Water in cabin floor only when towing

[Prestonrockstar]

Hi all,

I'm a new 26x owner, year 2000. The ballast plug is under the vbirth. There is a cabin drain at the floor under the ladder. When I picked up the boat from the previous owner, it was dry. Upon reaching home 45 mins later, the floor inside had about half a gallon of water sitting there. I scooped it out.

First trip to the boat launch, noticed when I got the launch, there was half a gallon of water on the floor again. scooped it out. Filled ballast, played around, pulled boat out of water with ballast full. On ramp on steep incline, kid in the boat told me water was rushing in from the drain on the floor at the ladder. I opened ballest in back and water stop rushing in, and started rushing out. Unplugged the plug in vbirth at that time, allowing even more water to rush out, naturally. Scooped out the water from cabin. Trailered home with the ballast full open and plug unplugged. When arrived home, there's half a gallon of water on the floor again. Scooped it out.

Next week, been dry all week, no rain, trailered to boat launch. At the lauch before launching, there's half a gallon of water on the floor again! Scooped out. Launched, stayed on boat for 2 nights, in rain and shine. No leaks. No water on floor. Emptied ballast while in water and pulled out empty. No water on floor. Trailered home, when arriving at home, there's half a gallon of water on the floor again!

What. The. Heck. is going on? I'm about ready to just fill that cabin drain hole by the ladder, but I know it must be there for a good reason... Nothing in the ballast system says anything about that drain hole on the floor.

I did notice, while in the water for 2 nights, in the kitchenette under the sing/stove area, there was some pooled water. It wasn't there before. I don't think there's a leak anywhere. I think somewhere there's stored water from the ballast that isn't able to fully drain, ever, and when sloshed around trailering is somehow forced out. I think when it's in the water, somehow water is able to release into the hull under the stove/sink. How? Perhaps interestingly, when the floor has that half gallon of water on it, the water under the stove/sink was still there, so it's not moving from that location to the floor.

Please help if anyone has thoughts, or has had the same issue. I'm racking my brain, and can't find anything online that matches this issue.

Thanks,

Preston

[Don T]

Hello,
That drain hole was added to the MacX because earlier models could accumulate a lot of water in the bilges and not know about it.
Chances are there is water sloshing around in the bilges and finding it's way into that center section. The bilges are not interconnected and water will not drain to the lowest point in the boat. Sloshing around while towing is likely.
OR
Fresh water is leaking from the water system and has to find it's way to the center bilge.
OR
Water is coming in through the liner penetrations for the wiring and steering cables or the engine well drain when the stern gets pooped coming off of plane (OK pseudo plane).

Pull the cushions and filler panels and take a look under there. Run some water tests with a hose if possible.

Good luck, wet bilge is a whole lotta fun.....

On Edit: One more thing, early boats can have a problem with the ballast vent or the center fill valve rod under the step leaking when the ballast is full. When my boat is loaded for a 2 week cruise those 2 points are below the waterline and can leak continuously. Corrosion can build up on the threads (aluminum washer w/ rubber gasket) and make it seem like it is tight when in fact it is not. Been there, done that. Damn near flooded our boat once.

[Tomfoolery]

In addition to what Don T suggested, also take the low, wide panel in the stern berth at the transom off and inspect the motor well drain line. That thru hull is close to the water line, and a cracked hose will let water in. Too much, and it can sink the boat eventually.

That 'drain hole' in the cabin is only an indicator of water in the bilges, as Don said. You need to go into the spaces in the stern berth and under the galley and cooler liner (just forward of the head) and remove all the water. A wet vac is most useful here. Then take it from there.

My '99 has the vent under the vee berth, so presumably your newer boat does too. But what you're describing regarding water coming in when hauled on a steep ramp with ballast in sure sounds like it's leaking into the cabin through what used to be the location of the vent, under the companionway step. Odd.

[C Buchs]

I had a similar experience this year. I've got leaks and this winter I spent a bunch of time working on deck fittings and chain plates. I had a bow cleat with a locking nut that was never tightened past the point where the nylon in the nut touched the bolt. While I was working on this over several weekends, we got a lot more water inside than usual. While I was working, my wife cleaned the water out of the bilge. What she didn't do was take the ice chest insert out and clean up the water that collects on the other side of the beam that runs through there. When we trailered the boat to the ramp this water worked its way to the middle and up the hole under the step. I (and now my wife too) clean the water out of the bilge by checking the following areas: all the hatches in the aft birth, under the galley/settee, and under the ice chest insert. Check for water in all these places. If you get it all cleaned out and it fills back up fast, you've got a real problem. If you clean it out and don't get much more. Have fun on the water

Jeff

[ris]

Our 2003 Mac 26X had a bilge pump installed and every time I backed down the ramp water would come from the back of the boat up the hose to the bilge pump and water would pour out of the bilge pump until the boat leveled out. Took me a while to figure how this water got into the boat. We simply did away with the bilge pump, replaced all the drain lines in the aft end of the boat from the motor well and have had no more problems. We put battery operated basement leak detectors in 3 places in the bilge. They work great. In living on the boat for 9 months last year on the loop, 2 of them actuated. 1st was the sink drain hose clamp leaked about 1/2 pint of water and set one off. The other one that actuated is under the hatch just aft of the head. This one was caused by a loose hose clamp connection of the head drain hose where it leaves the boat. Both times alarms went off with less than 1/2 pint of water. Rest of the 9 months the bilges stayed dry. This was a 5824 mile boat adventure.

[marcopolo173]

There isn't much to these boats - my 2001X leaks from rainwater events (either under chainplates, rubrail joint or other) into the bilges under the aft dinette seat (stbd) and under the galley (port). In my case, it's only from rainwater and about the volumes you suggest. I just manually drain before sailing (sponge and bucket) and after significant rain events. I'm comfortable with this as the leak source (wherever it is) is well above the waterline.

The ballast vent valve up front is there to allow for air flow to assist with filling/draining the ballast tank (filling gate valve is at the transom). Best to test for the leak source on dry land with a hose and the ballast tank empty to ensure it isn't a leak in the ballast tank (highly unlikely); or you weren't towing with water already in the ballast tank and some has come out through the vent valve and into the bilges.

The hole in the cabin floor under the companionway ladder connects the bilges to the floor; if the bilges are filling up then it will become apparent by water on the cabin floor. This hole is not connected to the ballast system (unless there is a leak in your ballast system, again unlikely).

Most likely as Tomfoolery says, you've got a problem with a through hull leaking (drain piping from the motor well inside the boat - most likely, or under the sink in the galley or under the sink in the head).

Does it leak into the bilges when you put it in the water with the ballast valves all closed?

[Prestonrockstar]

Thanks all for the replies! I'll clean out all the water from everywhere and put it in the water again today, and see what happens.

[Tomfoolery]

Thanks all for the replies! I'll clean out all the water from everywhere and put it in the water again today, and see what happens.

I would pop that rear panel and look at the engine well drain before putting it in the water again. Takes five minutes, and if you have a hose cracked or off, you could find yourself in real trouble real fast. And, as marcopolo suggested, peak at the galley and head basin drains and thru-hulls, too. I would put a garden hose in the galley drain and run some water to see if any is dripping out of the thru-hull connection. You can see it from under the port settee with a flashlight, assuming you can't get directly to it from under the counter. The head thru-hull, I believe, is right in the open, inside the little cabinet the basin is on.

Just sayin'.

[Don T]

Hello,
I forgot about the sink drains being underwater while heeled over. Definitely check those hoses and thru hulls.