STILL water in STBD ER

[SEVEN]

I try the high pressure water first the the electrical tape trick. Both sound really good. Thanks for the top on the purple stuff. That's what I was going to use. I'll find a milder degreaser.

 

[Capt Paul]

Haven't found it yet? The limber hole is a big clue and rules out a lot of things that were previously discussed. Walk around the outside of the boat and look for through hulls at the waterline. You might have one that needs to be rebedded. Could be for drains or otherwise. If there are any check inside carefully and maybe lay some toilet paper underneath and shop vac all the water out. Don't wrap the toilet paper around the hose because it may be leaking from the fitting itself. Sounds like a real slow leak you might not notice but if there is water in the bilge when you come back the toilet paper will find it. The water is then running up and draining from the limber hole. Are you sure you have the leak while the boat is sitting? If not it may be the same thing but the through hull could be above the waterline and leak while underway.

 

[holtcl]

Cap't Paul,

Great tips- I've been around the outside a few times looking at the water line. Indeed the leak is very slow which has made it difficult to isolate. The TP is a good idea, I've been using napkins in various places.

Boat hasn't been out of slip now for about a month and water still coming in; all the bilge pumps have been run, so my gut feeling at this point is that it's continuing to happen as the boat sits. I have run the engines as I do on a ~monthly basis in the winter months, so with that, hard to completely rule out exhaust-related. Yet the water was still accumulating prior to my monthly start-up.

I had explored the "just-above-waterline-underway-leak" hypothesis but while that doesn't seem plausible at this point, I'm still not going to rule it out completely.

More to come...

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[MikeP]

Re exhaust - if your 53 is like ours, the exhaust outlets are slightly under water while the boat is sitting, the amount is dependent on fuel/water load. Therefore, the exhaust system has water in it and has an inexhaustible supply if there is a slight leak somewhere on the low side of the piping/hose/muffler.

 

[holtcl]

Thanks Mike- in the event that the exhaust is the issue, how does one go about tracking such a leak?

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[bobk]

Ah ha, we went through the exhaust leak issue on our 48MY in the spring. We had to cut access to one of the spaces under the mid cabin bunk, got a half turn or so on a hose clamp and voila..... no more leak. In this case the water migrated aft to the aft cabin dresser. The symptoms were light mold growth on the afromosia panels covering the bottom of the dresser.

Bobk

 

[MikeP]

Thanks Mike- in the event that the exhaust is the issue, how does one go about tracking such a leak?

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

There should be access panels on your 53 in the aft stateroom where the mufflers/hose clamps are located so you could check the hoses/clamps. If there is water coming in there, it should be visible as leakage around the hoses. Same is true in the Engine rooms where the metal collectors connect to the fiberglass pipes.

ALSO... On the mufflers is a drain screw. That screw - even though it's stainless - can totally corrode over time and seep. I had a slight seep from one of our muff drain screws when we bought the boat and when I pulled the screw, it looked more like a piece of rod - there were literally no threads on the screw. The only thing that seemed to be holding it was the tradition that it was supposed to be there! So I pull those every few years and check them. Obviously, have something available to plug the hole when you pull the screw. Yes, you can do the finger in the dike thing but that won't help if you have to go get something - a new screw/whatever.

 

[holtcl]

Thanks Mike- I've accessed the exhaust hoses through the aft stateroom but they just seem to be straight runs with no clamps or other breaks (other than where the hoses connect to the outside of the boat at the transom and that looked ok). No obvious water leakage underneath the hoses in the aft stateroom either. But I'll check again as well as the screws you indicate. hmm.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[rsmith]

There should be access panels on your 53 in the aft stateroom where the mufflers/hose clamps are located so you could check the hoses/clamps. If there is water coming in there, it should be visible as leakage around the hoses. Same is true in the Engine rooms where the metal collectors connect to the fiberglass pipes.

ALSO... On the mufflers is a drain screw. That screw - even though it's stainless - can totally corrode over time and seep. I had a slight seep from one of our muff drain screws when we bought the boat and when I pulled the screw, it looked more like a piece of rod - there were literally no threads on the screw. The only thing that seemed to be holding it was the tradition that it was supposed to be there! So I pull those every few years and check them. Obviously, have something available to plug the hole when you pull the screw. Yes, you can do the finger in the dike thing but that won't help if you have to go get something - a new screw/whatever.

Score one for the everything metal needs to be bonded. I was 70 mi offshore when the aft bilge pump started going on. Turns out one of those plugs blew out and was blasting water like a fire hose. I think it was 1/4 or 3/8 IPS a generator zink plug worked. I glassed both up when I got back.

 

[Pascal]

On mine it's a straight run from the ER to the mufflers so a leak in the exhaust woudl be more likely to come from around the muffler. Keep in mind this stuff is now almost half a century old and has probably never been touched as it is buried behind cabinetry

I know that when I tore down the master head, I was really shocked at the condition of the rubber exhaust hose. Sagging, soft, etc...

The 53s had no outside discharge besides the sea chest so no worries about thru hulls to rebed.

That said, you could also have a leak at one of the hoses connecting to the sea chest. Again, some of the hoses and clamps have been there for 40+ years. The grey ribbed hose hatteras used back in 1970 for deck drains and sinks is very brittle by now.

Also, although unlikely in you case, the copper tubes used to hook up AC discharges to the sea chest do suffer from corrosion and can be very brittle. Guess how I know

 

[Capt Paul]

Since you know it's coming through the limber hole on the outside stringer you can isolate everything inboard of that. Does your boat have watertight bulkheads in each compartment? You can further isolate it due to that. So you should have it down to starboard side engine room outside of the stringer. And it's seawater. What's possible in that space? Through hulls or maybe exhaust? You know which way the water runs so pieces of tp at any likely spot.

 

[holtcl]

It's actually coming from the limber hole that runs into the aft bulkhead of the STBD ER (I had previously thought it was coming from the outboard limber hole but was mistaken).

Indeed it looks like the exhaust hoses are a single run and I don't see anything with them, they have been replaced at some point and appear to be in good condition.

Today I removed the inspection panels in both middle and aft head and no obvious source of water intrusion.

I don't believe it's the middle head water intake as I've got that closed off and water still coming in.

I wondered about the integrity of the drain hose where the deck drains on the STBD side just forward of the aft deck wing doors and may dump some colored water down there as a test.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[SEVEN]

Cheryl, I found that in mine and listed that a week or two ago. First I had to clean out a clog at the water line so the drain would drain. Once that was cleaned I still found a drip from the interior hose at the water line. I tried to thighten it but with no luck. It turned out to be the flange itself. I caulked it up and DADA it worked. No more water in he bildge.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Deck or cockpit drain hoses can often sag. This creates a sump where dirt can accumulate and back up the drain into the bilge. I had this issue on my 55C, but no more.

 

[holtcl]

Thank you Seven and Racclarkson-

I will take a closer look at this part of the drain system. I'm not sure it's coming from there but another thing to try and eliminate.

I've got a separate "master list" of all the things everyone has indicated that could be causing the leakage along with sources I initially thought of; and have been examining, testing, and crossing things off the list that checked out ok.

Just so you all don't think I'm just wasting everyone's time. I'm starting to feel like I'm chasing my tail. A bit guilty that I haven't been able to track this thing down yet. It's not for a lack of trying.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Your feelings are misplaced, Cheryl. We are all gaining insight into problem solving. I know I've learned some new things about my '83 55C. Thank you for keeping us up to date; this is vital so we can update our own procedures. Robert

 

[holtcl]

Thanks Robert- I appreciate that.

Today I poured some red food coloring down the STBD deck drain and some of it did leak down into the area behind the aft head, suggesting that there is a problem in there somewhere. Not sure if it's "the" leak but it's another thing to fix and eliminate.

Cheryl

 

[bobk]

Thanks Robert- I appreciate that.

Today I poured some red food coloring down the STBD deck drain and some of it did leak down into the area behind the aft head, suggesting that there is a problem in there somewhere. Not sure if it's "the" leak but it's another thing to fix and eliminate.

Cheryl

Of course that would not account for the salt water.

Bobk

 

[Capt Paul]

Yup, that's not salt water. I don't know about the layout of your boat but it now sounds like it's aft of the engine room. How bout rudder shaft logs?

 

[oscarvan]

The die does not lie.....

You're on the right track!