Water leak in cabin Sundancer 240

Holgersson

New Member
Feb 13, 2017
4
Loftahammar, Baltic Sea, Sweden
Boat Info
SeaRay 240 Sundancer 2000

Garmin 721xs
Engines
Mercruiser 5.0 EFI Bravo 3
Before I start I will apologize for my lack of perfection in the written (english) word. Try to reply in swedish and we're even :smt001

I have a 240 Sundancer (-00) that's newly bought. It's a true dream come true.

We're totally new to this kind of boats and made therefore a minor mistake to check for leaks in all spaces (who would thought of something like that..?:huh:).

Well.. After a while we discovered there's a openable hatch on the step down to the cabin. And there you also find the box with the bilge pump from the shower. On the bottom there was some water laying, not much, but some. Of course we wiped it up, I also made a quick check on the bilge and the float(?). It didn't work at all, but that's not the problem.

A couple of weeks later we went down to the marina to make the final preparations before the winter storage. We made all the usual stuff, empty the fresh water tank and unplugged and opened up the water pump to prevent freezing etc.

Two weeks later we went for a last visit to the latest family member. And that was a minor disaster. On the cabin floor was aprox 8 gallons of water. It stand high when my wife stepped right down in the pile.

There were no easy way do determine were the water came from. After wiping the floor and emptying a couple of buckets there were still water under the steps, and it was more coming from in under the wc-module. But there's an open space under the wc and the water is of course taking the simpliest way forward.

So, here's the billion dollar question. Where is the water coming from?!

I've checked the vents and there's no visible signs of water or mold on the walls. We have not used the shower at all so the broken bilge cannot be the "bad guy" here. When we emptied the water tank I simply flushed the water into the sink in the pentry and the toilet. I will believe that we would have noticed if there was any leak and the floor was filling up with water...

I have one idea left, and that's the drain at the "step down" from the upper deck, right before the door down to the cabin. I know that the canvas leaks some when it rains. But I haven't been able to acces the area underneath the drain (how do I do that?).

Besides that I have no ideas left, and that's why I put my trust into you guys. Anyone with the same problems??

Any ideas at all will be helpful. Thanks.
 
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Valkommen! That's the extent of my Sweedish, so I'll leave it at that! :smt001

Leaks can be tricky to track down. While this may not be your issue, an easy explanation for water showing up under the step-down is from a leaking head window. Now, this can be in two ways. One, is a leak from the outside where water travels down the inside of the hull, between the hull and the head's fiberglass liner. It then travels under the head floor to the step down area. The second could be water actually entering the head and then going down the drain... which can lead to two things, as well. One: the drain, itself can leak (needs to be resealed) and two: since you said the step-down pump isn't working, that box can overflow (with drain water from the head).

You can remove the carpeted kick panel below the head door in about 3 minutes to give you a better new of things. Feel around "in" the carpet at the corners/edges for hidden screws.

Your cockpit floor/door drain could certainly be a culprit, too. All of these areas are relatively easy to check, though. Start with everything dried out real well:

-- Pour water down the cockpit drain and observe
-- Pour water down the head floor drain and observe
-- Spray water on the outside of the head window (simulate rain with a hose) and observe.
-- Try your other portlights, just to be sure. Water can drain down the carpeted wall pretty quickly and also dry up very quickly and doesn't always leave a trail until it's been a long time.
 
At 17 years old, the port lights are about due for re-bedding.
 
So it starts to get clearer about the leaks.

Latest news from the guys at the workshop at the marina is that the source of the leak "should" come from either the engine (not plausible cause of the mount of water in the cabin) or the fresh water hoses.

The boat oat has been stored indoors and out of reach of water during the winter. Likewise also out of reach for sea water. They have tried to flush the drains without any results, so we keep our fingers crossed until we hit the water, and weather.

Any more suggestions, please let me know.

Take care!
 
Har du kontrollera nivån i färskvattentanken för att se om vatten har läckt ut? Had to try this... I hate to imagine how badly Google translate works with Swedish!

One of the water lines to the sink or head could be split and leaking that much water. Check your freshwater tank from a known level and see if it drains over time. That could be your culprit.

You are right in thinking the engine is not a plausible cause. During the two weeks the boat was out, did it rain heavily or freeze? Freezing could have split a water line. If it rained heavily the issue could be your port windows, bow hatch, or bow rail stanchions. With a 17 year old boat it is probably time to reseal all of them as the factory sealant could be hardened, cracked, or missing.

Water leaks are hard to trace sometimes, but need to be addressed to prevent damage to the structure. Please let us know what you find. Good luck!
 
Welcome to CSR!

I have a similar boat and had a similar problem. Tracking my issue was simpler in that my boat is in a covered slip. It would have to rain sideways for 9 days straight for that much rain water to enter through a porthole or rail stanchion.

Let me ask this first... Did moisture readings during the survey show a dry foredeck? A leaking cabin hatch or windshield area could turn into a huge deal.

OK. Now that the scary stuff is over...

I would suggest your first step be to fill the fresh water tank and run both hot & cold water through all lines INCLUDING the wash down hose at the rear of the boat. Keep these lines under pressure & hunt for the leak. Remove the panel Dennis referred to so you can see under the head insert and keep the engine hatch open to observe there. Especially if your pump is mounted up against the mid cabin. If you don't immediately see a leak, leave the system pressurized over a night or two & come back.

After that, I have read the tracking down a stanchion or porthole leak can be frustrating. Isolating the one culprit could be a challenge and even if you did find one that is bad, the others may not be far behind. I would hate to tell you to rebed all of those & reseal your windows, BUT if it needs to be done, well, it needs to be done.

Last but certainly not least there is the windshield area. Screws and snap fasteners may be plentiful around the windshield. This falls in with the water hose tests of the portholes & stanchions. Again, not a fun "test" but test the windshield last. Portholes first, rail stanchions next, then windshield. Otherwise flooding the topside of the boat may not adequately isolate the point of entry.

Just my 3 cents. Hope it helps.

ps........I failed to mention the rub rail as a possible leaking point. all the above still applies.
 
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If you want to test the potable water lines simply turn on the pump. You'll hear it run as it pressurizes the system then cut off. If there is any leak at all, it will come back on, if no leaks it'll stay off.
 
the pump has to work taking a shower or using the sink in the head. if it does not work the box overflows in that area and soaks the carpet.

another source might indeed be water from the engine bilge ( had this last year ) . when the boat sits in the water with full water tank and pretty empty gastank its tilted slightly forward and water collecting in the bilge runs fwd below the gas tank and subfloor the fwd cabin . the cabin should be sealed from the aft bilge but reality shows otherwise. it pushes then from below the floor and soaks the carpet and fills the space below the steps.

if you had huge amounts of water i nevertheless guess a faulty showerpump - remember : also using the sink in the head compartment needs a working showerpump !

best regards
 
I'm having a similar issue with my 2000 Sundancer 240. I noticed the carpet in the lowest part of the cabin being wet toward the end of last season. I dried the carpet and it remained dry while shrink wrapped for the winter. Now with the canvas back up but with the boat still out of the water i noticed the carpet was wet again. I opened up under the step and found the water sitting around the shower bilge and soaking up into the carpet. I check the bilge and it is working so i don't think i have an overflowing bilge especially since the head is not being used yet. I'm thinking it's rain water but can't figure out were it's coming from. My thought also was that it was from the cockpit drain but i don't see where it would connect to under the cabin steps. Not sure what to check for now.
 
I'm having a similar issue with my 2000 Sundancer 240. I noticed the carpet in the lowest part of the cabin being wet toward the end of last season. I dried the carpet and it remained dry while shrink wrapped for the winter. Now with the canvas back up but with the boat still out of the water i noticed the carpet was wet again. I opened up under the step and found the water sitting around the shower bilge and soaking up into the carpet. I check the bilge and it is working so i don't think i have an overflowing bilge especially since the head is not being used yet. I'm thinking it's rain water but can't figure out were it's coming from. My thought also was that it was from the cockpit drain but i don't see where it would connect to under the cabin steps. Not sure what to check for now.

Scoyager, see my response (and others) above. Those are typically the most likely places and, at a bare minimum, good places to start.
 
Thanks Dennis, going to the boat after work to try the different tests you suggested. Boat is going in on Saturday so hopefully i can figure it today and fix tomorrow.
 

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