Flooded again!!

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pcatterall

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Back to boat with new starter motor, ready to dry out the bell housing, Found about 18" of water in the engine side of the bilges ( around 20 cubic feet!!). At a loss as to where it had come from, ( the last time I thought I had left the sea cock open and there was a slight drip from the heat exchanger)
This time sea cock off and the gate valve further along the system also closed.
I pumped all out again and hand bailed /sponged dry all the little pockets of water formed by engine mounts and cross members ( still messy with oil from the last flood) I spent 24 hours on the boat and could detect no leaks.
The raw water in the system could have dripped out but this is only a few litres even with the mixing tank stuff.
There was a slight drip from the shaft seal ( one drip per 5")
This stopped altogether when I really forced grease in.
I dont understand it, can anyone help??
Not rain water as no significant drips seen and salty taste.
Seems to be associated with leaving the boat after running the engine as I left her for 2 weeks after the last flood ( when I couldn't run the engine and she was bone dry when I returned.
There are no holes in the hull in the engine side except for the intake and the shaft there was no damp around the intake and just the small drip at the shaft.
24 hours of monitoring the little 'wells' along the bilges showed no real evidence of water coming in ( say from a keel bolt)
Hopefully when I am aboard for a few days I will be able to monitor better but any suggestions will be appreciated.
Needless to say I am not fitting my latest starter motor untill the leak is sorted!!
Whilst we are on the air what is normal practice and tolerance with the shaft seal? Iv'e never really bothered too much, just turn of the pump cap every so often. Do people try to do it prior to leaving the boat or what. My seal is very difficult see as someone has built a 'day tank' over it meaning employment of torch and mirror plus contortion.
Thanks as ever guys.
 
Very frustrating! The Conwy River is very shallow in places this year. Are you grounding at springs at all I wonder - would that affect a leak at the keel bolts? Also, a drip every few seconds will take a while to produce 20 cu ft? Over 2 weeks I reckon that's nearly half a ml per second? That's a lot more than a drip. Don't know if that helps at all.
 
Dear oh dear.

When I had a greaser I would always turn it down hard before I left the boat as well as now and again whilst running. It shouldn't drip at all whilst left.

I have sea water coming in through the rudder but perhaps yours has an enclosed stock all the way up and not dependant on O rings like mine.

When it's rough can water slop up the exhaust or is there a crack in the water trap/muffler?

Hope you get it fixed before summer arrives!
 
I don't know the Atlanta, but a) is the rudder transom-hung, with fittings through the transom/back of the keel or b) does it have an exposed shaft inside the back end of the boat.

Might also suggest is the bilge pump back-flooding somehow or is the exhaust backfilling (strong winds slopping waves into the outlet?), and then draining to the bilge?
 
Engine vibrations at low revs (from my new Yanmar 1GM10) had broken my sterntube away from the hull where it passed right through the bottom. I tried many times to cure the leak which I thought came from the shaftseal. Finally the leak became so bad that I could see it was leaking down the side of the sterntube, no crack was visible

With the boat ashore, I made a hollow cutter from a short piece of scaffolding tube and bored a larger hole through the hull, concentric with the old bronze sterntube and, discarding the original bronze sterntube, I bonded in a considerably wider new GRP sterntube. This accommodated the vibrations without allowing the shaft to hit the inside of the sterntube. A new flexible stepped "hose" and the original greased gland have combined to give a trouble-free installation.
 
I suspect your shaft seal - usually these things give you a clue. Or perhaps a cracked hose or hose fitting you have not tightened properly with your recent work. I suggest you dry her out completely, make yourself a cup of tea and observe your strategically placed newspaper strips for signs of damp after say 30 mins. If you get the all clear on that, run your engine for say 15 minutes in neutral without leaving your mooring and repeat the above. Use a good torch to assist. You really need to sort this before you can enjoy your sailing.good luck.
 
Oh dear! How depressing /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I reckon that leak rate will produce ~25 litres / week in the bilges. (I've just checked how many drips from the tap fill a medicine spoon - 25 drops = 5ml)

Difficult to see how it could give you the 500 litres + that you found /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Maybe when the tide was running, the prop-shaft was turning and the flow rate increased?? Trouble is, if that is the reason, you're not going to know. It would almost be better to be able to find something definitely wrong and fix it.

We have had some incredibly heavy rain in the last week, or so (2" in an hour sort of thing), but even if that could find its way in it wouldn't explain it.

Where could the water come from... (Assuming sea water)

1) Stern gland
2) Rudder tube
3) Skin fittings
4) Heads / galley
5) Keel (assuming bolted on)
6) Hull damage
7) Depth / speed fittings

Maybe dry everything out, get the engine going, then dry out for a tide (town quay or Deganwy beach if B/K) and go around checking (i.e. wiggling and whacking) all the skin fittings, etc. ?? If nothing found, take starter off again when back on your mooring?

Sorry, not much help.... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Andy
 
Thanks for all the good ideas. Shaft leaking when prop spins is one possibility though Ive never had current spin at Conwy.
The bottom of the bilge is divided into unconected sections about 3" deep X 12" X 12" ( a real pain to dry out) Once dry they should point me to the general area of the leak. problem is if I get more than 3" in then I can't use this idea. But on my last 24 hour spell on board I couldnt see any real amount in any of these sections which doesn't square with the amount on board after my 2 week absence.
May have to fit the starter and test the engine and prop then stay on board to monitor things for a couple of days.
Cunning plan for escape from SWIMBO forming!!
Thanks again guys
 
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