where is this water coming from?

ghostlymoron

ghostlymoron

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every time I visit my boat in winter I find a couple of inches of clean water in the bilge under the engine. Where can this be coming from. Boat is in the boatyard at the moment! Condensation is the only source I can think of but the quantity surprises me.
 
try "venting" the engine bay when left alone if possible, i.e if sports boat with engine under seats, lift seat to allow flow of air.

But yes if your engine is in a confined space with little airflow, this is more than likely the cause.

Also depending on boat possibility of some rain water blowing in through vents etc... depending on location.
 
Our recent one was a leaking freshwater tank. Took a while to work that out.
 
My "new" 381 leaked like a sieve when I got her last October, it was mostly deck fittings, the stanchion bases were all loose, ok took em off and resealed, the sprayhood track screws had come loose, again remove and seal, any fitting check it for sealing!
Stu
 
Hmm, yes got the same problem, coincidentally I asked the yard about it yesterday as being a novice on these matters I wasn't sure if I should worry about it! I have an older boat (1988) so I was assuming its leaking though the deck fittings somewhere. Seems too much for condensation. Time permitting and a hose will probably highlight I guess.
 
The other curious thing about boats is that water from a leak often emerges many feet away from the entry point. I spent a long ( and sticky) time re-bedding a hatch that I thought was leaking, only to find that it came from the babystay deck fitting. The quaintly named Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure can often reach the parts that others cannot.
 
So often with queries like these the make/model of the boat can assist with the answers. When registering for this website why do so many of you not describe your make of boat? I can't believe that this would infringe anonymity if that's what the enquirer thinks. Whilst there are other Owner Associations with specific forums, this one is pretty good at helping solve problems.. albeit sometimes sarcastically, usually because no boat type has been given in the OP's enquiry to give a starting point to a solution.
 
Fair point - you don't know if it is a jet ski or a supertanker. In fact it is somewhere in between - a Mirage 28. The engine bilge is not connected to any other bilges and has no vents or deck fittings or windows. I am mystified.
 
Ah, what about a dripping stern gland? That can acccumulate a fair amount of water.

Also the fact that the bilge is not connected to other bilges doesn't mean that the water isn't getting there down some route say via the inside of the hull.
 
Stern gland doesn't drip fresh water, Chris! Ooops, he didn't say 'fresh', he said 'clean'. My apologies.

Definitely heed the advice about leaks appearing from somewhere else on the boat. Sprayhood track screw holes is a classic
 
I had a similar problem with my Jag27 a while back......I new there were minor leaks from stanchion bases etc. but not enough for how much (rain)water was getting in..........
This was driving me nuts until I looked in the aft locker and found that the drain pipe from around the edge of horizontal hatch was plumbed into a 'Y' fitting inside the locker which then went to a stern skin fitting.........the other end of the pipe on the Y fitting vanished through a hole in the bottom of the locker.........I followed this through and found it ended up in one of the compartments in the bilge!!!!
I have no idea why it was plumbed in like that, and whoever plumbed it in didn't either!
Don't give up, it'll be obvious when you find it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Had just this problem over the last year. Just happened to be doing some inside jobs during the new year when it rained and I found the source of the water ingress. A slightly loose cockpit drain which had old sealant around it. Sealed and sorted----till the next one of course!!
 
my seawolf 30 had a very shallow centre bilge(same designer as your cobra I believe, D Feltnam) that was constantly wet whether in the water or on the hard, I assumed bilges were always wet, never ever found any leak and put it down to condensation, PS the Konsort is as dry as a bone. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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