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Leak Chasing!


redgirl

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Need some advice.

i bought a Diy project recently. 50ft boat with a through bilge. It had a lot of water in the bilge when I bought it but as the decking drainage was all blocked with leaves etc I guessed it could be 10 years of rainwater. However.....after several water tank fill ups and the bilge never emptying i found that I had a big leak in my inlet pipe in my water tank, and a few gallons of water has been flooding in every time it has been filled (probably for years) I fixed this a few weeks ago. However underneath the watertank is still very wet (not pooling) and my bilge is emptying slowly into the stern, although after about 3 weeks is not empty.

My question is....How long will it take for the water to make it's way down a 50 ft boat to the stern? I have balasts and goodness knows what else down there! Also, Am I expecting too much to expect the area underneath my water tank to be dry now in this damp weather?

 

I am half thinking that I have another small leak in the base of my tank but the water is not really going down. I really don't want to completely empty my water tank for a few days to test this theory if I don't have to.

Any thoughts???

(edited to rectify grammer and spelling)

Edited by redgirl
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Could the pipe which takes the water to the back of the boat possibly be partially blocked? This would result in a very slow draining process. Our trip boat, Bluebell, has a similar draining method and we are not convinced that there is not a hole in the through pipe somewhere as we keep getting water in the cabin bilbes.

 

haggis

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Could the pipe which takes the water to the back of the boat possibly be partially blocked? This would result in a very slow draining process. Our trip boat, Bluebell, has a similar draining method and we are not convinced that there is not a hole in the through pipe somewhere as we keep getting water in the cabin bilbes.

 

haggis

Now that is possible Haggis. Any idea how I could unblock it? I must add that I have only one inspection hatch in the boat and that is inside the boat at the stern.

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Need some advice.

i bought a Diy project recently. 50ft boat with a through bilge.

My question is....How long will it take for the water to make it's way down a 50 ft boat to the stern? I have balasts and goodness knows what else down there! Also, Am I expecting too much to expect the area underneath my water tank to be dry now in this damp weather?

Any thoughts???

You don't describe the type of boat/whether stern and/or bow open to rain!

Two types of through bilge I have seen, where water runs under knees at edge of bottom, where water runs through centre of bottom with/without keel.

If you have access to area in between tank and bilge, you can try temprarily sealing route of waters escape, then check level (when not raining) to see if it is going up?

It will take a long time for the bilge to dry out if there is absorbent ballast or where it can get trapped between ribs (best way is a good blast along the river).

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Now that is possible Haggis. Any idea how I could unblock it? I must add that I have only one inspection hatch in the boat and that is inside the boat at the stern.

 

Very long bit of wire or draining rods? Depends on the diameter of the pipe

 

haggis

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We had a tiny leak under the hot water cylinder, just a drip on a plastic joint that had come loose we only noticed it because the water pump came on for a second every couple of hours in the night for two nights (eventually we went looking...doh!) I couldn't believe how much water there was in the bilge, even with the hatch open after mopping and mopping it up with a sponge it took weeks to be finally dry. Can you borrow a dehumidifier?

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We had a tiny leak under the hot water cylinder, just a drip on a plastic joint that had come loose we only noticed it because the water pump came on for a second every couple of hours in the night for two nights (eventually we went looking...doh!) I couldn't believe how much water there was in the bilge, even with the hatch open after mopping and mopping it up with a sponge it took weeks to be finally dry. Can you borrow a dehumidifier?

thanks for that. yes, i have a dehumidifier but my invertor isn't big enough. Will try and work something out. I feel slightly better now knowing that it took you weeks to get your bilge dried out! I am sick of leak chasing!

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thanks for that. yes, i have a dehumidifier but my invertor isn't big enough. Will try and work something out. I feel slightly better now knowing that it took you weeks to get your bilge dried out! I am sick of leak chasing!

Our leaky pipe was in the most bliddy inconvenient place, could only just get a spanner in! Does your water pump go off when there's no tap running?

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You don't describe the type of boat/whether stern and/or bow open to rain!

Two types of through bilge I have seen, where water runs under knees at edge of bottom, where water runs through centre of bottom with/without keel.

If you have access to area in between tank and bilge, you can try temprarily sealing route of waters escape, then check level (when not raining) to see if it is going up?

It will take a long time for the bilge to dry out if there is absorbent ballast or where it can get trapped between ribs (best way is a good blast along the river).

Hi, yes the bilge runs along the edges. The bow and stern were open to rain for years and the decking drainage was really blocked. I have had cratch covers made now and 'wire brushed out' the drainage so that will keep the rain out. I just can't tell how many gallons are in the bilge..... I did think about finding a hiking party on the towpath and getting them to stand on my stern and get the water flowing quicker.

 

Our leaky pipe was in the most bliddy inconvenient place, could only just get a spanner in! Does your water pump go off when there's no tap running?

No...doesn't go off. My boat is really difficult to access all the plumbing! pain in the neck.

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Our leaky pipe was in the most bliddy inconvenient place, could only just get a spanner in! Does your water pump go off when there's no tap running?

Yes, that's what is supposed to happen. The pump goes "OFF" when there's no tap running and comes "ON" when there is!

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Hi, yes the bilge runs along the edges. The bow and stern were open to rain for years and the decking drainage was really blocked. I have had cratch covers made now and 'wire brushed out' the drainage so that will keep the rain out. I just can't tell how many gallons are in the bilge..... I did think about finding a hiking party on the towpath and getting them to stand on my stern and get the water flowing quicker.

Ok!

So make sure bow is higher than stern and shift some coal/gas etc. to one side so boat has a slight list!

Other possibility that may not be helping is condensation on areas that are not insulated. Especially important around tank where hull is in contact with cold water!

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When u have a bit of water in the stern of the bilge after pumping or mopping out, put a couple of cheap nappies down the hatch (absorbent part down) and wait a few hours will be dry as a bone.

 

After 6 months with a leaking wooden roof letting gallons and gallons into the bilge I seem to have learn alot about drying out bilges lol

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... I have a dehumidifier but my inverter isn't big enough.

Note that 12 volt dehumidifiers are available, at not too much cost.

Bruce on Insanity Again has used one recently, following a recommendation from another user. Obviously there is an impact on your batteries, but probably more efficient than running your inverter.

 

He has also used absorbent nappies (I think) as an aid to identifying the source of leaks, although in his case it was a coolant or heating system leak, so the 'water' was coloured.

 

If I could find the relevant blog entries on his site I'd post a link, but I don't seem able to manipulate the blogspot search function to look through posts earlier than February 2012. Here is his home page, and you can read through the past 3 months (Dec 2011 to Feb 2012 should do it). Alternatively, write directly to him and ask!!

 

Good Luck.

 

PS, I see while I've been writing that lexicon has also suggested the nappies.

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