Water ingress into Bilge

[colinnz]

Hi all,

Recently, been getting a far bit of water into Bilge. To be honest probably since we had boat. Noticed it seems to have got worse lately as I did a 17hr run yesterday and basically left the small lowest bilge pump running. I have been trying to trace it for a while. Doesn't happen generally no matter what the rain is doing and doesn't do it much with local coastal sailing. I took a look through rear cabins through panel to rear 'garage' yesterday underway as I was concerned (it was not dangerous) how much was coming through underway. At the rear, probably where the bumper strip is, it was definitely wet. No water is getting through any thru hulls that I can see so I 'suspect' it is coming through the seam underway as the bumper strip is always underwater underway. Need to do some gelcoat replies anyway so was wondering if anyone else had some water ingress from the rear at all?

Short video looking back is here - 

Used to be a generator and aircon in this space but all rusted and removed.

Any help/advice appreciated please. Got to be checked over this year for insurance purposes anyway so will get a few things checked out at same time and this may be a fox that is definitely needed.

Happy New Year all.

[ianf]

Was your 17hr run mostly on the same tack?  I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a poor seal on the through hull for the outlet from the air conditioner on the port side. If it is worse on one particular tack it may give yo a clue and narrow the search down.

Good luck, I know from experience how frustrating this can be. 

[Charlie-Bravo]

Does look a bit wet from your video, and as you say, the area does submerge when motoring, so a bit of repair may be required .
the through hull idea on one tack above is sound, one of those things that are never found at the dock.
Worth wrapping each though hull with kitchen roll before going out for a blast, and examining for soggy tissue when back at the dock.

Another thing that can happen is you end up with a lot of nice hot water, which can allow the pressure relief valve on the domestic hot water tank to leak and puddle in the bilge.

You could put a ring of talk powder away from the bilge sump to determine the direction that the water is approaching the sump from, if it isn’t obvious, might just give a clue, 

Is it really salt water?

CB

[Sailorik]

I still have this problem on my boat.  It is coming through the seam when the boat squats down underway.  I am going to try to re-seal it from the outside before she splashes in the spring and if that doesn't work, I may try to get a bead along the seam from the inside.  It's a PITA to get to the seam.  I may have to remove the garage to do that.  

[colinnz]

Thanks all. Yep on same tack and have removed rear aircon and generator so still need to seal those holes but didn't look like water coming in there and I still suspect the seam. Needs to come out of water for insurance survey soon and some tidy up repairs to cracking on rear transom from a few years charter so will try and get it all done nicely at same time.

[colinnz]

Just noticed this as well from July - jeanneau.proboards.com/thread/10147/43ds-rubber-trim-on-stern

[knotsmart]

ive read several posts complaining of leaking from the stern seam. i applied a couple layers of glass to bridge the seam.. however i suspect bridging the seam with 3M 5200 would do the trick 

j

[saltymetals]

Hmm... Looks v damp around your rear seal. My seal started separating from the hull after 12 years so had it taken off even though there was no apparent leaking, new sealing applied and then rubber seal replaced before the sealant dried.
In addition to earlier comments on this thread, I did have another leak which took me a while to track down. The join between the steering column and the base is made in a way that any rain falling on the steering column could seep through the join and end up down below behind the vertical panels at aft end of the rear cabin(s), from where it will trickle down to the bilge. I did not strip the whole fitting but used our magical friend "Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure". No more leaks.
Another possibility is the stern gland but guess you have already considered that.
Water will anyway regularly accumulate in the bilge from condensation in the fridges.
Plus consider run-back down the tube from the bilge pump when it is idle. This will result in a v regular short run of the bilge pump approx every 20 mins. While frowned upon in case the non- return valve gets blocked, I put a non-return valve at the bottom of the suction tube on the basis that the original setup includes a mesh shield around the top of the bilge to block stray matter.
Andrew

[papawads]

Jan 9, 2023 20:18:38 GMT Sailorik said:

I still have this problem on my boat.  It is coming through the seam when the boat squats down underway.  I am going to try to re-seal it from the outside before she splashes in the spring and if that doesn't work, I may try to get a bead along the seam from the inside.  It's a PITA to get to the seam.  I may have to remove the garage to do that.  

I saw picture of someone accessing this area via the gas bottle locke, maybe that is the normal route?

[mdmg]

Hello all,

Have the same issue on my 42DS taking water from the back seal... someone know what is used to seal (the green glue that is there) ?

I intend to overseal with fiber and epoxy from the inside... Is this a good Idea ?

Regards
Martin

[saltymetals]

I had my joint at the stern fully sealed and the rubber strip replaced before the sealing compound dried. Thereby stopping any leak and fixing the white rubber strip back on since part had been slipping off.
Second possibility is the gap between the steering column and the base but easily fixed if you hv Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure to hand.
Third possibility is the pressure relief valve on yr hot water tank. If the water in the bilge is hot then this is obviously the source. See my other thread on this subject as to how i fixed it since you cannot buy that part anymore and would have to replace the whole fitting.
Item 1 above will obviously be salty water in yr bolge. Items 2 & 3 will be fresh water.
Andrew

[ericj]

Hi,

On the 42DS and some similar models, the bottom transom step is open with just some teak over plywood covering the hole.
It is hard to see that location from the inside unless you are extremely flexible.

Here is a picture looking up at the bottom of that step, just above the seam. Both the cockpit drain and the bilgepump outlets are just above this step, so it is always wet. Hope this saves somebody some time.