Layout of the rear bilge on a 26X

[paul I]

So I have a 2000 vintage with the ballast vent in the V-berth, no step under the companionway ladder, and the "warning hole" under the ladder.

This season I cleaned out the rear berth, which is something I haven't done in several years. I noticed some evidence of moisture on the vinyl underside of the port cushions. It was not a lot, and it may have been condensation. I decided to check the bilge areas very carefully and I found about 1.5 quarts of water in the center section, port side. The starboard side was dry. I always thought that any water that was dropped into the side bilges would drain down to the normal bilge areas under the ice chest box and galley. But if water fell into the center bilges it would drain out of that hole under the steps. Maybe I'm wrong.

I never got any water out of the warning hole under the steps, and I am not sure how the water got into the center bilge. The water color was very dark brown, nearly black, with some heavy mold growth in that area of the bilge. I just never inspected that deep into that center bilge pocket before. I believe the water may have been there a long time from the looks of it, maybe since I've had the boat for all I know. I sucked it all out with a wet/dry vac and cleaned it up with a bathroom disinfectant spray that kills mold.

My question is, did it not drain because there was so little of it? Does the level need to reach some high point for it to come out that hole? Don't the port and starboard section join up at some place? Why would water only collect on the port side if they are connected? Some kind of low spot? Does anyone know what the structure looks like under the center portion of the rear boat liner?

[Tomfoolery]

AFAIK, there's no connection between port and starboard aft of the vee berth area. In fact, you can't even snake a wire between them unless you go behind the little panel in the stern, but what that looks like back there I can't recall (other than the engine well drain).

I've had water back there from rail leaks, and it's never come out the little tell-tale hole because there hasn't been enough of it.

[Herschel]

I found about 1.5 quarts of water in the center section

That is not a lot of water, especially, if it has been there along time. My first guess would be condensation. Also, I think I remember a thread about making sure the drain hose for the motor well to the stern is secure or it could cause some leakage into the bilges. MY PO installed fathometer and speedometer instrumentation through the ballast tank. Despite efforts at keeping the fittings (which I now no longer use) waterproofed with 5200 sealant, I do get leakage from my ballast tank into the bilges, if I leave my ballast water in the tank over night. I say that because it might be good to make sure your PO did not make some mod like mine did that cold have endangered the integrity of the ballast tank. Hopefully not.

[Starscream]

Wet cushions usually means a leak from a deck fitting or fastener, and can easily mean a quart or two in the bilges every time it rains. Check for signs of water drips on the cabin walls above the cushions, usually from the joint between the lower wall and the upper wall. Water that leaks in through screws or bolts falls on the upper side of the roof liner, then can make its way over to the sides of the boat and down onto the cushions. The water could also be dripping from one of those little plastic hole plugs that are all over the roof liner. Those are a bit harder to see because they don't leave much trace. After a rain, pop a few of those caps out and use your finger covered in a dry cloth to poke around the hole and see if the cloth comes out wet. If it does, you know there is an issue, but it doesn't tell you which fitting is the source.

My X is anything but watertight in a rainstorm, but constant searching and sealing have made it much better. I have re-bedded the screws in the sliding hatch track, siliconed the windows inside and out, and worked on sealing up the cable entry at the back of the boat and in the helm station. Those easy little items helped a lot. I used duct-seal in the helm station and that has helped with spiders in the rear berth. Didn't have a one (that I saw) last year.

[Tomfoolery]

I have re-bedded the screws in the sliding hatch track . . .

I'll bet that was fun, wasn't it? The nuts are really hard to access and get a hold of, and the bottom of the FG is rough and not nearly flat under many of them. But pulling and rebedding them made a big difference in keeping rain water out.

Lotta places for water to sneak in - seems like a never ending battle. Deck joint is next on my list, with a new rub rail to finish it.

[Starscream]

I have re-bedded the screws in the sliding hatch track . . .

I'll bet that was fun, wasn't it? The nuts are really hard to access and get a hold of, and the bottom of the FG is rough and not nearly flat under many of them. But pulling and rebedding them made a big difference in keeping rain water out.

Yeah it turned into a goopy mess. I used a long socket with a ball of electrical tape shoved in it first, to hold the nut at just the right depth to be able to use the socket as a guide to get the nut back onto the bolt. I filled the top of the socket with silicone after the nut was in place, and filled the bolt-hole from the top down as well. Holding the bolts with a screwdriver from the top I threaded the nuts back on using the long socket full of sealant. Once they were in place and tight I used my fingers to press the sealant into place around the nuts. Lots of wasted sealant but nice and watertight. It wasn't a terrible job to do, messy, but gave a good sense of satisfaction. And it has stopped that particular leak.

[paul I]

I did check for water trails everywhere I could and found nothing. There were no instrumentation installs ever on the boat until I did them, so no butchering of the ballast integrity. Keep in mind the fabric part and foam insert of the cushions were not wet at all and showed no trace of water intrusion. The bottom side of the cushions are made of vinyl, and the water was between the vinyl and the liner. Its like it condensed there or splashed up there, though I doubt that is likely, given the small amount of water in the bilge. I'm just gonna keep an eye on it for now and see what happens.

So im assuming the way it works is: the bilge gullies on the extreme sides of the boat do drain forward but the center ones can trap water which after it gets to a certain level, will come out the drain under the ladder... is that the gist of it?

[Highlander]

late last yr I was working on the boat inside the cabin doing some electrical up-grades Nov-Dec then it poured really heavy for three wks so stopped workin on it for that time & when I went back 3 wks later the whole boat liner was soakin wet just from the condensation inside the boat . the boat was covered completely with a tarp so it was not from the rain water

So bought one of those condensation pillows small size was only good for 300sq ft & 3 months , so got the larger size good for 1200 sq ft firgure it,ll last me a year , anyway put the large one inside the boat went back the next day & the inside was completely dry & has stayed that way all winter

J

[Bilgemaster]

If, after years of owning her, you're only now getting around to swabbing out maybe a gallon or so of manky dark bilge water, my hunch is she's doing just fine--as well as might be expected, given the laws of Physics and all. Most of it's probably just gathered condensation, with perhaps the odd droplets of shipped water from a flakey hull joint, spray splashes or even rain through the companionway hatch, just gathering there in that center trunk and not draining--but mostly condensation. Regularly filling that water ballast with water 20 degrees or more cooler than the ambient air temperature guarantees some condensation. Just go grab an icy cold drink and set it down on a napkin. Gets wet, right? Well there you go.

Before I'd embark on some epic dribble hunt, yanking apart and rebedding this and that, I might just stow a couple-few of these Dollar Tree Moisture Eliminator with Charcoal tubs here and there in the bilge, and as they say in the Haynes Norton Motorcycle Repair Manual, "observe effect on performance":



I assure you they work every bit as well as the far pricier DampRid offerings, will draw out that bilge moisture--even stowed conveniently up under the galley area--and keep your cabin sweet and fresh and Admiral-approved. They should last about 6 months or so, depending.

[Highlander]

a couple yrs ago when I was workin in the aft bilge area I discovered that my tell-tail hole for water drainage under the ladder on my was not drilled all the way thru its a double wall & only one was drilled so after making sure I was not gonna be drillin into the ballast tank ! I drilled thru the other wall into the battery compartment don,t know if the is constructed the same way under the ladder ?

J

[133bhp]

the two rear centre bilges fill up independently, then overspill the lips towards the front, into the starboard bilge under the coolbox area, and/or the centre board box bilge in the same area. they will do this at rest if ewnough water , and also when heeled. ie, once dried out, water can again appear there seemingly from nowwhere.

the tell tale hole will need a big flood to become visble

lay a small tarp to catch water under the console/cables area. your probabaly find evidence of water runninging down cables etc. or motor well connnction is another fav. or may be drip[ing down the liner to the rear, filling the bilges up?

[paul I]

the two rear centre bilges fill up independently, then overspill the lips towards the front, into the starboard bilge under the coolbox area, and/or the centre board box bilge in the same area. they will do this at rest if ewnough water , and also when heeled. ie, once dried out, water can again appear there seemingly from nowwhere.

the tell tale hole will need a big flood to become visble

That seems to explain what i'm seeing. I'm going to keep an eye on it and see what collects in there over time.

[Cougar]

the two rear centre bilges fill up independently, then overspill the lips towards the front, into the starboard bilge under the coolbox area, and/or the centre board box bilge in the same area. they will do this at rest if ewnough water , and also when heeled. ie, once dried out, water can again appear there seemingly from nowwhere.

the tell tale hole will need a big flood to become visble

I can testify for that. It explains why so much more water accumulates in the starboard bilge than under the galley. I already suspected that it was coming from the stern area. However, on my the centre board box bilge, adjacent to the starboard bilge, is always completely dry. I have an automatic bilge pump in the starboard bilge.