STILL water in STBD ER

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

FWIW, had a leak that did show up more underway than not. Finally noticed that I had a couple of holes on my freshwater tank at a top corner. Tank would overflow on filling and run aft when underway. A nearly full tank at start of a cruise would also tend to overtop the holes and travel aft triggering an ER bilge pump. Swore it was salt water by taste, but seeing is believing. Glassed corner of tank, tested and found a couple more smaller leaks. Thank goodness these were accessible. Good luck.

 

[holtcl]

Good points - I'll take a pic next time I'm on the boat.

I've got the fresh water system shut down for winter right now so not much "doing" in terms of tat system for the last month or so.

The water I'm getting out of the bilge has a brownish tint (also the taste) making me think it is salt water unless my bilge is THAT dirty and I just had the ER bilges degreased and painted this summer.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[SEVEN]

Another leak I found but failed to mention. In my shower stalls there is an inspection cover with metal trim. It is held on with 4 screws. Every time we took a shower a quart or so of water would find its way around the metal trim and into the bildge. I removed the trim, caulked the trim to the inspection plate and reinstalled. That took are of that issue. Try it you might find it helps.

 

[Pascal]

The key to finding the source of bilge water is to narrow it down based on usage.

Under way / not underway
Wngine running / not running
Fresh water system on or not
Raining or dry weather.
Using a head... Running a shower.
Using the AC...

Now, if you are finding the water coming from outside the STBD stringer then you have marred down the source quite a bit and you need to see what's around there. On my 1970 53 for instance, I have the water heater in that corner as well as quite a bit of fresh water plumbing.

You could also have some head black water plumbing running along the hull, mine does.

On the 53 I don't think sbower water could make it outside the stringer, fonward in the ER but you never know.

Also check the connections on the sea chest. Any leaks there woudl end up outside the stringer. The sea chest themselves shoud,dnt allow water in. Mines have little rubber flaps but all the thru hulls are higher than sea levels and any unused fitting should be capped.

 

[bobk]

Good points - I'll take a pic next time I'm on the boat.

I've got the fresh water system shut down for winter right now so not much "doing" in terms of tat system for the last month or so.

The water I'm getting out of the bilge has a brownish tint (also the taste) making me think it is salt water unless my bilge is THAT dirty and I just had the ER bilges degreased and painted this summer.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

I'd suggest you try to confirm it is salt water. Take an ounce of the water and put it in a saucer and let it evaporate and compare the residue to a known fresh water sample that has evaporated in the same environment. You should find significant salt residue if it is bay water. That will eliminate rain and you have already eliminated the fresh water system.

Also don't forget the old trick of dusting talcum powder all around to see if you can find a tell tale. I'm not familiar with the 53, but are there rudder posts aft of the limber hole you described?

Bobk

 

[mykim]

After a recent BOATT type of yard bill, I'm still finding salt water in the STBD ER. I'm consoling myself by saying that yes the work had to be done at some point, but damn.

I think the water intrusion is exacerbated by running the boat.

I also notice that I'm missing both of those "leathery flaps" that cover the "sea chest outlets" (what are those called?) on the port side of the boat near the water line.

Could water intrude into there when underway? I find it hard to believe those little flaps would be enough to keep water out. But it was a pretty rough day yesterday and water was sloshing around everywhere. Just continuing to scratch my head on this one.

Where the heck is the water coming from?


Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

Depending how long you were on the hard. It could be dried up rudder or shaft packings. Only dip at the dock but both can leak a good bit under way. Just a thought.

 

[Steve Mannshardt]

I have a 53' YF . Wet bilges are a process of elimination.

As for the stb engine room bilge.

I traced mine to a couple of points.

Two. biggies were a leaking rudder packing. The water didn't propagate to the aft bilge, rather found its way through the limber hole into the er bilge. Easily fixed by adjusting.

The other was a leak at the weld in the hard exhaust plumbing from the turbos to the fiberglass exhaust tube. Even when fixed there were nuisance leaks at the hose connections. Repeat tightening of clamps fixed that.

As for the we chest. I too had concerns about water entering via bilge pump plumbing. I have a high point in the exhaust hose as well as an in line check valve.

 

[Pascal]

I used to have a leaky stbd rudder post and the water ended up in the aft bilge. I just don't see how water could migrate forward without following the curve of the hull into the aft bilge.

Having torn down both heads and shower, and ripped out most of the sub floor, I can guarantee you that it s an uphill run to outboard of the stringer.

 

[bobk]

I used to have a leaky stbd rudder post and the water ended up in the aft bilge. I just don't see how water could migrate forward without following the curve of the hull into the aft bilge.

Having torn down both heads and shower, and ripped out most of the sub floor, I can guarantee you that it s an uphill run to outboard of the stringer.

Interesting, because on my 48, it flows forward from the rudders outboard of the stringer through the limber hole into the aft ER bilge sump, thence overboard. Mine were leaking bad enough to trigger the pump every 45 minutes so the stream was visible beneath the aft head sole. Different hull shape I guess.

Bobk

 

[holtcl]

Holy smokes what a great wealth of information that I am sure will be helpful to not only myself but others with mystery water:

“Limber hole” – thank you for providing the proper terminology!

I will take a sample of the water to confirm salt or fresh- great idea- I had seen that on a previous post somewhere but had forgotten about that possibility.

Process of elimination:


-shower: (and rest of water system) has not run in over a month; that drainage line goes more down the middle of the boat rather than out board

-a/c’s: have not been operated recently

-rain: covered slip so I don’t think it’s rain

-sea chest: exterior rubber flap is missing on the port side but not on the stbd; I will re-check what I can see from the ER inside, again

-rudder posts just re-packed and I’ve been poking around back there to see if they are leaking; does not seem to be water coming in but will double check

-I’ve been all over the shafts as the primary suspect but have not been able to see any water anywhere and mine do not typically drip much at all historically; bota was out of the water for about 2 weeks

-heads: they are salt water – something to look at more carefully

-hot water heater- I’ve looked at and will do so again- has also been shut down for about a month now

Will be at the boat again tomorrow, will do some more checking. Hard to catch it in the act I think due to the very slow rate of ingress.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[oscarvan]

If you truly want to rule out your fresh water system add some food coloring and run it to every outlet. You can also flush the various heads with a different color. This could be a fun game.

 

[Steve Mannshardt]

I used to have a leaky stbd rudder post and the water ended up in the aft bilge. I just don't see how water could migrate forward without following the curve of the hull into the aft bilge.

Having torn down both heads and shower, and ripped out most of the sub floor, I can guarantee you that it s an uphill run to outboard of the stringer.

Pascal. My YF lazarette is likey different than the MY. I have a stringer supporting a fuel tank that runs far enough aft and is inboard of the rudder. It acts like a dam and sends water straight fwd to the er bilge.

 

[SEVEN]

Hopefully it is not coming from a leaky head hose or worse waste tank that has a minor leak or crack. As mentioned it's a pain but a great journey we all must one day take. What ever you find please report. We can all learn from your findings. Good luck.

 

[holtcl]

Yes I do hope it's not a waste leak especially given the amount of the liquid that I've "sampled" trying to figure out if it's fresh or salt water!! LOL! If nothing else I've built up my immune system and microbiome

I plan to go over today and do some more poking around...will report back.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[oscarvan]

Seriously, flush some food coloring.

 

[TommyG]

I'm currently troubleshooting an accumulation of water in the forward bilge on my 44 Viking. Step one is to see if it's from the holding tank. I flushed fluorescent blue food coloring down the fwd head, and fluorescent yellow down the master head. Blue or yellow bilge water will indicate a leaking hose, and green bilge water would suggest a holding tank leak. So far, no hint of color in my bilge water.

The next step will be to dye the potable water. I've been using a fluorescent food coloring from a supermarket, and am concerned that it will stain the shower stalls or the lab sinks. Do I need to be worried about that?

 

[oscarvan]

I flushed fluorescent blue food coloring down the fwd head, and fluorescent yellow down the master head. Blue or yellow bilge water will indicate a leaking hose, and green bilge water would suggest a holding tank leak.

Even better. Will remember that.

 

[Pascal]

When testing a holding tank for leaks, make sure you fill it to the top. I ve seen leaks from either gauge modules or vent fittings although usually they leave traces assuming you even see the top or fittings

 

[holtcl]

ok I pulled a sample of the liquid for the "evaporation test" to get a definitive on salt vs. fresh but I'm still betting salt.

I think I've eliminated a number of sources as mentioned in a previous post. It's not a holding tank issue.

I took a pic of the limber hole that had wet a napkin last week but now it appeared dry to my finger. I looked around as well as I could around that area but didn't see anything, though that's a difficult area to access.

So I did more poking around, including back at the rudder posts. There were 2 very small pools of water standing in the aft corners of the bilge on each side where there is a small depression, so I soaked them up and will see if more accumulates. Both rudder posts appeared to be dry, however there was some salty-tasting water that had accumulated in a channel under the PORT rudder area. Again I mopped it up and will see if more accumulates. I could not tell where it was coming from.

I wondered if there could be an exhaust-related leak way back aft, so I ran both engines for a few minutes but I did not see any water accumulating from that.

I'm also running tests to plug the forward and aft limber holes in the STBD ER to see if when I come back, water floods in from either forward or aft. The forward test didn't show anything. I've got a plug in the aft one currently, so we'll see if that shows anything when I go back next time.

You've got to be a real Sherlock Holmes to find this cr@p! The nice thing is that this is giving me an opportunity to really dig around the boat and check on a lot of stuff.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[oscarvan]

The nice thing is that this is giving me an opportunity to really dig around the boat and check on a lot of stuff.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

Get to know your boat. Some day you may need to find a leak in a hurry.