area. Unless water flows backwards in Australia i would of thought that engineers would want all bilge to flow to the back to get as much pumped out as possible.

Liberty44140

Do you have V-Drive/Inboards? not stern drives? If so then that could be the inside of the transom in the pic. 

MarkB

If I'm looking at that picture right, your gas tank is behind that separation wall, and there is a drain hole right there where the water is. That is likely how the water gets from your mid berth sump to your engineer compartment. I'm putting my money on something in the mid berth. Either the aircon pump/line is leaking, aircon condensation, shower sump is leaking, rain water getting in, or sea cocks are leaking.