Rain water in bilge mystery

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snoopebj
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Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by snoopebj »

Contrary to most of nsw being in drought we’ve had a few deluges here on the coast in Wollongong recently. Each time I’ve had water up and over the floor and had to pump it out.
I have a removable floor and can view the upper forward bilge and two lower keel casing bilges and rear cockpit floor bilge all fill up with water. The boat is angled bow up on the trailer so it appears rain water entering the front deck somewhere. Most annoying as checked everywhere inside and can’t see where it could come in. Checked the bow hatch and anchor locker.
Anyone had similar problems or can suggest a fix.
Fair winds and following seas

Emrys
Investigator #166 'Current Affair'
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Ozzie
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Ozzie »

Hi Emrys, the front hatch lip in Spritzig II is not much chop at keeping water out even when level. I assume if the boat was tilted nose up it would be worse. Have you tried rigging a hose raining water down vertical while sitting inside and observing the possible ingress points . Then tape up the hatch and try again. I need to fit seals around the front hatch similar to the cockpit hatches.

Good luck
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
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snoopebj
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by snoopebj »

Yes Ozzie that hatch has to be a main suspect. I clean out those pathetic drain holes now and again with whipper zipper string. Tney are as big as sparrows nostrils.
I’ll try your hose and tape idea.
Rain forecast for tomorrow . I might sit inside the cabin with a cuppa and wait.…...........
Also will try new hatch seals (and locker seals)
Wonder where do you get those these days?
Clarke rubber long gone down here.
Cheers
Fair winds and following seas

Emrys
Investigator #166 'Current Affair'
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Raya
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Raya »

snoopebj wrote:Contrary to most of nsw being in drought we’ve had a few deluges here on the coast in Wollongong recently. Each time I’ve had water up and over the floor and had to pump it out.
I have a removable floor and can view the upper forward bilge and two lower keel casing bilges and rear cockpit floor bilge all fill up with water. The boat is angled bow up on the trailer so it appears rain water entering the front deck somewhere. Most annoying as checked everywhere inside and can’t see where it could come in. Checked the bow hatch and anchor locker.
Anyone had similar problems or can suggest a fix.
Emrys

That's a lot of water to have come through the hatch. Maybe there is another culprit.

Check the two drains at the rear of the cockpit. Have a close look at where the drain pipes are connected to the inner transom skin. Cracks here will allow water to enter the transom and flow down into the bilge. If the join looks a little iffy, plug the outside of the drain holes and fill the cockpit with a few centimeters of water to see if the water makes it's way into the bilge.

I had a leak around both drains. I used some filler and 2 pack paint for the repair.
Attachments
cockpit drain.jpg
Ray
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Ozzie
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Ozzie »

Yep cockpit drain always worth checking as a weak point. The hatch seal I used in the cockpit I think came from Bunnings Emrys, but it was a while back. They do have quite a few self adhesive profiles. Although I prefer my own glue. It almost fixed the starboard locker but didn’t do much on the port side. The boat may have a very slight list to that side .

In over three decades of drainage design in the public service we always had a maxim...”it’s not hard,water runs down hill”. But on boats water seems to manage to capillary into all sorts of places sometimes inexplicably uphill from where it’s coming from :x

Leaks are a pain. On the mooring they are doubly so but I have been lucky over the years to reduce most of them to nuisance value. Lost a nice alloy fishing reel last year that managed to slip down into a puddle of bilge water and corroded badly before I noticed.

Again, good luck.
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
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Ozzie
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Ozzie »

https://www.whitworths.com.au/nemo-hatc ... al-p-metre

This stuff is called PREMIUM hatch seal is for a neo hatch and is shaped to fit an edge and looks great but sheesh at nearly 17 scones a metre :shock: :shock: it would be cheaper to buy a 50 m gaffer tape from Aldi (per USEFUL STUFFS thread) and tape it shut everytime you come home . All the other tape at WW Seems to be just flat gasket type tape which may compress over time. The cheap alternatives would be worth a try.
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
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snoopebj
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by snoopebj »

Another deluge yesterday and another flooding of the bilges.
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Ray thanks for the your photo and suggestion so drained the bilges and blocked the transom drains and fillied the cockpit. Sat inside but no water coming in to the bilge.
Ozzie cheers mate - sprayed the forward hatch with water. Zilch water inside .
Farrrrrrrk I said to myself.
When I first climbed inside the boat I noticed the inside walls windows hatch surrounds bunk cushions and floor carpets were all dry. This water seems to be coming up from somewhere.
Running out of ideas. I think I’ll have to make a sacrifice to Odin - could be that damn noisy dog next door.
Fair winds and following seas

Emrys
Investigator #166 'Current Affair'
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Raya
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Raya »

Emrys,

Maybe the water is getting in to the boyancy tanks and draining into the bildge from there. If this was the case, the mostly likely source of ingress would be via the cockpit lockers. You could test this by screwing in the bungs and filling each locker with a couple inches of water. I'd test the port locker first.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. (In this case, that would be the neighbour's dog.)
Ray
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snoopebj
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by snoopebj »

Yes Ray that port locker always leaks ( with the kerb tilt). I filled it up yesterday and no leaks down below. Stbd locker always dry.
Appreciate your help fellas. I will seal the transom drain joints anyway and get new rubber on hatch and lockers. Already lowered the jockey wheel to level the boat. I am burning incence for the gods (and eyeing the dog next door).
Fair winds and following seas

Emrys
Investigator #166 'Current Affair'
Yara50
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Re: Rain water in bilge mystery

Post by Yara50 »

Maybe also the main hatch. Water runs to the back and then maybe channels down the washboards. Surface tension gets it to curl under the deck so you dont notice it.
Ian B
Ex Investigator 563 #50 Yara
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