J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Where does this bilge hose go?

I just bought a j/30 and am troubleshooting a problem with the bilge hose. I realize it may be aftermarket. Does anyone know where it goes after it ducks under the floor? I can see the (1.5"?) old manual bilge hose under the front port engine mount, then duck under the port quarterberth before somehow going back to to the (broken) manual pump then to the thru-hull in the transom.

Cheers

Most likely the ice box drain. You have signs of wet core around the sump. Read these threads:
Vermiculite Replacement?
Second bilge hose?
Dewatering Aft Bilge - Need Advice
Water in Bilge

ps - what hull number? This is aggravated in freezing climates.

It would be hilarious (and disguising) if I go down to the boat this morning and find an ice box full of bilge water. That would be consistent with my symptoms. An alternate fix could be to snake a bilge hose in the old manual hose which has a broken manual pump.

That is a very helpful list of threads, thank you. I read them but need to go through them again because it is hard to figure out where some of the areas being referenced are. “Mark’s” rebuild is unfortunately missing some key photos. Bummer. But these threads address a bunch of my other questions regarding draining problems aft of the bilge.

It sounds like this vermiculite is between the hull and the floor in the area between the engine and the bilge and stops water from draining aft of the bilge into the bilge. I gather the consensus is that this vermiculite serves no purpose and can be removed? It seems terrible that nothing aft of the bilge will drain on this boat. I also have to replace the large bilge hose (as shown in the photo), and I assume the only way to do this is to remove the floor? This boat is so dirty in every way imaginable...

Where exactly is this “second bilge” I’ve seen referenced?

I guess people started drilling drain holes in the engine pan? I have water accumulation here because of a leaking stuffing box. It’s seems as though a water tight pan is meant to catch petroleum products and fluids that shouldn’t go in the bilge?

Any idea where the hull numbers are located?

What are the signs of wet core, and where exactly in my photo?

Answers annotated below.

The vermiculite absorbs water like dirt. It rots and expands - it also stinks when you expose it. Yes - you need to remove the floor. Unfortunately the great pictures Rich had on the Tres Cosas rebuild are no longer accessible. He did a great job documenting what he accomplished on the rebuild.

It's the void between the engine pan and the main bilge. The water most see is from what was absorbed on the Vermiculite.

That was me who started the thread about drilling in the engine pan to access the hidden bilge. Don't do it!

The hull id number (HIN) is originally stamped on the upper stbd side of the transom and usually start with TSP then a series of numbers and letters. If you know who the previous owner was, or have a sail number, it may already be in the class database. Sometime the HIN gets covered if the boat is refinished.

All that cracking around the center bilge section is a sign that water was behind the glass in the core, froze, expanded and cracked chunks of glass out. When I had J/30 Rhapsody it was similar.

Thanks for the thorough reply, all makes sense. I'll get the hull number. My Dad was actually the original 1981 owner (Ninja), then it went through two guys (Penguin), then to my Dad's best friend (Mambo), now to me.

How hard is it to remove the floor? I don't see that in the rebuild posts I know of. Seems like I could rip out the vermiculite so the aft end of the boat could drain and also install a second 1/2 bilge hose so I can have a manual along with the automatic. Seems like a good idea anyway.

Looks like hull# TSP00354M81K or TSP00354M8IK -- I can't read the second to last digit (see photo)

Where do I register this thing with the J30 association?

I just added your boat to the database. Click on your forum profile now and you'll see a link to the class database where you may edit your record. This is hull 354 which was missing from the database. M81K is the date code

Great, thank you. I guess I should follow up in a new thread about getting this floor out. I am finding no screws under the bungs and it looks like a slightly different glass plan in the bilge than other photos I've seen here.