Leaks

[Capt_Marlinspike]

When I leave my boat on its mooring I find 2 or 3 gallons of water in the bilges after a couple of weeks. I have looked around all the sea cocks and plumbing fixtures but cannot find any obvious leaks. The water in the bilges is not salty but I am on a river mooring so I can't tell if it is from the outside or from the plumbing.
Any good tips for finding where it comes from?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tcm]

i bought some Blutack from woolies, bunged up the limber holes and made little barrages in the bilges to find where the water came from. Dead cheap. You have to dry the bilge first, and dry it some more with tissue paper. Er, i also found out that Playdoh doesn't work cos it dissolves in water and makes a horrible red gunky mess.

You could also put some (say, blue) food colouring in the water tank, and run it until the water in the tank gets a bit bluish, then check the leakified water later to see if it is blue too, and altho this sounds a bit daft, the food colouring will clear very easily. Mind you, in the meantime you have blue tea and coffee. But you could run off the tank after the test at the next boat visit.

Tis a shame you aren't in salty waters but even then, leaks from showers can often be a bit salty as people take a shower when they are covered in salt spray.

You can wander around the boat with a hosepipe, or get someone else to wander about, to see where rain is entering, if anywhere.



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Capt_Marlinspike]

Thanks for that, excellent ideas.
I shall try the food colouring in the tank first as that should give quick results.
If that does not reveal anything then on to blue tack.
Cheers

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Could be the stern tube, or even condensation inside the boat, especially at this time of year.
Hope you find it before it becomes gallons in hours/minutes!!
Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Could be the stern tube, or even condensation inside the boat, especially at this time of year.
Hope you find it before it becomes gallons in hours/minutes!!
Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[castaway]

Not sure what rig you have, but if keel stepped ( as against deck stepped) it could be rain water running down the inside of yor mast. It gets in thro the haliyard slots.

Other thing to help tracing,, is is draw chalk lines around any suspect areas the leak will wash away the chalk..

regds Nick

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[AndrewB]

Obviously you know exactly where all the underwater thru-hulls are and have been able to check very quickly with your fingers whether it is damp around any of them, including the stern gland.

Equally obviously you leave all stop-cocks done up - except for cockpit drains - so this much water can't be from any pipes above them, or from the heat exchange system on the engine. But if they are gate valves be certain they are really doing up properly, pour in water from the top and check it doesn't drain out.

It can't be an automatic bilge pump doing the dirty on you: you wouldn't have left it switched off with the underwater outlet line open?

The water-tank is apocryphal but losing a few gallons each week from this or the plumbing and it should be obvious the level is going down. If the calorifier or pressure water system is at fault, then the pump will be whirring away at odd moments.

There isn't this much fresh water in your engine cooling system, is there? You've checked the header tank? If you have a raw-water cooled engine that can be tricky as there could be a couple of gallons left inside when you shut the seacock, and its not easy to spot if its leaking. But if you aren't using the engine now, it can't be leaking a couple of gallons every week.

So in most mystery cases, as Castaway says, its coming in from above, and the source has dried by the time you arrive. Has it coincided with rainy weeks, like we've recently had? Suspect the hatches and cockpit locker lids particularly, even the anchor well. Maybe there's a gap in a bulkhead that shouldn't be there. Blast the marina hose at each in turn while someone watches on the inside. Remember though that the water may run some way underneath or inside the headlining before dripping down.

 

[peterb]

Put a dusting of talcum powder round the area that the water pools in. Incoming water will wash away the talc. Then gradually work back towards the source.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[jackho]

I would guess a possible source is from the deck joints - most likely the guardrail stanchions. This is where I have a similar problem with rainwater during wet weather on the river. Difficult to trace because in runs in between the cabin lining and hull into the bilges.

<hr width=100% size=1>