Next question - How dry is your bilge?

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manticore999

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As most of you know, I have a 1980 Mariner 3396 that just underwent a ton of engine and other work. My last boat (actually,still my current till I sell it) was brand new in 2005 and dry as a bone in the bilge. This boat is somewhat damp - and even if I sop up the dampness with a diaper it'll be damp again in an hour. I have no experience or frame of reference as to whether or not this is common or not. I kind of thought all bilges should be dry unless something is leaking - am I wrong?
 
my bilge is dry unless there's a problem and i've had two so far. one problem was a corroded bolt on the end of one of the heat exchangers which let water out of the heat exchanger. the other problem occured during the last outing of the season. there are bolts coming up from the hull into the bilge that hold the struts on. again, one of these corroded and let water in, so i'm changing all of the bolts, washers, and nuts. not sure why i had the corrosion, but the boat has spent it's entire life in salt water and possibly the previous owner wasn't religiously changing the anodes. to find your leak, start with as dry a bilge as possible and look / listen very carefully. you'll have a great opportunity if your boat is hauled and you;re there when it goes back in the water.
 
I wouldn't get too hysterical about it - try and find a leak if you can, but in all honesty I've never owned a boat that DIDN'T have some water in its bilge!!!

Some possible "normal" sources of water:

(1) those old fashioned stuffing boxes - they HAVE to drip a little
(2) the downright LOUSY cockpit drains that Carver used back then - they always will leak into your bilge, period...
(3) fishing pole holders recess-mounted into the gunwales
(4) your anchor locker
(5) the rear Lazarette - on my 28s there are drain holes in them - where do you think they lead? That's right, the BILGE
(6) Condensation

Some possible "abnormal" sources of water:

(1) leaky exhaust outlets - my old 2895's were partially submerged and over time the seals weeped a bit
(2) trim tab attachment points
(3) drain plug too loose, or fitting corroded/loose
(4) any underwater thru hulls
(5) engine drains leaking
(6) if "dripless" shafts, check the lubricating water hoses - they sure as hell will "drip" or LEAK if a hole develops in them!
(7) exhaust system connections/manifolds/hoses
(8) other cooling system connections/manifolds/hoses
(9) Air conditioning system

Again, don't freak out if there is always some water in there...
 
Thanks folks - this is all new to me. I can't really tell where the water is coming from. It's not 'running' from anywhere that I can tell - it's like it just 'appears'. It's certainly not much and this weekend I'll dry everything out as best I can and see if I can find where the source is. Since we haven't had rain for a while, and I'm in a covered slip, I expect it's coming from somewhere other than above the water line.
 
What is a dry bilge? I have never had a boat that didn't have some water in the bilge. As long as the leak is not to the point where the bilge pump is kicking on, I would try to find the source out of curiousity but not worry too much about it unless it get worse.
 
Pete - ya missed my ABSOLUTE favorite!
Those damn water supply lines that crack at a junction fitting that is located Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the corner of the engine room beyond the cables, behind the gas tank, over the exhaust hose, adjacent to the small access hole. Yes - That one!!!
 
My brother had a 1979 28 Mariner, he did all kinds of things to keep the bilge dry. He was down to the point where the floor seem wet, just like what your saying. He looked around and found under the floor about mid cabin, he had some cracks in the bilge floor. So after cutting a small hole, he found that the hull is honeycombed. Water had gotting down into the honeycomb then froze pushed up the floor and made several cracks. He fixed it by carefully cutting out sections of the interhull, let it dry, then filled the area with gallons of resin, then painted it. Look great and fixed the problem. WHAT UP JOB!
 
Assuming your boat is in salt water, the first thing I would want to know is if the water is fresh or salt. If its fresh it could be as simple as your sump pump needs maintenance. If its salty I would be more worried as it could be a faulty seacock, raw water inlet hose or stuffing box. Either way I would want to narrow it down to exclude the real damaging leaks. Good luck. Billy K.
 
Could be a lot of things. I've spent a year working toward a "dry" bilge and am getting very close. The last rascal to resolve is the cork seal on the through hull for the genset. Once this is replaced, I anticipate a dry bilge for at least a week.

Leaks resolved in the past 12 months: 1)Packing glands on both rudders 2)packing glands on both shaft logs 3)A/C through hull pick up 4)Port engine raw water pump 5)broken clamp on 2" raw water hose broke after the pump and while under way - that was a big one!

It seems like there's always something dripping, draining or gushing in the bilge. I see this on newer boats too. Unless it's setting off the high water alarms, I don't panic (anymore) and just hunt it down and fix it as time allows. I don't let it ruin the day or days on the boat anymore, it is a pisser though-
 
Bilge water and spending money are boating constants. IMO the water comes from money. All that money we spend on boat stuff dissapears and somehow changes into bilge water.
 
Bruce,
So that explains the saying "A boat is a hole in the water into which we throw money". I always wondered where it went. Now I know. LOL Billy K.
 
It also is an acronym that means Break Out Another Thousand - which I've also found to be true!
 
"Those damn water supply lines that crack at a junction fitting that is located Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the corner of the engine room beyond the cables, behind the gas tank, over the exhaust hose, adjacent to the small access hole. Yes - That one!!!"

Shhhhh - that was supposed to be a surprise [:-mischievous]...

"My brother had a 1979 28 Mariner, he did all kinds of things to keep the bilge dry. He was down to the point where the floor seem wet, just like what your saying. He looked around and found under the floor about mid cabin, he had some cracks in the bilge floor. So after cutting a small hole, he found that the hull is honeycombed. Water had gotting down into the honeycomb then froze pushed up the floor and made several cracks. He fixed it by carefully cutting out sections of the interhull, let it dry, then filled the area with gallons of resin, then painted it. Look great and fixed the problem. WHAT UP JOB!"

Your brother might want to have that boat surveyed sometime soon. The "honeycomb" to which you speak is the end grain balsa wood coring that is in between the inner and outer layers of fiberglass that compose the hull. Carvers of that vintage were NOTORIOUS for having core problems because once water got in there, the balsa wood rotted and became mush. Also, explain to me what you mean by filling the area with gallons of resin. Did he just scoop the wet balsa out and pour a lot of resin into the void? That is a recipe for a brittle hull - there is a reason that balsa was used, because it is very strong for its weight. Perhaps if he caught it quickly enough he might have been able to save the old balsa core by drying it out thoroughly and then pouring in a bunch of resin kinda the way Git Rot works. Or maybe he used some new coring material or layers of fiberglass cloth. Finally, what resin was used - epoxy or polyester? For a repair like this I would always use epoxy resin because it adheres much, much better to both the old fiberglass and whatever substrate (wood, cloth, etc.) it's poured onto...
 
My 1999 326 had a leaking water tank where the tank vent fitting goes in. I spent all of last summer looking for the leak. I thought it was the air conditioners, the shower sump, the water lines, a leaking deck fitting. I spent hours looking for the leak. Finally I vacuumed the water up and very patiently tracked it down to the fresh water tanks. It was a very slow leak but would eventually put an 1" of water in the bilge.

I was able to repair the tank with some JB water weld. Good luck.
 
Hi Pete, My brother used that West Systems epoxy. After removing all of the damp coring he let the boat dry out over the winter, then replaced the coring with marine plywood, then filled the voids with West epoxy. This about 8 years ago and the floor hasn't crack yet.

I've worked on a few water tanks too, seems I've seen more alum.tanks leak then plastic ones. I worked at a couple of boat shops when I was younger, used to race outboards too, clamp-ons we called them. About 70 mph in a 13' boat, what a ride. (then I got married, ended that :~{
 
Oh that must have been a blast!!!

As for the West System - good choice. From your description it sounds like your brother did his homework. Good for him...

And yes, aluminum tanks can be worse than plastic ones because the damn things get pinhole leaks from galvanic corrosion. One caveat - OLD plastic tanks can be a problem thanks to this damn Ethanol they're putting in the gas, because it will eat away the damn lining of the tanks! But the newer poly tanks are just fine...
 
Not a Mariner owner but my 2557 even when you lift the bilge pump switch not all of the water will be drained out. The aft side storage have hoses leading to the bilge for rain water and the new pompanette rod holders I installed I also installed drain lines to the bilge for rain water. Hate to stick my pole in a water filled rod holder and I think the caps are ugly. My bilge always has a little water unless it has not rained for weeks. About 1-3 gallons. When it has not rained for a while and I had vacuumed out the bilge dry if I saw water I would investigate but not to extreme expense cause there are way too many upgades I would love to buy way before worrying about the water. Thank goodness it is never gas or oil!!!
Good Luck and enjoy your boat and everyone should be investing this year in a LOCKING GAS CAP and two ten gallon gas cans. No marina will be safe if the price of gas keeps increasing. I can get the cans for about 10 bucks each and I save that amount per can. Now if every trip only took 20 gallons they pay for the bait, perfect! Sorry to Digress...
 
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