Water not draining under engine pan

I just acquired a 1981 J/30 here in Seward, AK. There is a leak on the shaft that fills in the pan just under the engine. I assume this pan is there to prevent oil leaks from entering the bilge. Anyway, when I move the water into the cavity under the engine mount it doesn’t seem to drain from there into the bilge. Now, I have seen some mention of this in other threads here but I can’t find an answer to this question.

It doesn’t really seem practical to remove the floor to answer this question for myself. But then again, the floor basically needs to be replaced at some point.

Thanks!

That pan is by design supposed to catch the "oily" water to prevent pumping overboard with the bilge pump. Your most likely water source is the shaft seal, which should be repacked and adjusted, or replaced with a dripless seal.

Perfect, thanks. It's good to know not to put a hole in the pan. The drip is definitely coming from the stuffing box. We'll see if I can fix that without hauling the boat.

Hi Patrick,

You can replace the stuffing with out hauling the boat. Have your material cut to length prior to removing alternately you can try just tightening it