25d leak

[frankfurder]

My cape dory has always been a dry boat, never needed a bilge pump other than the standard whale.

Well after a month of neglect, in the water in Texas, I found 3" water in the cabin. When bailed out the bilge discharge hose was leaking back to the bilge at a slow rate.

Any suggestions?

[Sea Hunt Video]

Possibly consider installing a raised "loop" in the bilge discharge hose near the exit point to prevent backflow. You may need an anti-siphon loop as part of the raised loop.

[RC James]

Was that 3" of water IN the engine sump, or IN the bilge, or IN the cabin (which would be 3" OVER the floorboards)?
-- in the pan or bilge, no big deal.
-- over the floorboard- put the boat on the hard until you figure it out.

If heavy rain was not an issue (SeaHunt has an interesting thread) and it wasn't rainwater seeping in thru various areas,
then I would consider checking 1.] thru-hulls & corresponding wooden pads; 2.] then look to the head area -hoses/thru-hulls/holdingtank&overboard discharge valve.--- Both of those areas usually migrate to the bilge.
If they're both good and tight, then check your stuffing box for leaks , especially if the sump under the engine pan was full of water. It overflows into the bilge when full.

The 'slow' drainback from the bilge hose is usually normal and limited. It's from the residual water in the bilge hose from the pump (lower) to the overboard discharge (higher), and will mop up w/a sponge.

It sounds like you're on a Freshwater lake, so the old adage of Salty/Fresh Taste won't work here.
Best of luck.
RC

[Sea Hunt Video]

RC and Frank:

I misread Frank's post. I thought he was seeing 3" in the bilge even though his post says 3" in the cabin. My bad; sorry.

3" in the cabin of a Cape Dory 25D is a LOT of water. It is filling up the entire bilge which is a pretty good size by itself, then the area in front of the holding tank (also substantial volume), then the engine sump, then the area in the forward head and then, after all that, 3" above the cabin floor.

I am no expert but I would think that would be classified as a major leak. Assuming your bilge discharge hose exit is above the outside water level you really should not have more than a small amount of back flow. I think

[Skipd]

That does sound like alot of water. I've been working on misc. leaks on Keipr, my 25D, for a couple of years. Some thoughts and comments:

- the bilge pump should not do this as its hull entry is on the transom, above the waterline. The drip back in the boat can be resolved with a check valve.
- was the engine sump full of water and it overflowed into the bilge? Keipr had been on the hard for years and had water about 4" of water above the cabin sole when purchased. The cause of this was the collar around the tiller. Over the years it had broken its attachment seal, the cockpit sole delaminated and ultimately, being soaked, whenever it rained the water would flow in around the rudder shaft. If your cockpit sole flexes then this could be related to the issue. I re-cored the cockpit sole and rebedded the mast collar to fix this.
- other noticeable leaks have come from the backing pads on the through-hull fittings. These are evident as the leak line can be be easily traced. Drips do add up too. Replaced and rebedded the pads.
- grounding plate could be leaking, though that would too happen over time like the backing pads.
- shaft coupling you mentioned.
- deck leaks are bit more insidious. I've had some success isolating them by taping paper towel pieces in various spots to see if they get wet. On the liner above the berths helps isolate areas such as the inboard sail trac or chainplates.

It sounds though as if rain water is the source in which case a deck/cockpit leak is the culprit.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

[Dick Kobayashi]

Careful and accurate diagnosis is the key here. When I had this problem it was the shaft coupling. Dry it out and watch carefully and regularly. As a temporary measure one could add an electric float activated bilge pump at modest cost but that will not stop the leak. Main thing about boats is to keep them on top of the water.

[Joe Myerson]

I've had a number of strange, difficult-to-diagnose leaks over the years. One of the most obvious was the packing gland. It would fill the pan under the engine and then spill into the bilge.

Number two was the port light gaskets. I replaced them last spring and most of the leakage has stopped.

Number three, which is still not totally resolved, was around some of the deck hardware or around the companionway hood.

Check them all and, if necessary, try using some food coloring in a bucket.

Good luck,

--Joe

[David Morton]

This thread brings me back to the day my old 25D, Wielewaal, tried to sink at the mooring! I had just turned on the bilge pump briefly and then went out to the cockpit for about 5 minutes before going back to check the bilge. To my surprise the bilge had filled up to within an inch of the cabin sole! I quickly turned the pump back on and watched the level slowly go down as I changed my underwear. I examined the plumbing of the bilge pump and to my surprise found that the PO had T 'd the electric pump outflow into the starboard cockpit scupper hose thru a brass check valve. As we all know, the scupper thru-hull is below the water line. So when the check valve failed after turning off the pump, the bilge pump plumbing then proceeded to siphon the Atlantic Ocean into my little boat! Needless to say, the next day I drilled a dedicated thru-hull at the transom above the water line for the new bilge outflow hose.
What was that PO thinking? and why didn't I catch this potential disaster before it became a potential disaster? The Boat Plumbing Gods smiled on me that day.

[pete faga]

David
Your prior survey did not show the potential plumbing problem?
Just curious what a survey covers when your dealing with the plumbing systems.
I know the diesel is a separate survey
Glad you figured it out real quick!
Pete

[David Morton]

Your prior survey did not show the potential plumbing problem?

That's actually a good question. The quality of a survey is entirely individual dependent. Being a newbie at the time, I was just glad someone supposedly smarter than me was taking a look at the boat. The plumbing was only visible from inside the engine compartment and may explain why it was missed. But the difference in thoroughness between that survey and the one I had done 3 years later on my CD31 by a different surveyor was pretty remarkable.

David

[frankfurder]

Thanks for the responses and guidance, the leak has not repeated since I bailed out the cabin and bilge. Neighbor reported a lot of rain while I was away and the shaft drips are routine, if anything a little slow when in gear.

I had previous leak in the companionway hood as Joe mentioned and fixed that.

Hadnt thought about porthole gaskets.

I did find the rear dorade vent was open to the bilge, but I just cant imaging that much rainwater getting into the cabin that way.

No definite conclusions except that it appears to be a heavy rain related leak.

[frankfurder]

Thanks for the responses and guidance, the leak has not repeated since I bailed out the cabin and bilge. Neighbor reported a lot of rain while I was away and the shaft drips are routine, if anything a little slow when in gear.

I had previous leak in the companionway hood as Joe mentioned and fixed that.

Hadnt thought about porthole gaskets.

I did find the rear dorade vent was open to the bilge, but I just cant imaging that much rainwater getting into the cabin that way.

No definite conclusions except that it appears to be a heavy rain related leak.