Association Forum - Water in the bilge

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Water in the bilge

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

ftworthsailor
Captain

Member Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/14/2013 : 07:36:38

Yesterday, I decided to take the C-25 out for a short sail as the winds were up and the water was a bit choppy.....my favorite kind of sailing. When I started, the bilge was dry, however when I was done, I had about a quart of water in the bilge.

I need to figure out where this water came from. Could it be the through hull at the rear of the boat that is supposed to be connected to a bilge pump (something that I don't have)?

Or could it be from one of the two through hulls, one near the sink and the other near the head? I thought that the valves were closed but now I need to check.

Any ideas....?

Catalina 25, Hull #779, Built 1978, FK/SR "Miss Natalie"

Catalina 25, Hull #971, Built 1979, SK/SR,"Sea Legs"

"if we get lost, we'll just pull in somewhere and ask directions."

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9075 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 08:15:10

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ftworthsailor
 ...Could it be the through hull at the rear of the boat that is supposed to be connected to a bilge pump (something that I don't have)?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Do you mean nothing is connected there? Did any waves splash your transom?

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3476 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 08:25:13

I think what happens is after a rain you get water in a section under the port side below the head holding tank.. could be both sides. Anyhoo, when you sail it drains into the bilge.

Mine does that sometimes. I didn't know for years cause it barely rained. This year I got to diagnose quite a few leaks as we've had more rain than ever.

The first time I saw this I had removed the knotmeter and it held water next to it rather than going straight into the bilge.

Edited by - redeye on 05/14/2013 10:53:39

ftworthsailor
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 11:30:21

I will check those areas for potential holding areas. I went to the marina during lunchtime today and the bilge is absolutely dry. Tonight I plan to check all the hoses and fittings for potential leaks. If there is a valve, I will attemp to close it. If its a threaded piece, I plan to cap them off as I wont be using a flush toilet or sink on the lake.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

R

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 12:36:13

Choppy water means anything above deck is also suspect, since you probably had some splashing and waves over the bow.

Edited by - on

ftworthsailor
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 12:42:48

It wasn't that choppy....not like the ocean can be.... but I suspect it came in from the stern bilge through hull and the hose that leads back to the bilge. There isn't an electric bilge pump, however there is a manual pump mechanism on the port side of the cockpit. Ill have to see if it actually goes to a pump or is just a bunch of hoses laying on top of each other in that area. I may either purchase a 12vdc one or cap that hose off at the transom.

I also intend to remove the holding tank for the toilet..... and plug it up so it cant be used. Wondering if I should remove the head and replace it with one of those self contained portable units. It rarely gets used but if it does I want a quick and easy way to remove the sewage........

Should make it easier for me to

Edited by - ftworthsailor on 05/14/2013 12:46:13

Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 13:31:51

Flush some water down the thu-hull with a water hose and you can elimiate that as the culprit real quick. If it is installed correctly it wil have a cutoff valve right at the fitting.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4302 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 16:54:15

My boat does the same thing if it sits for awhile. Water gets trapped under the sole from condensation or whatever and when the boat heels it will run into the bilge.

Never amounts to much and I don't worry about it.

Edited by - on

ftworthsailor
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 19:07:39

I checked all the valves (three of them) and they are all closed. Then I checked the bilge pump hoses and found that the hose connected to the transom thru-hull was disconnected from the manual pump and was laying on the bottom of the hull. Hence, any time that I was on a strong port tack, the thru-hull was under water and allowed water to find its way down the hose and into the boat. When I tried to reconnect it to the pump, I found that it was about 3 inches too short......... I guess I know why the PO never hooked it back up. So... I need a section of hose or a good splice kit to extend the existing hose so that it reaches the pump. At least I now know where the water was coming from......

Thanks all......

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9075 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2013 : 19:45:11

A port-a-potty is a simple and unobjectionable solution--we used one for years. If you keep a little potti-deodorizer in it, you'll never know it's there. And except on overnight cruises, it will virtually never be used for #2. But it can make a nice, long day on the water much nicer! It's one of the key reasons for having a cabin.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 05/14/2013 19:49:05

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4302 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:12:41

I agree with Dave! I have a marine head but wish I had a port-potti. Easy to clean and less maintenance than a head.

Edited by - on

ftworthsailor
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:14:44

Has anyone taken out the marine head? Is it going to be much work to remove it, then cover the stand with a sheet of marine plywood and position a porta-potty in its place?

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:25:43

You don't need to add new plywood, the head already sits on a strong plywood base. Just remove it and patch the holes, then put the porta-potty in it's place. The bigger deal will be patching the through hull.

I personally prefer emptying a proper marine head (using a pump-out station) to dumping a porta-potty. It's a lot less messy. However both solutions have their upsides and downsides.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4302 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:32:26

The only issue is finding someplace that has a pump out station. We had one at my marine before Ike came through. Now we have to go 2 miles away to use one that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. You never know until you get there.

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:47:17

Ah. That hasn't been a problem for me. Pretty much every major marina in Puget Sound has one. My Catalina 25 was kept at a tiny marina/big private dock (8 boats!) but there were two pump out stations within 15 minutes of the slip.

It's actually easier than the alternative. That same Catalina 25 slip doesn't have a bathroom, so emptying a porta-potty would either mean taking it to a pump-out anyway, or driving it home (disgusting).

Edited by - on

ftworthsailor
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
279 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 14:53:28

Our lake does not have a pump-out station anywhere close by, however we do have a flush toilet facility that I believe I can dump the porta-potty out into. The use of a porta-potty would only be used by the women-folk...... and on the occasion that I can't make it to the land based head..... or long weekends out on the water......

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4302 Posts

Response Posted - 05/15/2013 : 16:29:26

I've got a very nice heated and cooled restroom 200 - 250' from my slip but the head comes in handy in the middle of the night or while out sailing on the bay.

Edited by - on

fmarcelino
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
37 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2013 : 11:45:06

This was a good post, because like you, I have my boat sitting in the marina, haven't even had a chance to sail her yet, and after about 3 days of off and on rain (heavy at times), I was a little distressed to see more and more water in the bilge.

Not a whole lot (maybe a quart), but each day of rain resulted in a little more water in the bilge. We're heading into a good stretch of weather without rain, so I'll keep checking on the bilge to make sure the amount of water isn't still climbing.

Also it was good to read about possible places to check for potential leak problems.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9075 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2013 : 14:31:55

To continue on the potti tangent (it's Roy's thread and he asked), one warning: Before you put water and other "stuff" into the bowl of a porta-potti (assuming its tank is not vented), open the flush valve slightly to "burp" the tank, letting out the gas pressure from what goes on in the tank. If you have stuff in the bowl when that pressure is released,......

...

I'd hate to have you "learn by doing."

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 05/31/2013 14:32:34

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5352 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2013 : 20:13:12

I second that motion - make sure you use the gizmo in the following order:
1. Open the tank seal.
2. Use your portapottie as you normally would.
3. Press a few squirts of blue water.
4. Close the tank seal.
5. Later on, flush out and rinse out per local regs.
This ought to work fine without any undesirable burping - no muss no fuss.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.