Mystery Water

[neildeb2]

I have a 58LRC, and the PO told me about some "mystery water" that collects over time in the hull. He plumbed some tub8ng to a pump, and every 4 months or so he would pump a gallon or so out. The tubing goes down into a gap between the starboard side of the aft fuel tank and the hull. The hull curve is concave at that point, transitioning from the relatively flat area above the props to the vertical portion that makes up the keel. The water that comes out is orange-ish, slightly oily, and has a slightly chemical smell. It's a mystery where it's coming from. It's not salt water. I initially assumed rain water, but there appears to be no correlation to rainy weather. When I first got the boat in 2019 I would dutifully remove about a gallon every month. Then in 2020 it got less and less. Throughout 2021 I got zero water from it, despite trying every month. I finally quit trying in Dec/Jan. In May I checked it and got 4 gallons... Any Hatt owners every heard of something like this?

 

[Steve Mannshardt]

My quest for dry bilges ultimately had nothing to do with water ingress from the outside. It had everything to do with a plugged evaporator drain pan from an AC evaporator. It would overflow and find its way to the bilge via the most interesting path. Point is because the water is aft doesn’t mean that’s where it originating. I have a 53’ YF, so different boat yet possibly similar physics.

 

[jmooney]

I have the same thing occur . A tiny amount of orange tinted fluid, and like you said , slightly oily , I thought it could be stabilizer oil . But I have been on the hard for almost a year , no oil in the stabilizer system as I am rebuilding the system .I am thinking that it is from rain water. It is only in my starboard bilge.