Water in Hull. Wet carpets. Frustrated boaters.

[tr6ryan]

Hello all,

I come here for the knowledge and need some help. I own a 1995 290 DA and have had some reoccurring moisture in front of the fridge on the floor and against the bulkhead that the cabinetry sits on. It has been a pesky problem that I couldn't find since it started last summer. I winterized this year and it sat dry all winter. I opened for the season 2 weeks ago. (the boat is at Lake Cumberland KY).

We spent 5/1-5/3 on the boat and in the slip. No water or moisture was noticed Friday or Saturday. After waking on the 3rd I noticed the carpet sopping wet under the galley and leading back to under the head. This is the floor area between the dinette and the galley. After searching and squeezing myself back through the cupboards I saw water sitting under the fridge. No ice maker. No drain. The Air Conditioner was not running. No other plumbing besides the hot and cold that go to the galley sink.

So I remove the fridge and can see a trickle of water flowing from the edge of the carpet midway up the hull (above the waterline). This water was traced back to the bulkhead at the fore of the cabinets. Not further moisture could be found. The Galley sink drain seems tight and water lines were bone dry.

I sop up all the water and try the city water connection and the water pump. Both hold fine with no leaks. The water pump held for 15 minutes then kicked on briefly but no drips or leaks were detected.

Where is this water coming from? What am I missing?

Your ideas are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[480ces]

If the pump kicks on after 15 minutes you've got a leak in the water system somewhere!

I'd start with that. If you have a valved manifold try running one branch at a time to narrow things down.

 

[tr6ryan]

Thanks. It's not a manifold. It is the older gray plastic water supply lines. There is no moisture on the lines and only one fitting, a valve for a drinking water filter that I removed. The valve is in proper working order and is dry.

since water seeks the path of least resistance, I suppose it could be following the carpet fibers and dispersing like a giant game of PLINKO.

But the lines look and feel dry...Time to remove more from the galley for a better look I guess.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[CliffA]

are you sure the water in the cabin is from the fresh water system or could it be lake water from a small leak somewhere?........

cliff

 

[GrandMaster]

Is there standing water in the space under the vanity seat?

Also, was their any rain prior to your arrival? The bow rail stantions in that area are notorious for allowing water in.

Also, do you have the hatches over the Galley & Dinette? Water could be coming in through those running across/through the headliner and then down the side of the cabin.

 

[tr6ryan]

The hull is undamaged and the leak is above and forward of any thru-hull port that could leak. It is intermittent and would seem to suggest only when systems are on does the water leak. It sat all winter without any problems and now just after being on the boat for a couple of days it rears its ugly head.

 

[tr6ryan]

No standing water in the vanity seat. I checked and its dry. Is the Air Conditioner in the hold in the V Berth? Could water travel from fore to aft that way? The AC wasn't on, but could there be a leak in the supply hose? The pump is in the engine compartment....


No rain water as we are in a covered slip with a good galvanized roof. The side ports do leak and I have had to deal with that last year. I found out that my 20 year old boat is not very water proof. The Canvas and windows leaked like a sieve.

 

[GrandMaster]

No standing water in the vanity seat. I checked and its dry. Is the Air Conditioner in the hold in the V Berth? Could water travel from fore to aft that way? The AC wasn't on, but could there be a leak in the supply hose? The pump is in the engine compartment....


No rain water as we are in a covered slip with a good galvanized roof. The side ports do leak and I have had to deal with that last year. I found out that my 20 year old boat is not very water proof. The Canvas and windows leaked like a sieve.

Yes, the AC is under the V-berth and behind the return air grill. And the raw water line/supply exits the boat in the ara you are having the problem, but if the AC isn't running the pump should not be running either.

How about condensation from the refrigerator maybe?

 

[FireDrill]

I'm having the same problem, and it's been intermittent for two seasons now. Water occasionally soaks the carpet, seemingly starting near the galley/ head but with no clear source of leak. It's maddening. Yesterday I noticed that there seems to be water backed up in the drain in the head and someone here suggested that the shower sump might not be working. Not sure where or what that is, but I'm working oh finding it! I guess it makes sense, but the water must be somehow seeping out through the baseboard (for lack of a better word), because it definitely doesn't look like it's coming from the head. Fortunately, it's clean water (probably what I used to hose down the head last?).

Let me know if you figure out it's something else, and / or how you fix it? It's driving me nuts.

 

[tr6ryan]

Okay...Back from the boat after 3 days aboard. I hate to hear that you have the same problem FireDrill, but I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy....The shower sump is under the aft berth. It is far and away from the source of my leak. Mine starts at the bulkhead at the galley wall then follows the carpet seam down to the puddle that collects at the base of the fridge. More water leaks and collects in the center of the hull walkway infront of the galley sink. No drain leaks. No waterlines leak. No through hull fitting leaks. No visible leaks anywhere. Just lots of wet carpet.

FireDrill, Do you have an Inline water filter from your cold water line to an extra faucet on your sink?

May 4, I removed the inline water filter and shut the cock in the cold water line to the galley sink. This had no affect on the leak.... (Or maybe the carpet was so wet from the leaking inline filter that it just took that long to get at all the water ?!

Then I removed the fridge on April 5. The leak STOPPED.

All weekend (May 22-25) we had dry floors, warm food, but dry floors. Could the fridge be putting off that kind of condensation? The entire inside of the cabinets should have been wet if that was the case. The carpet was soaking wet. Now it is dry. The air conditioner ran all weekend without problems.

Upon inspection of the mini-fridge I see some rust on the casing below the door. Nothing serious, just surface rust and some corrosion. It seems to run fine, though at this point I'm not going to reinstall it. A new one would cost upwards of 800 bucks. I think I'll bite the bullet on it. The fridge is 15 years old. If its not the fridge causing my problem then at least I'll have a new fridge.

 

[dpmulvey]

Okay...Back from the boat after 3 days aboard. I hate to hear that you have the same problem FireDrill, but I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy....The shower sump is under the aft berth. It is far and away from the source of my leak. Mine starts at the bulkhead at the galley wall then follows the carpet seam down to the puddle that collects at the base of the fridge. More water leaks and collects in the center of the hull walkway infront of the galley sink. No drain leaks. No waterlines leak. No through hull fitting leaks. No visible leaks anywhere. Just lots of wet carpet.

FireDrill, Do you have an Inline water filter from your cold water line to an extra faucet on your sink?

May 4, I removed the inline water filter and shut the cock in the cold water line to the galley sink. This had no affect on the leak.... (Or maybe the carpet was so wet from the leaking inline filter that it just took that long to get at all the water ?!

Then I removed the fridge on April 5. The leak STOPPED.

All weekend (May 22-25) we had dry floors, warm food, but dry floors. Could the fridge be putting off that kind of condensation? The entire inside of the cabinets should have been wet if that was the case. The carpet was soaking wet. Now it is dry. The air conditioner ran all weekend without problems.

Upon inspection of the mini-fridge I see some rust on the casing below the door. Nothing serious, just surface rust and some corrosion. It seems to run fine, though at this point I'm not going to reinstall it. A new one would cost upwards of 800 bucks. I think I'll bite the bullet on it. The fridge is 15 years old. If its not the fridge causing my problem then at least I'll have a new fridge.

I've heard of this happening on other boats, SR and others as well as their fridges not getting as cold as they would prefer. Depending on the space, you may want to consider a computer fan (12 volt) that runs constantly or a small 120VAC fan that you could switch on or off depending on how loud it was. The basic boat fridge is not that well insulated.

If you have a gennie, you may want to consider a dorm fridge 120VAC only. $99 at Costco. If you get three years out of it, you can pitch it without regret. FWIW, I have a friend on his 6th year with one.

My 2 cents!