1997 Dancer Cabin Floor Wet?

D

DA250

New Member
Jul 2, 2008
3
baltimore, md
Boat Info
1997 250 Sundancer
Engines
7.4 Merc bravo 1
Looking for some help with a problem I am having with my 1997 250 Sundancer. The cabin floor is wett constantly and I am trying to figure out what might be causing the problem? Underneath of the first step is the shower drain box, it is sealed however i can see water surrounding it, I am thinking this may be the problem. I have also heard of this being a common problem for this model and year. Any suggestions on what my be causing it? By the way the seals are tight on the canvas and door so I don't believe it is a rain issue.
 
Water "surrounding" it is of course not good. So, to determine where it is comming from start with the shower drain itself. Take the lid off of the box & pour some water into the shower floor - not down the drain - just onto the floor & we'll see if A) the shower drain is sealed, B) if the hose to the drain is fastened & not leaking and C) if the pump actually empties the box correctly. Next turn the water on in the head sink. This water is supposed to go elsewhere but verify that the drain lines are indeed draining the water away.
 
Bill,

I too have a 1997 250da, and have experienced the same issue as you. Speaking from experience, I can say that this problem is indeed rain related, and when I have the full mooring cover on the boat, no problems. However, when I just use the camper canvas or cockpit cover (after heavy and persistant rains), wet floor.

On the positive side, I have become quite adept at cleaning it up, and have mitigated any long term damage (mold & mildew).

Here are my two thoughts;

1st. Leak in one of the starbord side windows. There is a natural channel into the head from the forward or aft port hole, this in-turn leads to the shower drain, and if the bilge pump(s) are not on, the overflow fills the forward bilge, thus soaking the carpet.

2nd. Water from aft bilge filtering forward beneath the fuel cell and entering the forward bilge. same result if bilge pumps not powered on.

I keep my trailer on the boat ( i mean boat on the trailer... beer:thirty came early today...) 100% of the time, while not in use, so hull leaks are not an issue, and have been in the boat, underway whilst the rain and weather pounded overhead. There have been no major issues while this wet weather is pounding down, other than a few drops getting thru the forward starboard porthole seal, (thus the theory on the leak).

At this point I blame only myself for the issues resulting from my occasional laziness in fully covering the boat after a weekend or extended outing. If, however, you should decide to play detective, I welcome the reults of your investigation, as there will come a time where this once a year occurance will begin to irritate me, and I will decide I want it fixed.

Hope this makes you feel a bit better considering someone else feels your pain......

Let me know what you discover.....


Andy
 
Thanks for your help guys, I appreciate it. I am having a few things looked at this week. The bilge pump is one of them. I am going to test the shower drain and the seals as well as maybe using the cockpit cover vs. canvas top. Its good to hear from guys who have the same model feeling my pain! ha. Thanks again.
 
on my 330 the hose on drain of the floor of the head was broken off. Every time the AC was run for long periods or the head was hosed down the water would go into the sump and out the hose that was broken off. Apparently the previous owner lived with the issue of ryears and could never figure out all he needed to do was reconnect the hose to the drain. On the other had, it was quite a beating connecting that hose back up when you cant see it but have to grope in the dark.
 
I had the carpet get wet on my 270 a couple of times - turns out the shower drain hose and the sump outlet hose were not sealing well where they connected to the sump box. I had enough slack to cut off about .5 inch and reconnect and no problems since. While I was there I went ahead and replaced my bilge pump and float with an automatic one since it was the original pump and not looking that great. Try using a shop vac to get all of the water out around the sump and then turn on the shower to see if that is where it's coming from. If you are in the water - turn the AC on as well and just watch the drain. The pump outlet hose has an drain back prevention valve inline so there is always a bit of water held in that hose after the pump shuts off. On mine - it would slowly drip out over time.
 
I had the same problem on my 97 250. It occurred while I the bilge pump wasn't quite working right, and there was excess water in the bilge. Carpet got wet when someone spent some time in the front of the cabin or up on the bow. Water was flowing forward from the bilge. Now that my bilge pump is working the problem has not re-occurred.
 
I had a problem with my 270 AJ. Long story short I tracked it down to a leaking compression fitting for the drain line from my air conditioner condensation pan. Either no thightened properly when built, or vibrated loose, or both. Tightened it as best I could (little room to work with) then siliconed inside and out. Been dry since.
 
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