How to access water collecting under shower floor?

[psychotiller]

We've been searching around for the cause of our mysterious bilge water in our 2004 Sunfast 32i and I think I finally found the source.   I noticed a small amount of water in the shower drain that I could never clear with the shower pump.   I took the drain apart and there was a good 3 to 4 cm of standing water in what appears to be a bilge under the drain with no communication with the rest of the bilge compartments.  This space is below the drain which the shower pump is connected to so the shower pump doesn't clear this water.  I'm assuming if there is a small leak around the drain the water gets in this space but has no way out once it gets trapped under there.    


I think while sailing some of the water would spill out into the rest of the bilge when we were heeling, or maybe even soaking through the aft berth bulkhead.  I can't seem to find an easy way to get under the shower pan and there does not seem to be any holes or routes for the water to drain into the rest of the bilge.  Has anyone else had experience with this?  Anyone know of a way to get under the shower pan? I was able to get all the water out with a sponge and a hand held bilge pump after taking apart the drain but it seems I'm either missing some easier way to access this or it's a very odd design flaw.  This might also be a good place for others to look for mysterious bilge water that appears after sailing, especially if the shower is used.  Below are some pictures of what I found.  Not the greatest pictures but best I could do with an iPhone.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments.

   


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[touchngo]

The SO40 has the same design flaw for the forward head also, and no, I haven't worked out a different way of sorting it out!

We had the exact same issue. Initially thought it was the water tank inspection port. Sikaflexed the hell out of that, but still had the problem. After a LOT more investigation, we found a leak in the forward water tank (we have 2 under the V berth). Big sigh of relief. Drained the tank, and isolated from the water system, only to encounter water running over the floorboard the next time we had a thrash up wind. In frustration, we finally decided to take out the waste, and hey presto we have water! We've now invested in a little siphon pump and hose that can reach to the bottom from the locker under the sink, but fortunately so far the new sealant around the waste seems to be holding up. I have also been thinking of putting a hole through the panel that is bonded to the hull and acting as a dam, just a small limber hole, so that any water can drain to the bilge, but it is now quite low down on the jobs list.

Be interesting to see what other have done.

PT

[psychotiller]

The SO40 has the same design flaw for the forward head also, and no, I haven't worked out a different way of sorting it out!

We had the exact same issue. Initially thought it was the water tank inspection port. Sikaflexed the hell out of that, but still had the problem. After a LOT more investigation, we found a leak in the forward water tank (we have 2 under the V berth). Big sigh of relief. Drained the tank, and isolated from the water system, only to encounter water running over the floorboard the next time we had a thrash up wind. In frustration, we finally decided to take out the waste, and hey presto we have water! We've now invested in a little siphon pump and hose that can reach to the bottom from the locker under the sink, but fortunately so far the new sealant around the waste seems to be holding up. I have also been thinking of putting a hole through the panel that is bonded to the hull and acting as a dam, just a small limber hole, so that any water can drain to the bilge, but it is now quite low down on the jobs list.

Hmm, very interesting indeed.  I wonder how many other Jeanneau boats have similar secret bilges. Very odd, especially in a space where there is such a high probability of water getting trapped inside there.  I almost feel like Jeanneau should hide a present inside there for those of us who spend so much time looking for it.  Sort of like a hidden treasure, maybe even a coupon for 50% off your next purchase of a new Jeanneau   Or at least they could just leave a siphon pump down there for us to find and use.

I had the same thoughts you did, need to find a small siphon pump.  I also was just about to drill some small holes in the bulkhead to allow drainage but couldn't bring myself to do it just yet.  I get nervous drilling holes until I think about it for a while.

Unfortunately however what I thought was the problem was only the symptom.  I still have a very small amount of water getting into the bilges and I think it's coming from the engine.  I think the water I found under the shower pan came from there but had just been sitting there for a long time.  It seems as though one can spend a lifetime chasing down small water leaks on sailboats.

[Xlnt]

Had similar problem under the fore head, The water piping to the sink had started a tiny leak and the water followed the piping behind the shower basin so it was almost impossible to see. Noticed that some water would always be sitting aroundt the drain in the shower basin and the bilge pumpe would start now and then. We fixed the leak and drilled a couple of holes all the way down in the buttom of the head wall so that water will not build up underneath the basin but be drained out and be visable.

-XLNT

[j]

In frustration, we finally decided to take out the waste, and hey presto we have water

In the 36i we had a very small amount of water(1/4 cup) under the shower floor and also resorted to removing the waste drain in the floor (thinking that it was leaking). It actually turned out to be the shower faucet that was leaking slowly (that was fun to remove and reinstall!). It turned out that the o-ring between the hot water hose and the bottom of the faucet was dried out and not sealing correctly.

Having the waste drain removed allowed me to dry out the hidden bilge section. Since fixing the shower faucet we haven't had any other leaks in this area.