J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Dewatering Aft Bilge - Need Advice

Further to Mark's exploratory drilling, I found standing water underneath the main sink. I sponged it up and water was back the next day. The source appears to be from the "hidden bilge", as I had similar puddles appear in the center bilge by the bilge hose joint. The water is definitely not from the sink drain or the fresh water foot pump. I spoke to Mark and am going to borrow his outboard siphon bulb pump. Plan is to drill a hole in the plywood base that holds the foot pump large enough for the hose to fit through, and then see how far I can snake the hose. I may try and pull that entire base assembly just to see what the opening to the water source looks like.

Rich - have you got visibility under your sink to the "hidden bilge" since you've got your floor apart? Is there a path for water to get under the sink area from there?

Bill


[This message has been edited by whk (edited 04-17-2006).]

I've got that area opened up. Once you unscrew and pull the plywood floor under the sink, you should see the edge of the molded interior and a few inches beyond it the vermiculite the floor is sitting on. If you have standing water under the sink and you think it might be continuous with the water in the 'other bilge', I'd think it would be leaking forward into the main bilge by then - not up to the sink. I guess I'm not sure how water under the floor, which is presumably lower would, would rise up to under the sink, unless your boat was really swamped.

If you look at the shots on my website, you can see that the vermiculite stops forward of the sink. I could see how water might enter from aft of the sink and collect up against the vermiculite. I'm guessing this water might contribute to keeping the 'other bilge' wet, but I don't think its source could be lower than the area you are describing. I'd see if you could spot where water might be flowing in from the deck, deck hull joint or companionway and collecting here. Maybe if you stop this leak, you can do a better job of keeping the other bilge dry.

On my boat, there were multiple places in the cockpit that had leaks around hardware, which I'm sure put water into the bilge. I just finished recoring these things, so I'm feeling like it should be pretty dry. I'm actually planning on glassing in all of the wood features on the deck for 'all glass' look and to prevent leaks around teak. I hate varnishing.

Rich
Tres Cosas
#294

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread which should be most valuable to anyone willing to "hang in there" with the boat and facing significant refurbishment issues below the cabin sole.

My remarks concern Hull 521 which has a "half-length" engine cover) but they should be germaine to the issue of keeping the "hidden bilge" below the engine dry on many if not all of our boats.

On my boat the "hidden bilge" under the engine is kept dry with frequent inspections and "sponging" or "paper-towelling" through a 3" inspection hole cut into engine bed liner forward of the engine and slightly to port - previously described by other members. More importantly, significant water ingress to that "hidden bilge" drains into the main bilge through the passage which originally accomodated the manual bilge pump hose when the boat came from the factory. The original hose was removed and one of a slightly smaller diameter was passed from the main bilge to port under the settee then aft through the sink / battery compartment and through a hole in lazarette bulkhead to the manual pump. Admittedly, the reduced diameter of the non-OEM hose along with two necessary 90-degree elbows compromise the capacity of the manual pump somewhat and if I felt that it was an issue I needed to address I would have to grind/file/saw/curse larger passages to accommodate the larger (OEM diameter) intake hose from the bilge to the pump. But it is now the work of 15 seconds to remove the engine cover and dry out the "hidden bilge" which I accomplish every time I check the engine oil prior to getting underway or any time that I suspect that water may have entered the area.

There are several sources of water into the "hidden bilge", chief among them being any water from the companionway area which runs down the side of the engine cover into the molded retaining groove and its drain holes on either side and water from the stuffing box (resulting from my chronically delinquent maintenance / replacement) which sloshes into the cutouts in the liner under the engine mounts when the boat heels at all.

I hope that this helps all those willing to lose a little manual bilge pump efficacy in exchange for an enhanced ability to keep that "hidden bilge" area as possible.