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General Bilge Question

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RAG Sailor
Navigator

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USA
144 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/24/2014 : 11:49:13

I've owned my boat one year now and (knock on wood) have yet to see any water in my bilge. I make it a habit to look into each area. Never the less, here's my question. Why is it as I walk along the dock I constantly see boats discharging water? Granted these are larger boats, 30'-45' and have automatic bilge pumps. But the question is, why are these boats constantly taking on water and mine is not? I understand that if someone is on board and using the sink or shower that water is discharged out the bilge but these are boats that (I know) no one is on.

Edited by - on

Jan Briede
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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 11:53:06

These bots either have an air-conditioner on board or a refrigerator; both need water for heat exchange.

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Heartbeat
Navigator

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USA
161 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 11:57:56

Our bilge is typically dry - nothing but cobwebs. If there is a real hard rainstorm blowing in from the stern we can sometimes get a little water puddle on the floor forward of the sink, and maybe a cup in the bilge.

Jan mentions systems (generally for larer boats) that use water cooling. This is possible. I also know that many boats our size have their coolers drain into the bilge. My cooler drain is hooked up to the sink drain. Not sure if the boat came that way or not.

Matt

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RAG Sailor
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USA
144 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 12:12:49

quote:
Originally posted by Jan Briede

These bots either have an air-conditioner on board or a refrigerator; both need water for heat exchange.

That sounds reasonable as these are large boats do have full galleys. It just seems like a lot of water, not just a drip. Are you talking about a flow of water passing over the heat exchanger and not just condensation drips?

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3754 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 12:18:31

Yes, summer and winter. Many of these boats have reverse cycle ac, heat pumps.

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 14:51:32

Most of the larger boats in my Marina run there AC units 24/7. If its a constant flow then its more than likely the AC is on. On the other hand if you see the bilge pump cycling frequently and discharging water each time then its usually a leak or the frig/AC drains into the bilge.. On a bigger boat with an inboard the drip from the stuffing box would be my guess.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2014 : 15:24:25

This may not be entirely relevant, but I took a trip on a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulet"]Turkish Gulet[/url] (20m "sail" boat) just after 9/11. One night while at anchor off the coast of Turkey, as I stepped down into the cabin, I heard water running. Almost everyone was sleeping including the four crew, so I got my mini-Maglight out and poked around a bit. Looking under the ladder toward the stern, right at the packing gland for the screw there was a pencil sized stream of water pouring into the bilge at a pretty good rate.

The only other guy that was awake was a South African ex-military guy, and we sat there & watched it for a couple of minutes trying to decide if it was always like that, or abnormal. Even though it didn't look overly alarming, neither of us could definitively say it was OK, so we elected to wake the skipper.

He was more bemused than anything else, he deliberately had backed his packing gland nut off a bit because his prop shaft tended to run hot from the friction, and the water helped cool it when we were "sailing" (pretty sure there wasn't a sail on that boat). He didn't bother tightening up the packing gland in the evenings because it was too much trouble, and he was confident that his bilge pumps could keep up. I made sure the big hatch in my cabin was open to the sky the rest of the trip, just in case.

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dasreboot
Admiral

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803 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2014 : 03:52:29

I was about to mention the packing gland. all boats with shafts have them. If they are not of the newer dripless type, they must be loose enough to drip. I used to tighten mine up after every sail, but most do not bother as they can be difficult to access. Of course it would take that drip a long time to sink the boat, but maybe not so long to trip the bilge pump.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2014 : 07:02:51

Boat refrigerators and AC use water instead of the air household units use--it's much more efficient (and somewhat more trouble-prone). Also, some boats used for fishing have live-wells with circulators pulling in water and discharging it overboard.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 09/25/2014 07:09:14

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2014 : 19:38:02

It's mostly from leaking stuffing boxes.

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RAG Sailor
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USA
144 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2014 : 20:01:13

Thanks everyone for your insightful answers. I feel a little smarter!

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 09/26/2014 : 07:55:28

quote:
Originally posted by jerlim

It's mostly from leaking stuffing boxes.

If that were true and the discharge was "constant", the boat would be in serious trouble! With larger boats, a constant flow is from refrigeration or A/C, and is normal in a marina.

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bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1736 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2014 : 17:49:48

Our boats, typically, have dry bilges other than from rain water working it's way in. Larger boats may have systems such as refrigeration, etc, that cause need for pumps to operate. Basically, the simpler "minimalist" approach typically works better! and makes our boats more advantageous for sailors.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.