Can a loose ballast plug dump this much inside?

[Aschubert]

First water in bilge since owning her 6 weeks. First sail with some pitching on the lake. 23 mph wind, lots of heel, some pitch. Seems I took in 20 gallons of water..the plug to the ballast air hole was loose fitting and it was wet around the cap in the cupped area around it. Anyone taken on water with a loose plug? We did have the rail in the water a few times but I've done that before with no water coming in. Thanks!

[sailboatmike]

Wow 20 gallons, my boat only had 2 gallons in the bilge after a hugely wet winter with over 2 feet of rain.

I would be looking for a leak, 20 gallons is over 15% of your total water ballast if its leaking and that would be significant I would think.

[Gazmn]

Is your ballast valve working / leaking? Was it left open? Last year I forgot to put in my plug during big Noreaster. Although my ballast valve was closed I had the tub at the bottom of the stairs fill wit three inches of water
Same storm, we lost 5 boats between my marina and City Island, NY.

If your plug is leaking - get a new one that expands as you screw it in.

[hschumac]

Yes, I took on significant water as well from ballast vent plug being too loose. Just minor fore / aft pitching over a weekend was enough to surge water up and around plug. A lot of force withl that water so like gazmn said, got a new plug. Fresh rubber was one piece of the fix, along with ability to screw it tighter and then flip handle down for a final expansion of the plug. No problems since.

[Retcoastie]

Hmmm. You might want to check the sink drain hoses at the thru-hulls. Healing over that much might allow water to enter thru a loose or defective connection. Just a thought.

ken

[Tomfoolery]

Hmmm. You might want to check the sink drain hoses at the thru-hulls. Healing over that much might allow water to enter thru a loose or defective connection. Just a thought.

And while you're at it, pull the short, wide blue corduroy-over-cardboard panel off the inside transom (interior) and check the motor well drain hose. That thru-hull is also close to the water line, and if it goes under with a bad connection, it'll take on a lot of water. And rain water, of course, will also fill the boat. I have pictures somewhere on this site of what mine (at least) looks like under there.

I almost lost my Aquarius to a similar issue, although in the case of that boat, it was the cockpit drain. Crappy, cheap corrugated hose that was cracked with age.

[Tomfoolery]

Found it. That's the engine well on the left, in case it's not obvious.



I don't know if that's OEM or PO work in there, but PVC fittings are not exactly, er, yacht-ish best practice for thru hull plumbing, especially where they go under water as a matter of routine.

[K9Kampers]

... but PVC fittings are not exactly, er, yacht-ish best practice for thru hull plumbing, especially where they go under water as a matter of routine.

Nor is the lamp cord wiring, and hoses below the waterline should be double-clamped.

- But those cost savings at the factory helped make this boat affordable!