Tracing Leaks?

[Sea_dreamer]

Boat comes out in two weeks... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

We have been getting water into the bilges, and enough to make it unpleasant. (We also need to get a decent bilge pump). At the moment the principal source of water seems to be down the mast, but obviously there are many other possible sources of water.

Does anyone have a good way of tracing sources of water in a cold damp boat, sitting through a Scottish winter!

Sounds like a really daft question, but this is at the top of the task list. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

John

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Talcum powder.....

sprinkle it in the bilges, and it will show tell tale lines where the water is running from....

Even more advanced... mix different coloured powder paint into it, and sprinkle different colours in different places, and it will aid even further in tracing source... bu will then leave a clean up job, although not a huge one....

 

[oldharry]

Not an easy one! First question is it rising damp or falling damp - i.e. is it fresh or salt water?

Drying out thoroughly is no easy task, but following the water back to its source involves removing it completely, seeing if it returns and following it back to its source.

One tip: dark coloured tissues, such as red, green or blue paper towels or napkins turn much darker on contact with water. Having dried a corner carefully, the re-appearance of water is much easier to spot. Same applies when tracing a fuel leak.

 

[tcm]

agree with others below - but tracing whilst on the water is the key thing. Some but not all testing can be done whilst on dry land but you can be bit ruthless and more rigourous - blast hosepipe at the mast frinstance.

 

[Spuddy]

taste it to see if its salty. Deck leaks are usually from stanchion bases. Talcum powder worked for me.

 

[tcm]

Re: Taste if salty

hm, but lots of things taste salty. Only sure thing is that if isn;t salty it's the plumbing. Deck leaks from salty boat cd easily be salty.

 

[claymore]

Toilet paper is ok too - roll some out and place it against the hull in lockers. Someone once told me they used pepper but I couldn't tell if this was a wind-up.

 

[Rigger]

Food colouring works just as well and is a bit easier to clean up.

 

[Sea_dreamer]

Thanks for that.

I was sure I heard the talcum powder one, but the coloured powder paint is probably the kind of thing we need to try.

There is rainwater coming down the mast, old water under the engine, and water from a mystery source (could be very old) under the cockpit sole.

If anyone has drawings for a Dehler 38, to explain why they built the bulkheads as they did please let me know!

John

 

[Cornishman]

Are you being lifted out, or floating into a cradle? If lifted out spend a few moments watching underneath to see if any water is leaking OUT of the hull, especially around the usual suspect points where there are holes in the bottom, fittings, water in/outlets, etc. I once found a nasty little leak coming from the log impeller fitting like this.
This can be done when in the cradle, but not so easily.

 

[Spuddy]

Re: Taste if salty

Deck leaks wouldn't taste salty so don't come here with your fancy London ways - I'm from yorkshire too and you can go to the foot of your stairs and put a twist in the neb of thi cap, so think on.
Sorry everybody - regional squabble

 

[BrendanS]

Re: Taste if salty

Deck leaks would be salty if you had your boat on the Solent, We get proper waves and sea spray down here! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tcm]

Re: Taste if salty

Eyup. But rainwater often comes off salty decks, see, so they might. I had shower tray leaks that tasted salty cos the people using them had been in the sea. Any road, i'll sithee..

 

[Guest]

Re: Tracing Leaks? Always a difficult one ...

various tricks such as food colouring powder / talcum sprinkled around shows up trickles .....

I had a mystery locker that filled with water ... aft end main cabin stbd trotter berth ... Tried everything but could not find where .... in the end being a Tupperware boat - assumed it was condensation etc. collecting from the hull sides etc. and running down ....
Finally I lifted the stanchion base that was near in line with it and voila .... solved. It had been strained by the proverbial helpers who insist on using stanchions as fend off "posts" ... the bed was cracked and sealant had basically hardened and missing in gaps ... Lifted, rebedded - locker now dry ....

There are various liquid solutions to this where you can pour water to find .... coloured water is good ..... then once found pour a crack sealant liquid that basically consists of water-borne polymers that block up cracks / hairlines etc. But of course these do not cure the problem - only the results .... and are not for structural items ...

 

[Lakesailor]

Re: Tracing Leaks? Always a difficult one ...

You can drain-tracing dye which is bright yellow or green and irridescent so it glows when you shine a torch or similar at it. Helpful for finding the route it's using to get in. Also washes away easily.

 

[mikejames]

Old and nasty water under the cabin sole could simply be dripping crew mixed in with old coffee/tea and spilt dinners.

Under the engine - water pump seals beginning to go, stern gland..

 

[hlb]

Captain Tullies Creaping Crack Cure will find leaks, but also mend them as well if only small. Squirt it on suspect areas and watch it disapear, or not as the case maybe. Sold in all chandlers. Think I'd sink without it!!