Bavaria 34 Cruiser - fresh water leak - help please.

[Ribtecer]

I am involved with the above boat that has about an egg cup of fresh water appearing in the forward bilge compartment after about a day, irrelevant if it's used or not, and if its rained or not.

Judging by the appearance of where the leak would appear to be, its has been happening for some time, the boat is 6 years old.

The owner has sort professional advice which is that the internal fresh water storage tank has a hairline crack somewhere in it, and this is allowing the fresh water out of the tank which is then making its way aft under the tank and appearing where the low level outlet from the tank is located.

Somebody at some point has drilled two holes in the timber cabinetry under the tank and as its all damp in that area its difficult to see if the above is actually correct, or ifs the low level exit from the tank that's causing all the trouble.

I just wondered if there are any Bavaria experts on here that could shed any light on what is actually happening here.

Do these tanks rupture? If so is there a likely place and can they be repaired thru the inspection hatch?

Many thanks, following photos may tell a better story.

 

[Ribtecer]

Photos

 

[Sandydog2]

Our Bavaria 34 forepeak tank acquired a hairline crack on the top. At the time the boat was on charter and we were told it was a stress crack, but we suspected a washboard had been dropped on it. We had it repaired with a plastic weld, which was still fine when we sold the boat some 10 years later. We were lucky that it was so easy to access.

We also replaced some of the push fittings on the water pipes as they were seeping a bit.

They could try using talcum powder in the bilgexto try to track the leak.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Somebody at some point has drilled two holes in the timber cabinetry under the tank and as it all damp in that area …

Sorry I can't be more helpful, but are you saying the cabinetry is rotten?

I'm not saying you should ignore the leak, but is there other evidence of the leak aside from the water in the bilge compartment?

A easy thing to do to confirm the source would be to toss some food colouring in the tank (although you might need to use quite a lot) to ensure that this is where it's coming from. You might also check to see if the leak appears when the tank is only a half or a quarter full,

 

[Ribtecer]

Golly took me a while to post this, 1st ever picture on here.

 

[Ribtecer]

Getting the hang of this now, no 3 is even rotated

 

[Tranona]

Are you sure about the age of the boat. There was not a 34 built 6 years ago - it was a 33 and I had one until last week. Anyway, there is clearly a leak in the tank and it has been there for a long time. Really no option but to take the tank out, and see if it can be repaired by welding.

 

[Ribtecer]

Many thanks Tranona, I will confirm the year after speaking with the owner.

How can you be so sure its the tank not the fittings?

I've wondered about pressurising the tank to accelerate and visualise what's happening.

 

[Boater Sam]

I do not understand that elbow, fitting, it looks very odd.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Blue paper towel is very useful for tracing the source of leaks, but your first action shoud be to dip your finger in the moisture and touch it to your tongue, to ascertain whether or not it is indeed fresh water.

 

[Ribtecer]

Many thanks for all the input so far. I can confirm it is absolutely fresh water.

I tasted it a couple of months ago, and currently the boat is out of the water and still leaking. We have just had a consistent dry period with no rain for over a week, and it's still leaking.

Food dye is a good idea, but the thought process is it's coming from the base of the tank that is inaccessible.

Does anyone have any experience with fitting bladders in tanks?

 

[Bobc]

Can I suggest that you completely empty the tank, put a dehumidifier in the boat to dry it all out, and then leave it for a few weeks to see if the leak stop and it all dries up. If it does, then you probably do have a crack in the tank, and at least the tank is then empty, so you are in a position to fix it.

 

[Frayed Knot]

My first thought is, looking at the staining on the bulkhead immediately below the fitting, that that would be my first thing to check. The brass part looks like a standard bsp tank fitting which will probably have a backing nut inside the tank. If so, is it accessible?
It looks as though it may be sealed to the tank with ptfe tape - not ideal. If it’s possible I would remove & re fit that first, using a suitable sealant (not silicone…)
As said above: paper towel or tissue makes a very good leak locator, especially around fittings.

 

[Aquanaught]

My first thought is, looking at the staining on the bulkhead immediately below the fitting, that that would be my first thing to check. The brass part looks like a standard bsp tank fitting which will probably have a backing nut inside the tank. If so, is it accessible?
It looks as though it may be sealed to the tank with ptfe tape - not ideal. If it’s possible I would remove & re fit that first, using a suitable sealant (not silicone…)
As said above: paper towel or tissue makes a very good leak locator, especially around fittings.

We had a fore tank on our Bavaria 35 which previous owner had removed the top and fitted a flex bladder due to a fracture. The flex bladder was not a success - the water does not keep well and mould growth developed if the bladder is not removed after use and thoroughly cleaned and dried. I would not recommend fitting an internal bladder. It looks like your first option would be to remove the fitting and replace with properly made tank fitting with suitable sealing washers each side. If the leak persists then likely to be a small split and removal and repair necessary.

 

[ghostlymoron]

It's fairly obvious from your photos that the leak is coming from that connection to the tank. I suggest that you empty the tank, unscrew the brass connection, pull off the plastic bend and screw a cap on the tank connector and partly refill the tank.keep an eye on it and hopefully you'll find the leak has stopped meaning that the tank connector is sound. (I'm looking at the photos on my phone so not very good resolution). It looks to me as if the bend going onto the short straight bit is misaligned and straining the joint. This is probably what's causing the leak. If my diagnosis is correct, you need to re-make the connection without putting any strain on the joints. Not a difficult job provided you have good access. (Like most things on boats).
You could try contacting Bavaria and asking their opinion. By the staining it looks like it's been leaking for years not days!
What's your connection with it.

 

[ghostlymoron]

On second thoughts I've now viewed your photos on my laptop and it looks like the tank connector is screwed directly into the tank so leave the brass part alone and release the push fit part and fit a blanking plug before refilling the tank 1/4 full should do to check if its the tank that's split. Do you know how thick the walls of the tank are?

 

[Tranona]

Many thanks Tranona, I will confirm the year after speaking with the owner.

How can you be so sure its the tank not the fittings?

I've wondered about pressurising the tank to accelerate and visualise what's happening.

It could be the fitting - that is a standard Bavaria arrangement using Whale pushfit connectors. however I would have thought a leak there would have been obvious. The brass fitting screws into a boss on the tank and the outer bit is designed to take the push fit connector.

Agree with the suggestion to empty the tank, remove the fitting and reseat, but the only way of checking that it is not a crack in the tank is to remove it.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

My first thought is, looking at the staining on the bulkhead immediately below the fitting, that that would be my first thing to check. The brass part looks like a standard bsp tank fitting which will probably have a backing nut inside the tank. If so, is it accessible?
It looks as though it may be sealed to the tank with ptfe tape - not ideal. If it’s possible I would remove & re fit that first, using a suitable sealant (not silicone…)
As said above: paper towel or tissue makes a very good leak locator, especially around fittings.

Particularly the blue ones.

 

[Ribtecer]

I would remove & re fit that first, using a suitable sealant (not silicone…)

Many thanks for the advice, that sounds like a good place to start, when you say suitable sealant (not silicone...) what would you recommend, bearing in mind it has to seal against that plastic tank?

Once again, many thanks all.

Toby

 

[ghostlymoron]

Be careful about removing the tank connector. They usually have a back nut and rubber washer inside the tank but the presence of PTFE tape suggests that it is tapped directly into the tank wall.