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Weed Hatch


AlexK91

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Just a thought, you said that you have not had the boat long and was wondering if the last time you looked at the weed hatch was before you moved all your possessions onto the boat? On a shorter boat it doesn't take much weight to make a difference.

If you can't easily create a hatch at the back of the cabin, you can make one or two holes in the floor with a wood bit, just put a cork in when you're done.

If the level of the water is still near the top of the weed hatch once all water is drained out, you might want to get the upstand extended.

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The shorter the boat the more sensitive to fore and aft trim are they, the longer, the less sensitive. The amount of water in the water tank at the front of the boat,''which can weigh a lot'' can affect the trim considerably on a short boat. So, maybe the tank was full, or nearly when the 8'' measurement was seen and nearly empty when the 2'' was seen.

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The weed hatch needs a proper seal. You can buy sticky back weed hatch seal. Clean the surface and fix. When this has been eliminated you can more on to look for water ingress elsewhere. Are you sure your stern gland is not leaking when stationary?

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Hi old son

 

My marina shop sells what I need so will be doing that. And then going to get a pump out as a well which should correct a lot of in balance. I don't think my tank is that full as try not to use it but would probably help if I did empty it and do what someone suggested by filling my water tank so can get a good idea of how it is sitting normally.

 

Unfortunately I would go back straight away but I have the kind of job where its unfeasible to just go back. But I have messaged people at the marina who are going to keep an eye out for me and let me know.

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With the water level high up in the weed hatch (whatever the cause) you need to be confident of the seal before using the engine. The fact that you've said water emerges from the top of the hatch when running the engine says to me that the seal is faulty, and the higher water level in the hatch would explain why it happens more now than it did before. I wonder how far you've been in the boat so far?, some way if you brought it down from Ventnor to London.

 

So I would definitely advise that getting an effective seal fitted is a priority job, and should be done before using the engine to go anywhere; I've never done it but it sounds like quite a cheap and easy DIY job.

 

As many have said, if the water level in the hatch is 8" higher than it was, that means your stern is 8" lower in the water than it was; that's a lot..... Some of that may be due to adding your belongings, more weight in the pump out tank and less in the water tank or elsewhere at the bow, but in your shoes I would be very worried about sinking, and planning to check and pump out bilges sooner rather than later. Making an access hole in the back of the cabin and getting a bilge pump for it sounds very wise; prevent the financial disaster of sinking first, then work out where the water is coming from.

 

Until you can rule out a plumbing leak, it might be best to empty the water tank (although this would cause the stern to sit even lower!) and make do with water from a few big plastic bottles; 25L is a handy size, small enough to lift easily for an average adult. Best to stow them near the bow...

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The drop that you say to stern/back of boat will be noticeable when looking at the boat, before you went out did you fill your fuel tank? If your water tank has a leak the water pump should be running at various intervals due to the loss of pressure in the system. Was the water tank low/empty and the fuel tank topped to full as 8" drop to stern is quite a lot, There may be an inspection hatch near the rear bulkhead that you have not found as most boats have them, so have a good look and first off get the weed hatch sealed, Make sure you bilge pump in the engine space is working too. The above post might of sent you into panic mode with the remark about sinking, there may be a simple explanation especially with the full pump out tank.

Edited by Northernboater
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The drop that you say to stern/back of boat will be noticeable when looking at the boat, before you went out did you fill your fuel tank? If your water tank has a leak the water pump should be running at various intervals due to the loss of pressure in the system. Was the water tank low/empty and the fuel tank topped to full as 8" drop to stern is quite a lot, There may be an inspection hatch near the rear bulkhead that you have not found as most boats have them, so have a good look and first off get the weed hatch sealed.

I'm surprised you haven't yet whinged that OP has posted in the wrong forum!!!! Or have you mellowed? clapping.gif

  • Greenie 2
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The drop that you say to stern/back of boat will be noticeable when looking at the boat, before you went out did you fill your fuel tank? If your water tank has a leak the water pump should be running at various intervals due to the loss of pressure in the system.

Although not if the water tank itself has a split weld or hole in it.

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And then going to get a pump out as a well which should correct a lot of in balance.

If the seal on your weedhatch is in poor condition then DO NOT start the engine and run the propellor. When the propellor runs it throws up lots of water under pressure into the weedhatch. Until you know that the weedhatch is properly sealed do not spin the propellor!

And if somehow the boat has now dropped lower than the original 8" drop already observed then the opening the weedhatch will scuttle the boat. Work out why the boat is sinking before you touch the weedhatch!

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I'm surprised you haven't yet whinged that OP has posted in the wrong forum!!!! Or have you mellowed? clapping.gif

I don't mind trying to help people, I'd rather do that then post for the sake of getting my post count up like some. Good look with trying to find a mooring around Castleford.

Edited by Northernboater
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Perhaps a silly question, and probably something you have already considered, but....

 

Did you move a lot of your heavy stuff onto the back half of the boat?

Did you rip ut and remove things from the front half of the boat?

 

(Edited for typo)

Edited by Sally Grim
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yes but that would be easy to see as most boats have easy access to the water tank and to drop a few hundred ltrs in a short time would be noticeable.

Not in mine - the water tank is the whole bow section under the front deck, and you have to undo about thirty bolts to get the hatch off. Also, as the front deck was originally below the waterline, it drained via a pipe the length of the boat into the engine bilge (which is why mine sank once). Short boats can have some odd design features. Probably not relevant in this case though by the sound of it.

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A friend of mine had to have his hatch made taller as recomened by survey when he brought the boat .it was on his list of things to do before he nearly sunk her when he had lots of friends visit an sitting on cruiser stern.put the job on his asap list after that

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yes but that would be easy to see as most boats have easy access to the water tank and to drop a few hundred ltrs in a short time would be noticeable.

Not so sure about "most boats". I would think that more boats have the water tank under the front deck (where you can't see inside) than have them in the bows where you can lift a lid and see what's in there?

 

haggis

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Not in mine - the water tank is the whole bow section under the front deck, and you have to undo about thirty bolts to get the hatch off. Also, as the front deck was originally below the waterline, it drained via a pipe the length of the boat into the engine bilge (which is why mine sank once). Short boats can have some odd design features. Probably not relevant in this case though by the sound of it.

That's it, it may be an integral tank or a fabricated one, every boat is different and most peoples answers will be different. But I think on this one we can all agree that he needs to seal his weed hatch and check for water under the floor, empty his waste tank and investigate the ballast issue.

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Not so sure about "most boats". I would think that more boats have the water tank under the front deck (where you can't see inside) than have them in the bows where you can lift a lid and see what's in there?

 

haggis

What?? I'm not on about seeing inside the water tank, I'm on about opening a door at the front of say the saloon to access the space where the water tank is situated if it is a fabricated tank under the front well deck, most boats have one as often your water pump and accumulator tank is also situated there is space is available. But every boat is different.

Edited by Northernboater
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Taking account of the OP's other thread about a list developing, it's almost certain that there is a LOT of water under the cabin floor. This may have got in during the "beaching" described in post 1. The bulkhead between engine and cabin bilges is ideally watertight to deck level, but this is seldom, if ever, the case unless it's a sea going ship!

 

There can be holes at a low level from plumbing and electrics passing through. Our old share boat was particularly bad for this, with the calorifier plumbing passing through the bulkhead below cabin floor level. On our current boat, the bulkhead is only metal for 18" or so, but at least that discourages fitters from putting anything through it at a lower level, so probably a good idea.

 

The OP's priorities immediate actions have to be getting the water out from under the cabin floor, and fixing the weedhatch seal, although that has only become a real problem due to the boat sitting lower in the water.

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If you go to a chandlers for your weed hatch seal tape, make sure they don't sell you window tape (a not uncommon occurrence). The weedhatch tape is about 50mm wide and about 4mm thick. Window tape is about 20mm wide and 2mm thick. It is too thin to make an effective seal.

 

After fitting and replacing the weed hatch, run the engine in gear at near full revs in forwards and reverse and make sure no water comes in through the seal.

 

You also mentioned your stern tube. It's not unusual for them to drip a little after a bit of cruising, but the drips should stop after a turn or two of the greaser (assuming you have a normal grease stern tube, not a rubber Vetus/Volvo type).

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Hi Guys

 

Thanks for all your help. I got back from work and boat was still afloat (I let someone in the marina know to keep an eye on it and was told of they spotted anything wrong they would have called me anyway.

 

The water in my weed hatch as seemed to go down today. I don't think the water level was as low as what I thought it was. As it looks about how it was when first got the boat. Maybe just a little bit higher. I have put a seal round the weed hatch. No more water had come in through it water only came in when in motion but as o say I've put a seal on that and water level seem to have dropped.

 

Was also talking to someone in my marina who said it looks like my fresh water tank is getting low as front looks like its high out of water and if I refill that should help with the weed hatch.

 

I don't have access to cabin bilge but the cupboards at back of boat so go what I think looks like all the way down to the bottom and there was a small amount of water in there maybe a few litres. Don't know if it was condensation but cleared that out now as well.

 

I will be getting a pump out tomorrow as well as I think that's not helping and that tank must be fuller than I thought it was. (Last used about two weeks ago)

 

I am brand new to boating (other than hodays) done research and asked around but nothing can prepare you for everything so I appreciate everyone's

 

Thanks Again

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Hi Guys

 

Thanks for all your help. I got back from work and boat was still afloat (I let someone in the marina know to keep an eye on it and was told of they spotted anything wrong they would have called me anyway.

 

The water in my weed hatch as seemed to go down today. I don't think the water level was as low as what I thought it was. As it looks about how it was when first got the boat. Maybe just a little bit higher. I have put a seal round the weed hatch. No more water had come in through it water only came in when in motion but as o say I've put a seal on that and water level seem to have dropped.

 

Was also talking to someone in my marina who said it looks like my fresh water tank is getting low as front looks like its high out of water and if I refill that should help with the weed hatch.

 

I don't have access to cabin bilge but the cupboards at back of boat so go what I think looks like all the way down to the bottom and there was a small amount of water in there maybe a few litres. Don't know if it was condensation but cleared that out now as well.

 

I will be getting a pump out tomorrow as well as I think that's not helping and that tank must be fuller than I thought it was. (Last used about two weeks ago)

 

I am brand new to boating (other than hodays) done research and asked around but nothing can prepare you for everything so I appreciate everyone's

 

Thanks Again

Good news!

 

The main thing for the future, I think, is to get to know what is "normal" in your boat. So for example my cabin bilge is pretty much bone dry all year round, so if I have any water I know I have a leaking water pump, a leaking window rivet, or a leaking radio aerial (to take the last three examples!).

 

But other boats are different and will have a different "normal". Once you know what is normal for your boat then you will be able spot much quicker if you have a potential problem.

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