[Anonymous]

Hi Guys, have noticed more recently that there allways seems to be water in the bilge, yet because the bottom of the hull is so flat there is not enough depth of water in the bilge to allow the manual bilge pump to remove it. Unfortunately owing to my poor taste buds and the colour of the water in the bilge i am unable to say whether the water is fresh or seawater, so if you know of any other way of confirming the origin of the water please advise. Also as the water in the bilge never seems to get more than 12mm deep i am concerned as to where it is coming from, and would like your comments…Ed Holmes

[Anonymous]

Sea water is very salty…if it is only slightly salty its probably fresh water. Fresh water invariably comes from rain leaking in somewhere. I traced the source of my fresh water leak to the screws on the tow rail on port side just forward of the shrouds. I loosened about 10 (c. 10mm) and injected clear silicone sealant onto threads before re – tightening. Other possibilities are the shroud plates at deck level or head sail sheet track. The other area I got rain water (only into engine compartment) was via vents in companion way. I now cover these when I leave the boat while I look for a more permanent solution.

If its sea water then it might be ill fitting toe rail letting in water on beat…unlikely to be keel.

Have you tried drying it out completely and then looking for ingress while playing a hose in specific suspect areas?

cheers
richard

[Anonymous]

Another possibility for the water is a leak in your fresh water system. We encountered this in our (1 year old now) B31, and needed to cut 1cm off the offending line (it had a micro burr at the end the was breaking the seal) and then reinsert it to resolve the problem. Usually a leak like this will be apparent from the occasional running of the H2O pump when no taps are open…

Riyad
s/v Battuta (B31)
Vancouver, Canada

[Anonymous]

My first time out I heard water swishing about and was concerned until I tasted it to be fresh. I finaly found it coming from the handle of the stern shower that had cracked at some time with the frost. I have not repl;aced it yet but the tap on the stern is now on off.

[Anonymous]

Hi
Check the seal on the water tank inspection lid, I have always had dry bilges until I recently cleaned my water tanks at some point someone had placed silicone around the rubber seal which I removed when cleaning, when tank was refilled water came out into the bilges and had me puzzeld for a while until I rememberd removing the old silicone, Took lid off dried it out removed the original rubber seal place a small bead of silicone all the way around let it set for a while before replacing the original seal replace lid & filled tank no more leaks

Graham
Last Chance B38E Medway

[Author]

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