Hi all - I'm looking for some advice. I have a Cape Dory Intrepid 9M. During the past several weeks I have ben going to the boat to run the engine for a half hour or so and each time I have had to mop up about a half gallon of sea water from the bilge. How much is getting in I'm not sure as I have an automatic bilge pump. The water appears to be getting in behind the main bilge i.e. the bilge has a "back wall" thet has some holes in it for bilge pump hoses and the drain for the ice box to pass through. This area appears to be seperate from the bilge? I'm not sure if it is a double layer, i.e. the bilge is like a boc and there is a seperate area around it? does this make sense? For example there are drain holes in the bottom of the storage areas under the seats that don't appear to go to the main bilge but maybe the "after bilge". I see no evidence of leaking at any of the through hulls. could it be a leak around the keel? How can I tell. Is this something that should have been found at the survey? Does insurance cover this sort of thing? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
John Dupras
S/V Mariah
jdupras@aetea.com
Help- I think I have a leak
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Matt Cawthorne
Sea water?
John,
I am not familiar with the Intrepid 9M so some of what is below may not apply, but might give you some ideas.
The first thing to do is to be certain that it is, in fact, coming from below the waterline. If the boat is in salt water and your bilge is not too disgusting just dip your finger in it and taste the water. If it is not salty then you perhaps have a fresh water tank leak or, more likely, have a deck leak and are getting some rain water below.
In most boats you want to eliminate any spots where water can collect. Therefore it is customary to drill holes in the bottom of each locker at it's lowest point where it can drain into the bilge. The holes are referred to as limber holes. If the bulkhead is wood covered with fiberglass you need to seal the wood around the edges of the hole. There are a few exceptions to this rule. A locker that has propane tanks should not be vented to the boat, but overboard. Another exception is the sump under an inboard engine. That should be kept separate so oil does not get pumped overboard. If your boat does have an inboard the water is likely coming in around the propeller shaft and might be eliminated by tighening the stuffing box a little bit. Use the search feature to see a whole lot of opinions on how much to tighten the stuffing box.
If the water is salty then you can use a wet-vac to dry out the bilge and then go hunting for the leak. If my high scool chemistry teacher was correct there are about 20 drops per mililiter. Following the math through that translates to a drop every 15 seconds required to produce 1/2 gallon of water in a week. If you dry things out with a wet-vac and a towel you can easily see a water trail after a few minutes.
Good Luck,
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
I am not familiar with the Intrepid 9M so some of what is below may not apply, but might give you some ideas.
The first thing to do is to be certain that it is, in fact, coming from below the waterline. If the boat is in salt water and your bilge is not too disgusting just dip your finger in it and taste the water. If it is not salty then you perhaps have a fresh water tank leak or, more likely, have a deck leak and are getting some rain water below.
In most boats you want to eliminate any spots where water can collect. Therefore it is customary to drill holes in the bottom of each locker at it's lowest point where it can drain into the bilge. The holes are referred to as limber holes. If the bulkhead is wood covered with fiberglass you need to seal the wood around the edges of the hole. There are a few exceptions to this rule. A locker that has propane tanks should not be vented to the boat, but overboard. Another exception is the sump under an inboard engine. That should be kept separate so oil does not get pumped overboard. If your boat does have an inboard the water is likely coming in around the propeller shaft and might be eliminated by tighening the stuffing box a little bit. Use the search feature to see a whole lot of opinions on how much to tighten the stuffing box.
If the water is salty then you can use a wet-vac to dry out the bilge and then go hunting for the leak. If my high scool chemistry teacher was correct there are about 20 drops per mililiter. Following the math through that translates to a drop every 15 seconds required to produce 1/2 gallon of water in a week. If you dry things out with a wet-vac and a towel you can easily see a water trail after a few minutes.
Good Luck,
Matt
Hi all - I'm looking for some advice. I have a Cape Dory Intrepid 9M. During the past several weeks I have ben going to the boat to run the engine for a half hour or so and each time I have had to mop up about a half gallon of sea water from the bilge. How much is getting in I'm not sure as I have an automatic bilge pump. The water appears to be getting in behind the main bilge i.e. the bilge has a "back wall" thet has some holes in it for bilge pump hoses and the drain for the ice box to pass through. This area appears to be seperate from the bilge? I'm not sure if it is a double layer, i.e. the bilge is like a boc and there is a seperate area around it? does this make sense? For example there are drain holes in the bottom of the storage areas under the seats that don't appear to go to the main bilge but maybe the "after bilge". I see no evidence of leaking at any of the through hulls. could it be a leak around the keel? How can I tell. Is this something that should have been found at the survey? Does insurance cover this sort of thing? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
John Dupras
S/V Mariah
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
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John
Re: Sea water?
Matt - Thanks - it is definately sea water and i have checked the through hulls and stuffing box as you suggested. I dried this area and left a trail of baby powder to see if water ran through it. No luck. The problem is that the limber holes don't appear to drain into the bilge prober, but rather in an area around the bilge. Kind of like a bilge within a bilge. I can't really tell if the "after bilge" is open forward all the way around the "main blige". It's hard to explain. Kind of like putting a small bread pan into a larger one. Make sense? If that is indeed the case, then maybe the leak is around the keel bolts where they pass in between the two layers, if indeed its open that far. I'm going tomorrow to vacumn it out and dry as best I can to see if I can tell at least what direction it's coming from. Thanks.
jdupras@aetea.com
John Dupras
S/V Mariah
jdupras@aetea.com
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Russell
Taste it?? Eeuwww. Try this instead ..
Put freshwater from your sink or hose into a clear cup. While holding it to the light, pour in a little water from the bilge. If the bilge water is salty, there is a visible mixing process, like vinegar and oil. If it is fresh, the water poured in cannot be distinguished from the water in the cup. The difference is pretty obvious. (You can use saltwater outside the hull as a control.)
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Neil Gordon
Re: Taste it?? Eeuwww. Try this instead ..
That's not compromised by traces of oil, etc., in the bilge water?
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
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Paul
Re: Help- I think I have a leak
I have an intrepid 28. Very similar construction. There is a hull liner which sits inside the hull. Yes, the outer bilge is all around the keel bolt bilge area. I have a sink in the head area which drains into the oter bilge area. Eventually enough water builds up and flows thru the holes into the keel bolt area. It sounds like a possible keel problem but check all transducer areas also.Hi all - I'm looking for some advice. I have a Cape Dory Intrepid 9M. During the past several weeks I have ben going to the boat to run the engine for a half hour or so and each time I have had to mop up about a half gallon of sea water from the bilge. How much is getting in I'm not sure as I have an automatic bilge pump. The water appears to be getting in behind the main bilge i.e. the bilge has a "back wall" thet has some holes in it for bilge pump hoses and the drain for the ice box to pass through. This area appears to be seperate from the bilge? I'm not sure if it is a double layer, i.e. the bilge is like a boc and there is a seperate area around it? does this make sense? For example there are drain holes in the bottom of the storage areas under the seats that don't appear to go to the main bilge but maybe the "after bilge". I see no evidence of leaking at any of the through hulls. could it be a leak around the keel? How can I tell. Is this something that should have been found at the survey? Does insurance cover this sort of thing? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
John Dupras
S/V Mariah
einselen@aol.com