How much water is in your bilge?

Hifirush

Hifirush

Member
Mar 21, 2014
542
North Padre Island
Boat Info
1998 330 DA, 7.4 MPI with V-Drives, raw water cooled, Westerbeke
Engines
twin 7.4 MPI’s with V-Drives
I was doing some winterizing this past weekend and notice for the first time my rudder packings were leaking water. Probably from the cold weather, since they have never leaked that I know of, still nice and clean. I usually have to pump out about 3-5 seconds of water each week when we come out to the boat.... So, I wonder, how much water do you all have in your bilge? I know one more thing that will be done when I get the bottom painted, repack time.

Matt
 
It had a lot when I first bought the boat. I tracked down every leak source and fixed them all over this first year of ownership. I hope...
 
I have none. The only time I get water in the bilge is if something is leaking, which is then fixed. A clean dry bilge is a happy bilge.
 
I get rain water, somehow, someway. Maybe a pint or so after a good rain. Other than that, nothing since I replaced the leaky dripless on the port engine. And that gets shop-vac'd out as soon as it's discovered.
 
I guess I have more than most of you. Mmmmm, I guess I need to get on it. Thanks all.

Matt
 
I get enough that the bilge kicks on when coming off plane. It's a running condition for me. When the boat sits the bilge stays dry. It's something I plane to start chasing once we splash in the spring. In the meantime I am planning to install a third pump much further back in the bilge since it takes quite a bit of water to reach the low water pump.
 
I always have 2" or so in the middle gutter. Been like that since the boat was new. I guess dripless is not really dripless.
 
Madifonzo said:
I get enough that the bilge kicks on when coming off plane. It's a running condition for me. When the boat sits the bilge stays dry. It's something I plane to start chasing once we splash in the spring. In the meantime I am planning to install a third pump much further back in the bilge since it takes quite a bit of water to reach the low water pump.
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Why are you waiting until you splash in the spring? There should be signs of where water is entering.
 
JimG
Dripless should indeed be dripless. If one or both is leaking it's only going to get worse. Eventually they start spraying around from centrifugal force and things start rusting.
 
JimG said:
I always have 2" or so in the middle gutter. Been like that since the boat was new. I guess dripless is not really dripless.
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Thats about what I have found, but I don’t have drippless. I’m going to have to look further into it....

Matt
 
Regular stuffing boxes are supposed to drip a bit. Dripless are not. In your 330 it's tough to get to the stuffing boxes to tighten them up. I'm surprised that in a '98 330DA you don't have dripless. You sure about that?
 
With my 370 I always had a little from the shaft seals as they were not the drip less kind. The 330 is dripless and I must say it's nice not having water in the bilge. Matt, look to see if there is a little tube that runs from the seals. That would mean they are dripless as this is what provides the water for cooling. As Ron said , I'd be surprised if they aren't dripless.
 
There aren't signs that I can see. Very tough to look around. I need the engines to be running in order to locate the leak. On the hard I cool the engines through the sea strainers so it would be tough to see a leak as a lot of water runs through the bilge. I plan to have the pros locate it...I am hoping for a raw water hose or something easy.
 
rondds said:
Regular stuffing boxes are supposed to drip a bit. Dripless are not. In your 330 it's tough to get to the stuffing boxes to tighten them up. I'm surprised that in a '98 330DA you don't have dripless. You sure about that?
Click to expand...

I agree, they are just about impossible to get to. I was looking at them, or should I say attempting to get a good look at them while I was working on the genny, but I am pretty sure I saw a hose going to the one I was looking at. Would that be something on dripless?

Matt
 
Larry&Leisa said:
With my 370 I always had a little from the shaft seals as they were not the drip less kind. The 330 is dripless and I must say it's nice not having water in the bilge. Matt, look to see if there is a little tube that runs from the seals. That would mean they are dripless as this is what provides the water for cooling. As Ron said , I'd be surprised if they aren't dripless.
Click to expand...

I just answered Rons post and then read yours, yes they have hoses, so that is dripless?

Matt
 
Hoses that go to the stuffing box indicates dripless. 2 hoses means there's a crossover...so that if one engine doest run and you're limping home on the other, both shafts logs will be fed cooling water. Remember that while the boat is moving the prop and shaft will still spin even if that engine is off.
 
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