wet carpet

S

sebagoman007

New Member
Oct 6, 2006
352
Ipswich, MA & Sebago Lake, ME
Hi everyone.

I am having a problem keeping the carpet at the foot of the companionway on my 260DA dry. I've checked the shower sump (we never use the shower, and have no AC) it's fine, and there are no apparent port or deck leaks. This 2' X 4' section of carpet is the lowest in the boat, and is always cool to the touch. Saturday I shampooed it (I'll post a separate thread on that) and extracted most of the the water, then put a couple of small fans to work drying it. Spent the night at the slip, and when I got up Sunday morning the aft half was all wet again! I'm beginning to suspect the condensate drain from the refrigerator is the culprit. Can anyone tell me where this runs from and to, and how to access it? I don't relish the thought of having to take the refrigerator out, but if it's the only way to fix this, I'll just have to. If I could access the other end of the drainline, maybe I could scrape it out with a piece of stiff wire or something.

Any suggestions or similar experience and resolutions would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Bill
 
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The refrigerator has no condensate drain. It is not a self defrosting unit. When you manually defrost it the water collects in a plastic pan located under the evaporator coil.
 
Are you using your shore water connection? You may have a leak in one of the hoses or fittings. You can always try drying out the carpet and then turning off the water and see if it makes any difference. If you are using the pump - does it cycle at all when you aren't using any water?
 
I'm not using the shore water connection, and I shut the pressure pump off when I'm not using it. However, I didn't consider any residual pressure in the lines pushing out water through a small leak over time. I guess I should open all the faucets to bleed off the pressure before leaving the boat to see if that helps. Then I'd know what to go after.

The water does seem to be emanating from the base of the companionway starts and spreading aft. I guess I should go revisit the shower sump again to be sure, although it's in it's own molded "pocket" in the hull so it shouldn't leak into the cabin........

anyone else have any ideas?

Cheers,

Bill
 
How's the water in your bilge? When I was having some problems with my bilge pump, it would get more water in it than usual and when anyone went up to the front of the boat, I think the water would flow forward to the shower sump area and wet the carpet. Since my bilge pump is fixed, I've had no wet carpet.
 
Gary, there was no rain overnight Saturday.

Joe, that's an interesting thought - as far as I know the bilge pump is working fine, but with two grown men in berths Saturday night she would have definitely been a bit bow-heavy. I guess I didn't realize that the joint from the companionway stair to the cabin floor (sole) wasn't watertight. So, if there was some bilge water flowing forward I guess it could have seeped through said seam. I wonder if caulking the backside would help, as there's always a little bit of water in my bilge from rain and condensation.

Guess I'll need to take a closer look in the compartment where the shower sump is located......

Cheers,

Bill
 
Bill,

I'm no expert on that stuff, but that's what I observed. My boat is older (97) so some of those seals may not be so tight. It only took a little bit more water in the bilge to cause the problem.
Good Luck
 
Is your fridge defrosting and draining on the floor or do you have a leak under your galley sink. My 260 sink had a cracked fitting and did the same thing.
 
I had a similar problem in my 2006 260da, turns out that when carpet is installed it runs slightly under the steps and into the shower sump area. It seems that when ever I washed down the head to clean it, the water would wet the little bit of carpet in the sump area and it would "wick" through the carpet ...soaking the carpet in the cabin. I cut the excess carpet in the sump area to the bare minimum and so far so good..

Good luck

Anthony
 
I had the same problem in my 270. I never could find out where it was coming from, and the dealer couldn't either.
I fixed it by trading the boat in. :smt038
 
Anthony, that's another very interesting theory. I'll be sure to check it out.

Groucho, as attractive as that option might be, it's just not in the financial cards at the moment. Gonna have to keep eliminating options until it's gone.......

Thanks to everyone for your input. This is what makes this forum so great!

Well, that and when Gary and TurtleTone get on a roll............

Cheers,

Bill
 
I recently purchased a 2000 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer & noticed the same problem. The bilge in my boat is relatively dry (the pump is fine – just the normal amount of water in there). But when I looked into the bilge from the interior cabin (accessed through the step), I couldn't believe the stupidity of what I saw. The carpet is trimmed in such a way that it continues far past the visible area on the floor, tucks underneath the step and has a sizable amount of fabric reaching far into the deep part of the hull – in effect, soaking up bilge water & bringing it into the cabin. Brilliant. Mystery solved – theoretically trimming the carpet should do the trick – but I can't quite figure out how to disassemble the stairs so I can get in there. If anyone has any info to that end, I'd appreciate it.
 
Steve153 said:
I recently purchased a 2000 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer & noticed the same problem. The bilge in my boat is relatively dry (the pump is fine – just the normal amount of water in there). But when I looked into the bilge from the interior cabin (accessed through the step), I couldn't believe the stupidity of what I saw. The carpet is trimmed in such a way that it continues far past the visible area on the floor, tucks underneath the step and has a sizable amount of fabric reaching far into the deep part of the hull – in effect, soaking up bilge water & bringing it into the cabin. Brilliant. Mystery solved – theoretically trimming the carpet should do the trick – but I can't quite figure out how to disassemble the stairs so I can get in there. If anyone has any info to that end, I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...


Not really, because the section of bilge under the step is supposed to stay dry all the time. You have found the result of water in there, not the cause.

Henry
 
I had along with several others, the same problem in my 260. Its all documented in the official 260DA thread but, heres what my problem was. Just inside the hull behind the thru-hull where the shower sump and bath sink drain is a manifold where everything is plumbed together. What was happening to me was in rough seas, the waves would force water into the thru-hull and would flow downhill to the sump and flooding it. Even using the sink would cause it to get wet. A simple inline whale valve solved my problem by keeping the water from backflowing. In your aft berth, there should be an inspection panel you can remove to be able to see the manifold. Check it out to be sure all hoses connected to it are tight and that the manifold itself is not cracked, its made of PVC and is not supported by anything other than the thruhull itself. You should also check the manifold to see if it is pitched to allow water to flow unrestricted out of the thru hull. Mine was not and was pitched enough towards the stern that water would flow to the sump. If everything is OK, install a $20 whale valve on the hose leading into the shower sump, it may correct your problem like it did for me.
 
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