Water In Bilge

I have a Mainship 350 and notice that after some hard rain, some water will accumulate in the bilge. My question is, is this normal? and If not, where might it be entering and what is the fix. Thanks everyone in advance.

Shouldn't be any water from rain

Try drying out the bilge. I would test deck hatches, perhaps the gutters, or the drains are plugged. Any dogs or cats aboard. Hairs plug drains

Yes - A lab that sheds a lot! I will try what you recommend. Thanks for the advice.

Here's a link to prior post(s) w. links to write-up, pics, etc of a possible source

Mainships & others are somewhat notorious for leaks at the rubrail / hull-deck joint
If you look at the linked pics you can appreciate why.

You should be able to confirm this as a source before tackling the repair by drying our - taping paper towels in suspected areas and using a hose to rinse down the rub rail area at sides / locations where it seems to be accumulating.

In the spirit of full disclosure - others have proposed simply caulking the top of the rub rail at the upper deck - I consider this a band-aid temporary fix that does not get at the root cause shown in the pics... it will work for awhile and require re-do after some time of after the hull flexes and breaks the exterior caulk loose.

Thank you Bacchus. I would never have thought the rub rail may be the culprit. I'll check it out.

Chrises Craft said:

Thank you Bacchus. I would never have thought the rub rail may be the culprit. I'll check it out.

Click to expand...

Please report your findings - they may help others w/ similar conditions and I'm always curious re: outcome.

Good Luck

I was getting water in the bilge after rain and found a drain hose to the lazarette hatch gutter had popped off.

Lazarette drains usually have a 90 bend fitting connecting to the drain hose,muck can build up in the bend causing a blockage,overflow goes into the lazarrette and the bilge. We put a hose to the drain every month or so. Make sure the outbound drain hose has a fall, one of mine was running slightly uphill, spacers under the hose support brackets fixed that.