Holes in bilge floor?

importmonkey

importmonkey

Opinionated Member
Jul 9, 2015
1,056
Space Coast, FL
Boat Info
2005 260DA (sold)
2007 44DA (sold)
1989/2015 Hatteras 65c
Engines
12v92TA
So, when I surveyed my boat, the bilge gloat wasn't working. Had them out in a new one, but when they did, they removed an "L bracket" from the floor of the bilge in front of the old float to make way for the new one.

When I got it home, I noticed a little water in the bilge. When pump out the water, more comes in from these two holes on the floor. They say, "those holes shouldn't go all the way through to let water in. Well, water does come in. Of course, when I drop it off today no water (probably gummed up with Crap). Btw, the water would come in til there is about 3/4" of water down there then stop.

So, had boat in the water like this for a few weeks. What's the bottom hull construction like? Where could the water be coming from? They say they are going to just run some stainless screws down there with caulk and call it good. Could I see more problems down the road because of this? And what the hell was that L bracket for in the first place? I'll try to get a pick up.

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I see two possibilities, assuming the water is actually coming out of those holes. Either the holes go all the way through, or they don't. If they don't, the water you see coming up could be from the core of your hull. Either way, this could be a very serious problem and needs to be checked out quickly and thoroughly.
 
picture finally loaded.

src, i agree - and i think they are going to try and hide the fact there might be something seriously wrong. how can i make them prove to me that everything is okay?
 
Thinking I should have posted this in general...

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Screw holes must be all the way through, if the are its a pretty easy fix - and caulk and screws is not the right way to do it. The bottom on the 260 is solid fiberglass, no coring.
 
If I remember correctly, your model uses an inner liner - basically a "false floor". In other words, you have two hull bottoms separated by a small space, but glued together with added foam insulation in between. You can verify this if the bilge floor is finished gelcoat. There is no "core", but where the float is attached there is wood glassed-in there. I have no idea about the L-bracket - I don't recall that being OEM - check with the PO. This means it's possible that the screws don't go all the way through, but then there would have to be a void between the hull bottom/wood/inner hull.

If this were my boat, after the source is found, I would drill a few holes in key areas from the outside of the boat to be sure all the water drains out and then fill the holes.

EDIT: Scrap what I said about the OEM thing... I believe that WAS there (OEM) simply to keep large debris away from the float - even to help keep feet from slipping into it and damaging it.
 
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importmonkey said:
Thinking I should have posted this in general...

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Click to expand...

Be patient - good things come to those who wait. It's only been an hour and half. :smt001
 
Oh... unless you've been getting AWFUL lucky (something keeps plugging them), if those screws had, indeed, gone all the way through and then they were removed... you'd be getting a HECK of a lot more than 3/4" of water in there. Besides, it should be easy enough to verify that.
 
Yup. OEM. See it in the owners manual, but no reference to it.

Yeah, I'm not patient at all. Mostly I wondered if this would be of any help to others without a cruiser though, too.

I didn't understand why it was stopping either. But if the holes don't go through, where's the water coming from?

If it is sandwiched plywood, I'd think that's not a good thing to have water saturating that wood for that long...only to be sealed up and not allowed to dry out.

I should have taken a screwdriver or wire and tried to stick it though when I dropped it off. They guy assured me though that they didn't go through. Of course, no water was coming in through the holes at that point...making me look crazy.

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If you have estimate how much water was there, how much do you think it was? In other words, when it got to the 3/4" depth, how much total water was it (ounces, a bottle or two of water, more)?

Can you verify that the bilge floor (and sides) is finished gelcoat? Meaning, nice and smooth and pretty looking like the topsides?

Regardless, there would still be sandwiched wood there to screw things into. It's just a question of whether or not there's an inner liner and water trapped between the two... which, assuming the holes don't go all the way through for the reason I mentioned above, there must be. And then, how far does that trapped water extend? The next question is how is the water getting in there? Is it through unsealed holes? Or is there a gap/crack in the seal between the inner liner and hull somewhere else?

Yes, not a good thing. Yes, simply running screws (and sealant) into the holes is NOT the fix. Not until the source is figured out and addressed, anyways.
 
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Yup. Gelcoat.

I'm not good at guess volume, mostly because I don't know how far back that center channel of the bilge goes. I would say at least a gallon, maybe a bit more.

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OK, so the water basically stayed in that center channel, then? I'm pretty sure that goes all the way back to the stern. It's probably less water than you're imagining but that, of course, doesn't mean it's "OK". So, somehow (assuming holes don't go all the way through since you're boat would have filled up with water and partially sunk) there is now a void between that inner liner, wood and hull bottom. Weird.

You physically saw water bubbling up through those holes, right (just double checking)?

Do you think that water is only filling AFTER the boat has been run? Meaning, if it only sits in the slip then no water comes in (after evacuating all water)? This would be helpful to know.
 
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They cant be going all the way through. They would look like a sprinkler if they did. The holes have allowed water to weep into the glass in the hull. What you are seeing is the water being forced back out. That's why it stops after a while. I would take a larger drill bit, tape the bit about a 1/4 inch from the tip and drill out those holes carefully. When you pull the bit back look for foam and water. You may need to let the bit go in a little farther to get past the first layer of glass. If the water is coming from the glass it should be evident. You need to let that glass dry before you can close those holes with a patch.
Anytime you drill a hole in a wet area it needs to be larger than the screw, filled with epoxy and then drilled to size. This will make sure water doesn't go past the screw(s) and weep into the glass.
 
vernh59 said:
The holes have allowed water to weep into the glass in the hull. What you are seeing is the water being forced back out.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I think there might be a bigger issue here. I just can't imagine that a small amount of water that might be present (sitting) in a bilge is going to work it's way past any screws that were used to mount a bilge pump/etc to such an extent that he would keep getting water coming out of those holes. Especially since it would have to work it's way past the bond of inner liner/wood/hull... although... there may not be a "complete" bond between the wood/hull. This is just a speculation, but I think the water may be getting under the inner liner from another source.

Part of why I'm thinking this is the timeframe of when water showed up. From the first post it sounds like the bilge was initially dry and water didn't show up until AFTER those screws (for the L-bracket) were removed. Which means they were likely plugging the holes, as opposed to letting water 'in'. But some of this may be an assumption on how I read the first post and whether or not I am inferring correctly. We'll need Monkey to help out with that.
 
Oh, I wanted to add... I very much hope that, for Monkey's sake, this water accumulates when the boat is sitting still or moving at slow speeds. In other words, I hope it is NOT from water splashing up against the rubrail or something else like that.

When sitting still... suspect items would be any thru-hull (AC pickup/overboard discharge/etc) or even the transducer which is probably mounted directly in front of that bracket. In my book, the transducer would be more suspect than the others - but that certainly doesn't eliminate the others. But, I'm kinda just speaking outloud here until there's more information.
 
i had a small leak in the generator strainer as well as the fresh water pump that's being remedied right now. there was a bit of water in the bilge before i noticed this issue. the theory of that water weeping through the two holes sounds spot on, as i agree if they went all the way through, the water wouldn't stop coming in.

so, there's a little water in the bilge...i pump it out (as much as I can with the bilge pump). as expected, the bilge turns off and some water flows back in (water left in the lines). i do not see bubbling from the holes, but more of a stream of water coming up and "bulging the surface of the water."

in other words, picture a bucket of water. now, put a garden hose under water and point it to the surface. turn the water hose on and you will notice that there is water coming out, but not enough to splash, bubble, spray, geyser, et cetera. so, it does sound like water is getting below the fiberglass in the bilge (to whatever space there is down there). as i pump out the water, there is less head pressure (less water above fiberglass) and more of the water in that void is pushed out through the holes.

i called the service manager today and told him my concern about simply "covering up the issue." i don't want an issue years down the road. he said they will do it right and suck all the water out. hopefully it's not a "wicking" material like wood and they can get it dry.

that all said, all sources of water intruding into the bilge should be remedied in the coming days. i don't appreciate any water being in there, as it doesn't alert to new issues and makes troubleshooting leaks far more difficult. i'll be able to get 'er bone dry while it's on the trailer and keep an eye on the situations once it's back in the water.

to the comment about water coming in while raining or riding - maybe? i don't notice anymore water in there after it rains or driving it. if i can at least get it dry down there, i'll be able to hopefully diagnose any issues like that.

fwew! boats are fun, aren't they!
 
There's more than way to go about this, but what I would do: Get it good and dry (like you planned) while on the trailer (shop vac) so that no more water is coming out of the holes. Then, put the boat in the water (maybe just keep it on the trailer) and see if water starts coming in again. In a way, this would be good if it came in now as it eliminates leaks from other areas of the boat and from other areas where the inner liner is bonded to the hull.

I just looked at your picture a little closer... the bilge pump wires are routed through two secured zip ties... just forward (below in the picture) of those ties is what looks like a hole from something that used to be mounted there. Is that, indeed, a hole? Is it NOT sealed? Are there any other holes like that anywhere? That would certainly be an easy explanation.
 
not a hole. just dirt. that was from the initial set of pictures i took the first time i saw the boat. i since cleaned the bilge up a bit (minus this water issue). i blew a trim line which spat hydraulic fluid all in there, sprayed it down with spray 9 and hosed it out since. i will certainly check the depth finder for leaks, but the inlets for ac and gen are above that lower channel in the bilge and i didn't see anything from there. like i said, i did find a few nuisance drips from the gen strainer and fresh water pump. hopefully i'll find any remaining sources when i get it back from the shop (which all issues aforementioned should be fixed - right the first time - i hope - fingers crossed).
 
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