AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
If it's potentially got hydraulic fluid in it, I'd rather not taste it - some hydraulic fluids are pretty nasty.
Unidentified leak in Southerly 105
- Thread starter Cardo
- Start date
If it's potentially got hydraulic fluid in it, I'd rather not taste it - some hydraulic fluids are pretty nasty.
BruceDanforth
Well-known member
pcatterall
Well-known member
Are you using the engine? My recent 'leak' was from the hose at the bottom of the anti syphon 'loop' at the stern. We were making quite a bit of water underway. We would pump out in the evening but then found a few litres the next morning. We rationalised that there was a leak somewhere in the sea water cooling and that the stuff in the morning was the gradual draining of the anti syphon loop. Sure enough close inspection showed a slight drip there
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
No, thank goodness!
But I was more worried that some hydraulic fluids are actually poisonous, not just evil-tasting. For example, apparently they MAY contain organophosphates, and I certainly don't want them in my mouth.
BruceDanforth
Well-known member
You wouldn't be drinking pints of bilge water unless you got a taste for it. Just licking the tip of a finger...
Cardo
Active member
This is what I've been doing, before spitting it out PDQ. Considering how grimy the bilges are, I really don't want to be letting any more of that crud in my mouth than I really need to.
If closing off the water tanks doesn't provide any clues, I'll try the silver nitrate idea.
Pinnacle
Well-known member
BruceDanforth
Well-known member
Mistroma
Well-known member
I thought it was a long shot. The hollow skeg was always full of water on our S95 as the gland dripped when running (normal state). I never bothered about a basin as the water overflowed and ran to the bilge. I built a little channel to divert it all to one side instead of both sides getting a bit wet. Difficult to keep a flat bilge dry as you said. However, this made it difficult to spot a leak from the cutless bearing holder (hidden much further back and below the gland).
I hope that you do manage to track the leak down.
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Daydream believer
Well-known member
Use an oil extraction pump. The type with the bottle is best. The hose is very small & so does not let a lot of water run back past the strum box like a larger pump.
If you need to get under floorboards which are awkward to raise drill a hole ( on one of the decorative lines if you have them) just large enough for the hose ie about 6-7 mm poke the hose through, pump the vacuum. & wait
Another mad suggestion!
If the grounding plate is rusty or corroded water could be getting in the hull plate joint. The keel bolts would be tight but water coming in via the bad fit
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ghostlymoron
Well-known member
The only way to completely dry a shallow (or deep) bilge is with a sponge. Its surprising how much water they can hold.
Cardo
Active member
Well, last night didn't work! I turned off the taps to the tanks, turned off the fresh water pump and left the galley taps open to remove the pressure from the system, and unfortunately we still gained a decent amount of water. If it is a fresh water leak, then it'll be coming from the bottom side of our new plastic tank we fitted at the beginning of the season.
I really need to ascertain whether the water is fresh or salty.
I'm also going to try emptying out the bilges as best as I can. I have a hand held bilge pump, which is pretty good at getting shallow water out, so that'll be the next step.
Joy!
This is actually something I had considered. Our grounding plate is pretty rusty (and will probably be getting some professional TLC, once we're back in the UK), but I don't see how that could be causing the leak. As far as I can tell, the grounding plate slots into a recess in the GRP hull. The only actual holes in the GRP are for the keel/grounding plate bolts and the keel box itself, which is above the waterline. Unless someone can provide some info that I'm missing, I just can't see where water could be getting in due to grounding plate rust.
I really need to ascertain whether the water is fresh or salty.
I'm also going to try emptying out the bilges as best as I can. I have a hand held bilge pump, which is pretty good at getting shallow water out, so that'll be the next step.
Joy!
This is actually something I had considered. Our grounding plate is pretty rusty (and will probably be getting some professional TLC, once we're back in the UK), but I don't see how that could be causing the leak. As far as I can tell, the grounding plate slots into a recess in the GRP hull. The only actual holes in the GRP are for the keel/grounding plate bolts and the keel box itself, which is above the waterline. Unless someone can provide some info that I'm missing, I just can't see where water could be getting in due to grounding plate rust.
Talulah
Well-known member
Next thing I think I would do is empty the water tanks before you go to bed. Dry the bilge and see if you still have an ingress by morning.
Greenheart
Well-known member
Didn't you try talc? Even if you put down a kilo of the stuff, the merest trickle would betray the origin of the leak before you turn in, giving time to hoover/brush up all the dry talc.
rob2
Active member
I clean my bilges when doing scheduled clean of the fresh water tank. I spray patio cleaner throughout the bilges and let it soak for half an hour, then disconnect the feed hose from the tank to flood the bilges and pump out. Finish off with a bucket of hot water and sponge. With the boards up it dries in no time, especially if you wipe up any puddles that are forming with a towel. Refilling the tank in between with some Miltons or other bleach added gives a second rinse of the bilge and helps to neutralise any niffs. I'd use the cheapest perfumed talc for tracing leaks - any scent is better than stale diesel and hydraulic oil. It would be a good idea to try a talcum trace before the final refill of the water tank. If nothing is found then fill the tank and see where the leak is coming from.
Rob.
Rob.
Mistroma
Well-known member
Yes, exactly how the grounding plate is fitted. The hull has a recess for the plate and the inner part turns up into a well that finishes quite high above the water line. So the only route for a leak would be through one of the bolts holding the plate in position (I think there are about 15 of these). We did have a leak after the plate was removed about 20 years ago and yard didn't use enough mastic. So it is possible to get a leak but fairly unlikely unless the plate has been removed & refitted. Easy enough to check the bolts anyway though 1-2 might be under a water tank & need a mirror.
The bolt holes are all on top of the grounding plate and therefore well above the low part of the bilges on either side.
Just a thought, does water appear first on port or starboard side? Southerly bilges usually collect water on side nearest the leak (though it can follow a convoluted path to other side). Do you always spot water on one side first?
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Colvic Watson
Well-known member
If you recently fitted a new tank then that's the first place I'd put down talc. We have the drain off the bottom of ours and it leaked steadily all last summer whilst I tightened up the stern gland 
TonyBuckley
New member
I had such a leak last year. Bilge used to pump every three hours or so.
I was exasperated in not finding where it was coming from.
Only solution was lifting (for more reasons just than this) and filling the bilges with water and tracing where it came out. If water can come in, then it will also find a way out even with little pressure for the volume of water I was experiencing.
Turned out to be the log even though I could find no trace of that leak via the interior!
Bilges completely dry since fixing.
It is annoying isn't it!
I was exasperated in not finding where it was coming from.
Only solution was lifting (for more reasons just than this) and filling the bilges with water and tracing where it came out. If water can come in, then it will also find a way out even with little pressure for the volume of water I was experiencing.
Turned out to be the log even though I could find no trace of that leak via the interior!
Bilges completely dry since fixing.
It is annoying isn't it!
Cardo
Active member
The solution was finally posted over on the Southerly Owners Association forum. Turns out small cracks can form at the forward corners of the grounding plate moulding due to the stresses on the hull. I have found such a crack on one of the corners, about an inch or so long, and it's letting in a small, but constant trickle of water.
Next query is how do I sort this out? Is it possible to temporarily patch whilst we're in the water? Ideally, I'd like to do this so we can be sure that's the only source of water ingress.
Also, if possible, I'd rather wait to get it sorted out properly this winter when we haul out. Will it get worse if we leave it that long? Should we haul out asap and get it fixed?
I doubt there's many Southerly specialists around these parts, does that matter? Will any person who knows about GRP hulls be able to sort this?
Next query is how do I sort this out? Is it possible to temporarily patch whilst we're in the water? Ideally, I'd like to do this so we can be sure that's the only source of water ingress.
Also, if possible, I'd rather wait to get it sorted out properly this winter when we haul out. Will it get worse if we leave it that long? Should we haul out asap and get it fixed?
I doubt there's many Southerly specialists around these parts, does that matter? Will any person who knows about GRP hulls be able to sort this?
Seajet
...
Cardo,
I don't like bodges on the outside of leaks, but in this case - there are various adhesive fillers available which work underwater, and as this leak is constantly wet it might as well be underwater for these purposes - maybe you could apply one of these.
What I have in mind is the ' emergency araldite ' I carry, which consists of an airtight packed roll of epoxy & hardener side by side, to use it one simply twists & mixes the two together.
If you did your best to dry the area then ' keyed ' it with coarse sandpaper, a wire brush, screwdiver etc then applied this stuff it might give a very temporary repair until you reach civilisation.
I do think the leak can only get worse, I doubt it would threaten the boat but as I'm a cautious type I'd be investing in the best electric bilge pump available, I am not being funny when I ask if you have a liferaft ?!
I think the need for that 1000:1, but if one sets off with a known slight problem one must consider the outside chance of it developing into a major snag.
10/10 for the Southerly Owners Association, 1/10 for Southerlys...
If you search Amazon for ' waterproof epoxy ' they offer quite a few of the things I'm on about; good luck !
I don't like bodges on the outside of leaks, but in this case - there are various adhesive fillers available which work underwater, and as this leak is constantly wet it might as well be underwater for these purposes - maybe you could apply one of these.
What I have in mind is the ' emergency araldite ' I carry, which consists of an airtight packed roll of epoxy & hardener side by side, to use it one simply twists & mixes the two together.
If you did your best to dry the area then ' keyed ' it with coarse sandpaper, a wire brush, screwdiver etc then applied this stuff it might give a very temporary repair until you reach civilisation.
I do think the leak can only get worse, I doubt it would threaten the boat but as I'm a cautious type I'd be investing in the best electric bilge pump available, I am not being funny when I ask if you have a liferaft ?!
I think the need for that 1000:1, but if one sets off with a known slight problem one must consider the outside chance of it developing into a major snag.
10/10 for the Southerly Owners Association, 1/10 for Southerlys...
If you search Amazon for ' waterproof epoxy ' they offer quite a few of the things I'm on about; good luck !
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