Water in Bilge

Skyboss · Apr 3, 2019

Hey you Mechanics, I have about 1.5" of water in bilge on a regular basis in my Mainship 30 Pilot. Ive read in different articles that this is actually normal and these intermittent drops verify the seal is operating as designed. Any thoughts ?

Comodave · Apr 3, 2019

Where is the water coming from? From the stuffing box or other general leaks. If it isn’t the stuffing box you can lay out paper towels where you suspect the leaks are. One the paper towel gets wet it will be easy to see even if it dries out before you check it. If it is the stuffing box then you need to determine if it is leaking at rest or just when the boat is running. Unless it is a dripless box it should leak while the boat is running and neither type of box should leak while the boat is at rest.

Bacchus · Apr 3, 2019

Also the depth will be determined by the compartment and bulge pump placement. If conventional stuffing box it will never be dry. If the pump is towards or at the aft end of the compartment you will likely be able to get more water out when running it but it will never be dry.

ranger58sb · Apr 3, 2019

Skyboss said:
Hey you Mechanics, I have about 1.5" of water in bilge on a regular basis in my Mainship 30 Pilot. Ive read in different articles that this is actually normal and these intermittent drops verify the seal is operating as designed. Any thoughts ?

If you have a traditional stuffing box, intermittent drips might be the norm. If you have dripless shaft seals, you could aspire to a completely dry bilge... absent other factors. Which do you have?

If the latter, water would more likely be coming from someplace else. And the next question would be is it fresh water, or sea water? Slight leak in the freshwater piping or water heater? Raw water leak someplace else in your main engine cooling system? Slight leak in your AC raw water system? Et cetera...

And then there's that part about the bilge pump likely leaving a little bit behind...

-Chris

Vashon_Trawler · Apr 3, 2019

I agree with others--find the source of the water. My bilge is bone dry sans the very small amount of water coming from the traditional stuffing box, which is mainly when she's underway.

kchace · Apr 3, 2019

Skyboss said:
Hey you Mechanics, I have about 1.5" of water in bilge on a regular basis in my Mainship 30 Pilot. Ive read in different articles that this is actually normal and these intermittent drops verify the seal is operating as designed. Any thoughts ?

The water you have in your bilge may or may not be completely normal. A traditional stuffing box should drip when underway but not when stopped. That said, there are new types of packing made for traditional stuffing boxes that barely drip at all.

You say you have about 1.5" of water in the bilge, but is it all coming from the stuffing box? There are multiple other places it could be coming from including leaks you may wish to address. For example it could also be coming from leaking fresh water tanks, AC condensate, shower sump, or various hatches. Not to mention leaking raw water lines.

I prefer a dry bilge, so in my case, I have the newer high tech stuffing box packing and have placed plastic containers under my stuffing boxes to catch the small amount of dripping that I still allow to occur. When I did this, it started to highlight the "other" sources of water that were collecting in the bilge. I re-routed the AC condensate lines to the shower sump and found a fitting that needed to be tightened on one of my fresh water tanks.

Ken

tiltrider1 · Apr 3, 2019

I wish I had dry bilges. I don’t. There is always a small amount of water. I can suck it all up but it will be back in a week. My bilge pumps never cycle, how do I know, I have counters on them. I can only assume that it is some form of condensation or a leak rate equivalent to the evaporation rate.

Xsbank · Apr 4, 2019

The whole idea of the hull is to keep the water out. Unless it is made of wood or you have stuffing boxes, the water is wrong. Find the leak.

Pcpete · Apr 4, 2019

If it’s fresh, check your rub rail aka join strip. You may have some missing caulking and are shipping rain or wash down water. Scuppers and drain hoses are also a source.

LongJohn · Apr 4, 2019

When I bought my MS34T (10 years old, 500 hrs), it had 3 freshwater leaks to the bilge; shower valve was a factory build issue, dockside freshwater connection was also a factory build issue, and an intermittent shower sump float valve failure.

Riverguy · Apr 4, 2019

Skyboss said:
Hey you Mechanics, I have about 1.5" of water in bilge on a regular basis in my Mainship 30 Pilot. Ive read in different articles that this is actually normal and these intermittent drops verify the seal is operating as designed. Any thoughts ?

First things first...fresh water or salt water?

Yes...this means you'll have to taste it -- unless you want to buy a salinity test.

Giggitoni · Apr 4, 2019

Go to your local pet store and buy a cheap hydrometer. The meter will interpret whether you have fresh- or salt water and all densities in between.

OldDan1943 · Apr 4, 2019

I had water in my AT34 ER bilge. I traced to a plugged A/C condensate line aka A/C pan drain. Blew the line out and now back to an always a dry bilge in the ER.

In contrast, my N46 had flax shaft seal packing. I always had a certain amount of water in the bilge. I just had to accept that. SHRUG

Steve91T · Apr 5, 2019

I thought water in the Bildge was normal. My current boat had a bad shower sump so the shower water would drain to the Bildge. I recently put a new one in so I’m curious to see if it changes the amount of water in the Bildge.

But like I said I just thought it was normal.

psneeld · Apr 5, 2019

For some boats in some climates it's hard to keep them dry.

Some boats like mine, rain comes in engine room vents at the very least. As water temps change, drips at the old style stuffing boxes may start.

kchace · Apr 5, 2019

Steve91T said:
I thought water in the Bildge was normal. My current boat had a bad shower sump so the shower water would drain to the Bildge. I recently put a new one in so I’m curious to see if it changes the amount of water in the Bildge.

But like I said I just thought it was normal.

For some boats it *can* be normal to have water in the bilge. Some boats are designed where the shower drains into the bilge, others have the AC condensate draining into the bilge, etc. Some sources of bilge water aren't normal at all, like stuffing boxes that drip all the time, leaking tanks or hatches, etc. One negative effect of always having water in the bilge is that water leaks that *should* be detected and corrected can go unnoticed. Another is having water in the bilge adds moisture to the inside of the boat all the time which can contribute to mold. With varying amounts of effort most any boat can be made to be a totally dry boat.

Ken

FF · Apr 6, 2019

A dripping stuffing box was the norm 50-75 years ago , tho copper tubing and a grease cup , and a half turn would solve the dripping after boat use.

Today with Duramax or similar modern packing there is no need for constant dripping underway or anchored..

Easternshore · Apr 12, 2019

Water in bilge

We have a MS Pilot 34 and i found water under the starboard engine, long story short MS did s poor job caulking the hull /deck joint and it allowed water from the spray hitting the joint to enter the bilge. A quick bead of caulk along the joint ended the water intrusion.

Murungal · Apr 12, 2019

Skyboss said:
Hey you Mechanics, I have about 1.5" of water in bilge on a regular basis in my Mainship 30 Pilot. Ive read in different articles that this is actually normal and these intermittent drops verify the seal is operating as designed. Any thoughts ?

Check your mufflers to see whether they are leaking. I had a pin hole leak in my fibreglass units which slowly filled the bilge.

Marangal

Higgo · Apr 12, 2019

I have dripless shafts on mine, so stuffing boxes aren’t an issue. But do you run AC and does it drain into the bilge?? You would be surprised at the condensate accumulation over time. An acquaintance had a recent purchase (same boat as mine) from a deceased estate without any handover or knowledge and used the AC a lot for several months. I met him while anchored and got asked about wet carpet in the breezeway. The bilge pump ran for 30 mins pumping it dry.

Cheers

rgano · Apr 12, 2019

Since I have the same model and year boat as the OP and have a dry bilge, let me ask some of leading questions.

Do you have a smallish wet/dry vac aboard? If not get one because they are an invaluable tool in finding leaks through regularly sucking all the water out from behind the engine which is where I am sure you are seeing the water collect. Working from completely dry is the way to find the source through process of elimination.

I found the oft-mentioned hull to deck seam in my boat to be completely sealed by the factor and NOT my source of unknown water. My sources of bilge water were at various times a faulty ac drip pan installation, leaking water seal in the engine raw water cooling pump (twice), a leaking SeaTech hose fitting in the potable water fitting under the galley sink, and un caulked (factory error) emergency bilge pump overboard fitting in the hull well above the waterline until high speed perations put a flow of water across it, a leaking mascerator pump seal, and the four deck fills (fuel/water/waste) after every rain.

When specifically do you find the water in the bilge? After a run? Between runs after sucking all the water out with a wet/dry vac?

Do you run the air conditioner and then find the water? I found the factory ac drip pan drain installation inadequate, with kinked hoses and clogged with algea because no anti-algea chlorine tablets had been put in the pan.

Have you felt around for dampness under the shaft seal (I assume you have a Tides dripless as I do). If you have a leak there, you may be a fresh seal in a plastic case between the seal and the tranny - mine has one).

Feel around under the engine's raw water pump for any water droplets and look in there while underway with a flashlight to see if there is any dripping going on. Been there, twice.

Is the potable water system energized during a period when water collects but nothing else is going on - try it overnight sometime with boat moored on shore power.

Other possibilities as mentioned by others here but not in this post could also be extant,but since we have the same boat, and mine now runs a dry bilge, you might want to pay close attention to my ideas first.

Lots of luck, and I hope you will do us the favor of looping back to us here to fill us in on your success.

River Cruiser · Apr 14, 2019

My keel always gets water in it between the shaft log and the condensate drain from the AC. The keel has 2 stripper bilge pumps, I replaced the rear with a Whale diaphragm pump. It almost pumps everything out, much drier than the Rule 300 gph got it.

sunchaser · Apr 14, 2019

rgano said:
Since I have the same model and year boat as the OP and have a dry bilge, let me ask some of leading questions.

Do you have a smallish wet/dry vac aboard? If not get one because they are an invaluable tool in finding leaks through regularly sucking all the water out from behind the engine which is where I am sure you are seeing the water collect. Working from completely dry is the way to find the source through process of elimination.

I found the oft-mentioned hull to deck seam in my boat to be completely sealed by the factor and NOT my source of unknown water. My sources of bilge water were at various times a faulty ac drip pan installation, leaking water seal in the engine raw water cooling pump (twice), a leaking SeaTech hose fitting in the potable water fitting under the galley sink, and un caulked (factory error) emergency bilge pump overboard fitting in the hull well above the waterline until high speed perations put a flow of water across it, a leaking mascerator pump seal, and the four deck fills (fuel/water/waste) after every rain.

When specifically do you find the water in the bilge? After a run? Between runs after sucking all the water out with a wet/dry vac?

Do you run the air conditioner and then find the water? I found the factory ac drip pan drain installation inadequate, with kinked hoses and clogged with algea because no anti-algea chlorine tablets had been put in the pan.

Have you felt around for dampness under the shaft seal (I assume you have a Tides dripless as I do). If you have a leak there, you may be a fresh seal in a plastic case between the seal and the tranny - mine has one).

Feel around under the engine's raw water pump for any water droplets and look in there while underway with a flashlight to see if there is any dripping going on. Been there, twice.

Is the potable water system energized during a period when water collects but nothing else is going on - try it overnight sometime with boat moored on shore power.

Other possibilities as mentioned by others here but not in this post could also be extant,but since we have the same boat, and mine now runs a dry bilge, you might want to pay close attention to my ideas first.

Lots of luck, and I hope you will do us the favor of looping back to us here to fill us in on your success.

Great points specific to the OP's initial post.

Travelift driver · Apr 30, 2019

Hi, I have the 2001 Pilot with a dripless shaft seal. My bilge always had water in it especially after washing and the rains. After vacuuming it dry each time weather washing or raining, I learned it is the rub rails on the Mainship's that leak. After removing and rebedding the rails it solved the problem. I learned about the solution and the fix from "Baccuhus" who is on this site. In his posts he explains how to R&R the rubrail if this is the problem. I hope this helps, let me know if you need further explanation. Rich

rgano · Apr 30, 2019

They must have learned something by 2005 because I took off the port side rub rail and found enough caulk had been applied to the seam so that it oozed out between the deck and hull molds. There was no way it could support a leak; so I ignored the stbd side. That's not to say for sure that any other boat that year or later years could not have suffered defective workmanship.

Water in Bilge

Member

Moderator Emeritus

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Guru

Attachments

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Senior Member

Member

Member

Guru

Guru

Guru

Newbie

Guru

Similar threads