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Water In Bilge

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richie

Regular Contributor
"My new 35 ft. motor yacht is

"My new 35 ft. motor yacht is only a little more than a year old. The last few times I went out I came back with a small amount of water in the aft bilge ( less than 1 gal.) . I immediately called my broker and told him I have a problem. His response was, " that's very normal". I say BS. A boat is a closed vesible designed to float on water and not allow water in. If there is water in my bilge than there is a leak somewhere. Does anyone disagree ?"
 
"I believe there are wet botto

"I believe there are wet botton boats and dry bottom boats. I have had my Gibson 50 foot since 1988. It is a wet botton. I have leaks around the drive shafts (one drop per second while running), leaks around the rudder shafts and probably a few more places. I have a bildge pump that has been pumping this small amount of water for 20 years with no problems. I believe with the newer packing I could probably stop the leaks and I guess I will tomorrow or the next tomorrow.

Chuck Hanson"
 
"Rich,

If they never leaked

"Rich,

If they never leaked they wouldn't install bilge pumps. It's not unusual, and certainly nothing to panic about but I would certainly poke my head back there and see if I see any signs of a leak.

I would hate to not check it and find out it was a loose exhaust clamp and later have a hose blow off.

Your shaft seals are in the mid bilge so they're not the source. Most people automatically think hull leak, but normally it's a shower sump or maybe a freshwater fitting leaking.

Taste the water and see if it's fresh or salt, that eliminates half of the possible sources. If it's salt, check the garboard drain plug, the rudder ports, A/C hoses, strut hardware and of course, all exhaust hoses and clamps.

These are all maintenance items and this will be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with them.

If it's fresh, check the water lines and drain lines, including deck drains.

Good luck,
Rick"
 
"Rick,
>>Taste the wa

"Rick,
>>Taste the water and see if it's fresh or salt, that eliminates half of the possible sources. <<

It's fresh water. Found the source. When Silverton installed the sediment pre-filter they hooked it up to the output (hi-pressure) side of the water pump instead of the low pressure side. This caused the small plastic bowl to crack and over time leak water into the bilge.

richie"
 
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