Cabin Bilge water issue

Hopefully I put this in the right forum. I really need to figure this out. i also posted it on another site



I have a very strange cabin bilge issue and while my boat is in the dealership this week to replace my battery chargers I was going to get them to look at this issue. However they have been known to always find something expensive wrong.

I added 3 pictures below. I have a 2007 Searay Sundancer 40 DA. In pic 1 I am standing by the stairs looking toward the bow bedroom. The bilge nearest the bedroom is where the bow thruster is located. The cable rotted or whatever you want to call it due to saltwater getting in that bilge for years. I started noticing recently when the bow thruster went out. My fault for not paying attention. So now the water seems to get up to about an inch and stop there. When I go on and off plane the water moves toward the back of the boat and an alarm goes off and it bilges out while I am driving it.

The next 2 bilge compartments are higher up and where all the plumbing for the shower runs thru and there is a sump pump. Water rarely gets up this high unless the boat is rocking.

So that brings me to my biggest issue. IN pic 3 you see the bilge by the stairs and it is actually about 2.5 or so inches down from the middle 2 compartments I mentioned. So I wet vacced the water out and by the time I sucked out 3 gallons I come back in and it has risen back to 1.25 inches and sits there for awhile. It may get higher overnight and bilge out but I am in the house so I dont see it happen. But during the day for some reason it sits at that height. So every few days I bilge it out. It never gets high enough to get back to the sump pump because it sits down too low.

So where the heck can this be coming from? I am 99% sure it is salt water due to the finger test taste. Plus I pulled water out and tested it. I have kept my AC off and water pump off and really nothing is on the boat while parked. So I was thinking maybe my water tank but then again it tastes like salt. I dont want to get ripped off. Taking the boat out of water costs 600$ and then who knows what they will do. This has to have been going on for years unnoticed because I hear the bilge going off when I go on and off plane.

Pics are below. Any hints or suggestions would surely be appreciated. My engine bilge is mostly bone dry. A very very slow leak maybe where the depth transducer is.

First thing is to figure out if it's salt or fresh water. If it's salt I would be concerned since that means below the waterline. If it's fresh (think rain water) it could be a caulking/seal issue that can be easily addressed. Add some food color to your fresh water tank to test. Though I seriously doubt that is your source. Dry the bilge then put a water hose/spray on the foredeck, anchor locker, windshield, port holes, etc. for a while, then check again.

I don't know your boat, but the only thing I can think off that far towards the bow that's exposed to raw salt water is your bow thruster.

We knocked off one of the underwater exhaust pipes on a 2001 420AC while out in the ocean off of Cape May. We did not know it until we got to NYC and tied up. Aft bilges were going off every couple of minutes.

Well, when it is out of the water look to see if water drips from anywhere on the hull that it should be coming from. It may leak out from the same place it leaked in. Otherwise you need to, while it is in the water, put paper towels in the bilge around any possible thru hull to see where it is coming in. If it stays dry when stationary but fills with water only after running, water may be coming in thru a failed seal in the deck seams and then migrating forward when you come off plane and come to rest. These water intrusion leaks can be very difficult to pin down and having a yard try to find it will surely cost a small fortune. You need to just be persistent and use some ingenuity to figure it out. Good luck with that. A good friend with a 420 SD just went through the same issue and it took weeks of elimination to narrow the issue to a bad seal at the deck joints.
CD

mrsrobinson said:

First thing is to figure out if it's alt or fresh water. If it's salt I would be concerned since that means below the waterline. If it's fresh (think rain water) it could be a caulking/seal issue that can be easily addressed. Add some food color to your fresh water tank to test. Though I seriously doubt that is your source.

I don't know your boat, but the only thing I can thing off that far towards the boat that's exposed to salt water is your bow thruster.

We knocked off one of the underwater exhaust pipes on a 2001 420AC while out in the ocean off of Cape May. We did not know it until we got to NYC and tied up. Aft bilges were going off every couple of minutes.

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By tasting it it is for sure salt. Then I boiled it and lots of salt residue on the bottom of the small container when water boiled out. So pretty sure it is the salt water. It sits a few inches below the water line also.
As far as the bow thruster that specific bilge fills up some and is likely coming from the bow thruster. But I blocked that off to make sure this didnt come from there and it didnt. So I wet vacced all of the water out of the one near the back and by the time I got back down there it was filled right back up to 1-1.25 inches and sits at that level. It doesnt rise any more unless it happens overnight and bilges out. VEry very strange.

I may as well try the water color trick. So that would not effect anything if I do that correct? The boat is 14 years old.

Carpediem44DB said:

Well, when it is out of the water look to see if water drips from anywhere on the hull that it should be coming from. It may leak out from the same place it leaked in. Otherwise you need to, while it is in the water, put paper towels in the bilge around any possible thru hull to see where it is coming in. If it stays dry when stationary but fills with water only after running, water may be coming in thru a failed seal in the deck seams and then migrating forward when you come off plane and come to rest. These water intrusion leaks can be very difficult to pin down and having a yard try to find it will surely cost a small fortune. You need to just be persistent and use some ingenuity to figure it out. Good luck with that. A good friend with a 420 SD just went through the same issue and it took weeks of elimination to narrow the issue to a bad seal at the deck joints.
CD

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I was wondering how they would figure it out when it is out of the water. To take it out of the water will cost 560$ to start. I purposely have not taken it out for the past 2 weeks trying to figure this out. And I mean within 3 minutes of using the wet vac and getting the water out it fills right back up BUT stops when it get to that 1.25 inch height. I measured by the hour to see if it rose anymore. It never rose unless it did overnight and bilged out. But I dont think so because in the morning it was still below the switch to turn on the pump.
When I am driving the boat I hear the alarm go off then see it bilging. Once I get down off plane and idle along all is good. But again when I get up on plane and back down teh same thing happens. I have checked the thru hulls. It is almost like when I take the water out it comes right back in from somewhere. It seems to be from the salt water. My engine bilge is bone dry. Driving me nuts

Your engine room should be bone dry if the source of water is from the cabin area. That is by design.

mrsrobinson said:

Your engine room should be bone dry if the source of water is from the cabin area. That is by design.

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Got it ! At one time my depth transducer thru hull had a small leak so had some water. But this cabin salon bilge filling up but then stopping at 1.25 inches is just strange. The part where the bow thruster is I did put towels down and wrapped one around the cylinder the thruster is in. It seems to be coming from the bottom of the boat. I am just perplexed on the bilge by the stairs you see in pic 3

So you seem to have now confirmed the leak is salt water. So really no need to start food coloring your fresh water tank. Go ahead and vacuum and completely dry the forward compartment where the bow thruster is located. Put down paper towels on the floor of the compartment and sit there to observe if a wet spot forms to identify the point(s) of water intrusion.

I also want to add that you should reach into each of the compartments to the side of the centerline compartments to check for water accumulation. I had a leaky mixing valve in the shower once and water was dripping from behind the shower and pooling in the floor compartment under the shower. Yes it's fresh water but worth a feel around since it too is close to the bow thruster compartment.

And do one test at one time, rule it out, move on to your next test. You are telling us a lot, narrow it down with a plan

brewster16 said:

So you seem to have now confirmed the leak is salt water. So really no need to start food coloring your fresh water tank. Go ahead and vacuum and completely dry the forward compartment where the bow thruster is located. Put down paper towels on the floor of the compartment and sit there to observe if a wet spot forms to identify the point(s) of water intrusion.

I also want to add that you should reach into each of the compartments to the side of the centerline compartments to check for water accumulation. I had a leaky mixing valve in the shower once and water was dripping from behind the shower and pooling in the floor compartment under the shower. Yes it's fresh water but worth a feel around since it too is close to the bow thruster compartment.

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Thanks will do that today in the bow thruster area. I do know the water there is coming from a different place. I know because I totally blocked it off to where water could not move from there. And it stops at the same height as the one closer to the back a little over an inch which I am guessing is equal to the water outside the boat but cant be for sure but just the eyeball test. But I will clean it out and put towels down and see where that water is coming from. But I still have the problem with the other area. Thanks and great idea.

The reaching a certain water level and then stops makes no sense to me, unless the water is reaching the drain holes and starts to drain back to the next compartment, so it levels out.

mrsrobinson said:

The reaching a certain water level and then stops makes no sense to me, unless the water is reaching the drain holes and starts to drain back to the next compartment, so it levels out.

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I totally agree. But I do not see any other drain holes. And the other thing is it could bilge out but I am out there most of the day waiting for that. But it stops shy of activating the bilge. But yes that blew me away to why it stops at that level unless it is going somewhere else. I am trying to eliminate as much as I can so I dont get ripped off

Is there air conditioner somewhere near or In front of that bildge? Maybe the air conditioning line has a leak allowing salt water to exit the loop.

kvduff said:

Is there air conditioner somewhere near or In front of that bildge? Maybe the air conditioning line has a leak allowing salt water to exit the loop.

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Yes there is an AC under the stateroom mattress and one by the fridge under the counter top. So someone gave me an idea. They said just having the AC turned off wont help. They said I need to check strainer and turn off the seacock for the AC and then clean up and see if water returns. It is raw water cooled. The problem is I cant locate the AC seacock and strainer. I see the one for each engine and the generator as I clean those strainers out always. But the manual mentions the AC strainer and seacock but shows no illustration. I have kept the AC's turned off since the salon one has a rusted tray. The bedroom one works great. Any idea on my boat where the AC strainer and seacock is.

Pull the fuses or turn off the breakers for the auto bilge pump feature. Does the water now continue to rise? Or maybe it starts to show up somewhere else (overflowing an area)? Google for "bilge pump counter", if you want, as well.

Obviously do this while you can attend to the boat.

Stpetelsu64 said:

Yes there is an AC under the stateroom mattress and one by the fridge under the counter top. So someone gave me an idea. They said just having the AC turned off wont help. They said I need to check strainer and turn off the seacock for the AC and then clean up and see if water returns. It is raw water cooled. The problem is I cant locate the AC seacock and strainer. I see the one for each engine and the generator as I clean those strainers out always. But the manual mentions the AC strainer and seacock but shows no illustration. I have kept the AC's turned off since the salon one has a rusted tray. The bedroom one works great. Any idea on my boat where the AC strainer and seacock is.

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Follow the raw water hose from the AC/bow to aft, you will find the seacock. It's usually in the cabin, but sometimes they put them in the engine compartment. When you find it, close it. And while there go ahead and clean out your strainer

BTW, these are systems on your boat you need to learn in the event of an emergency.

mrsrobinson said:

Follow the raw water hose from the AC/bow to aft, you will find the seacock. It's usually in the cabin, but sometimes they put them in the engine compartment. When you find it, close it. And while there go ahead and clean out your strainer

BTW, these are systems on your boat you need to learn in the event of an emergency.

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Thanks I found it right near the bulkhead wall below the electrical panel. I cut it off and cleaned strainer and now will wet vac all the water out inside and see what happens. I do have 2 ac units with the other under the main bedroom mattress. So not sure if this works for both. But this is my first test and lets see what happens.

Lazy Daze said:

Pull the fuses or turn off the breakers for the auto bilge pump feature. Does the water now continue to rise? Or maybe it starts to show up somewhere else (overflowing an area)? Google for "bilge pump counter", if you want, as well.

Obviously do this while you can attend to the boat.

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I will look at that. But right now every DC breaker is turned off . I even have all the breakers turned off right now.

I did make a little progress. Besides finding the seacock for the AC I also felt way back in the compartment where the bilge pump is located in pic 3 which I attached again , there are holes on each side of this compartment way back. I will attach the pic again. But way back on the sides is where the water is coming in from and then stops

Stpetelsu64 said:

I did make a little progress. Besides finding the seacock for the AC I also felt way back in the compartment where the bilge pump is located in pic 3 which I attached again , there are holes on each side of this compartment way back. I will attach the pic again. But way back on the sides is where the water is coming in from and then stops

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I don't know where I am in your cabin in this pic, the large box is your shower/AC and sometimes sink sump box. Is the bilge pump closer to bow or aft?