leaking keel bolts

[thomashoebus]

I assume there is a leak coming from my keel bolts. There is only water coming in when the boat is sailing in a choppy sea.
The bilge stays dry when the boat is not sailing.
Last winter i checked and repaired everey other possible source of leaks.

So the only water coming in now is this. Colour is brownish and the rate is a halve liter an hour when beating in 4+ beaufort.

Boat is oceanis 440 from 94 (9 bolts).

Front and aft bolt seem to be replaced already and i assume that the problem is coming from these.

I bought the boat 5 years ago she has been chartered before.

We are on a holliday withe the boat at the moment.

thanks for any advice

 

[sarabande]

What's the colour of the sea outside ? If you have brown water coming in, could it be rust or dirt ?

Are your bilges clean (I don't mean to be personal !) or is the leak from the heads discharge pipe, or the chain locker (with rusty anchor chain) ?

 

[philfin]

Hi,
Are you sure it is leaking from keel bolts. I had a similar small leak and eventually I discovered it was the water heater/calorifier. It was an old "Raritan" make and was the original one with the boat. Bascially it had rotted itself through but was hard to spot due to the insulation that covers the tank. Water was a mucky brown colour also due to rusting.

Might be worth a look.

 

[TiggerToo]

taste the water to see if it is salty. That will tell you something about its origin

 

[Sailfree]

Can you advise what it would taste like if its not salt water - say from the heads!!

 

[TiggerToo]

the smell might give that one away... but it would be salty as you are washing it down with sea water /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Aja]

Could it come from the calorifier when the engine is running?

I've recently found out that is where my bilge water is coming from. Friend has exactly the same in a First 345.

Donald

 

[ChrisE]

You say that this only happens whe nbeating into a choppy sea. It's not coming in over the front, via the anchor locker by any chance? Ours will let that amount in if there's green water going over the front.

 

[thomashoebus]

Well it is definitely salt water.
I checked the anchor locker and fixed one small leak there.

I checked the heads they are ok. And i assume they should also leak in the marina.

Since the water is salt that rules out the calorifier. I checked also the salt water circuit of the engine i refitted the pump in the winter.

There are no leaks from the deck when water washes over because evrything stays dry when raining.

So it has to be the bolts. Has anybody experience with this is it normal that they take water when the ship is sailing and stay dry in the harbour? Because if they should leak all the time then there sould be off course another source.

I can't check if it's the bolts for sure because they pass through the inner moulding which is glued to the hull so i can't see where the bolts pass the hull only where they come out off the inner moulding. During winter is smeared (after sanding) a good amound off 3m5200 around the keel basis and the hull.

I don't think it's from the toerail when the boat is heeling but it's very difficult to rule that out but then again the water shouldn't be that brown i suppose and where the toerail is visible there are no leaks.

So i'm at a loss here.

 

[fireball]

Do you get the leak if you MOTOR into a chop?

Do you get the leak if you sail in a F4 but with flat water?

For the keel bolts to leak it will need to be flexing or stressing the keel to open a gap up for the water to get through.
You could heal the boat whilst tied to the pontoon and see if you are getting any water in .... but that would just give you healed stress rather than the extra stress of healed in a chop!

 

[StugeronSteve]

Check the exhaust antisyphon vent isn't passing a bit of water into the bilge.

 

[thomashoebus]

well when sailing in flat water there is a slight leak but when there is a combination heeling + choppy then the leak is definitely harder.

When under engine i have the idea that there is only a lek when the boat swings sideways like entering dover when it's choppy over there

 

[essexboy]

I had a similar problem albeit on a mobo, made a weir from plastecine around the bolts to isolate other possible sources

 

[Robin]

IMO keel bolts are the least likely suspect. You may want to look at the rudder tube, water might find it's way past the top seal (if there is one) when the boat is at hull speed and especially if heeled as well. The top of the tube is normally way above the static waterline, but a big stern wave and heeled over puts it lower and it will 'spurt' occasionally as the boat surges on a wave.

It is difficult too to differentiate between fresh and salt water by taste test as any bilge water will be brackish anyway as indeed it will be dirty if it has travelled any distance. Calorifier pressure valves nearly always leak off and are a likely suspect too, ours did and I discovered how much when I put the outlet hose into an old tonic bottle, it half filled it every time the engine heated the tank up.

 

[alec]

Just a thought.

I had water ingress in the bilge during rougher weather. I looked and tried everything.

Turned out to be water ingress via the deck chainplates . Somehow it found it's way into the bilge.

I very much like the idea suggested of making a dam round the keel bolts.

 

[Heckler]

I agree, the keel bolts in a modern boat are the last things i would check.

 

[Niander]

Is it unlikely?....
But then i have a wooden boat...
If it is flexing and letting in water that wants checking ..the bolts are all tight then?
Damn I'm para about keel bolts..I'm gonna add some more to mine soon!

 

[christopherc]

ditto comments on calorifier, I recently fixed an anchor locker leak, and found still getting small amount of water in after being bone dry in marina. Checked the outlet pipe and there was a drip, so pretty sure thats where its coming from, going to try the bottle under the pipe suggested above

 

[oldsaltoz]

Sprinkle some talc around the whole area and check for breaks in the dust after sailing in heavy conditions before you pull anything apart.

Andavagoodweekend......

 

[oldharry]

Leaks are very rarely coming from where they seem to be! Dry everything out, take up floorboards etc so that you can see the bilges properly, then while I sail the boat for you, watch carefully to see where the water is running down. Track it back by mopping it up as it appears.

Takes a bit of time and patience. Spreading talc around will also help to show up the first appearance of the water - and make the bilges smell good if you pinch some of SWMBO's!

But like others, I would not expect it to be keel bolts unless the keel has hit something solid at speed.