Huge puddle of oil beneath engine and some water within it probably around 40 litres worth of liquid roughly

[alan_fincher]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

I think we need so photos to have an idea what you are talking about

 

Agreed!  I have no idea what this "stack/chimney" might be.

[magnetman]

 

 

I thought the OP had only just bought the boat. 

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, tyrone1990 said:

I got up this morning and there was water in the boat again so that was after it was raining fairly heavily last night 

There is a stack/chimney by the motor and I guess that is an exhaust pipe but I'm wondering where that goes and whether that it the cause of the water entering the boat? 

When you say "in the boat", I presume you mean in the engine bay under a cruiser stern, not under the cabin floor?

Most boats these days have a self draining back deck where the deck planks sit on runners which drain out the back. These clog up with muck and leaves this time of year and need to be cleared every now and then. If you don't have these it's worth getting them done if you do have a cruiser stern - before mine were put in I had to manually run the bilge pump every day after rain and the boat sank once when the auto   bilge pump failed while I was away.

[magnetman]

I wonder if this boat has one of those deep front well decks without side drains.

 

They were quite popular at one time as you get higher doors and makers such as Harborough Marine even had pipes running to the back end which obviously get blocked over time. 

 

If there is water under the cabin floor it could have come from such a front well deck. 

 

 

 

[Hudds Lad]

24 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I wonder if this boat has one of those deep front well decks without side drains.

 

They were quite popular at one time as you get higher doors and makers such as Harborough Marine even had pipes running to the back end which obviously get blocked over time. 

 

If there is water under the cabin floor it could have come from such a front well deck. 

 

 

 

Our old shareboat (Reeves hull) originally had that setup with just drain pipes in the corners, unsure if these just fed into the underfloor to run to the back or if they were piped to the rear. Either way it was blanked off at the front bulkhead, an extra central drain fitted and an auto bilge pump. The corner drains would constantly clog up and require poking out with one of those flexy drain unblocking wires.

[David Mack]

6 hours ago, magnetman said:

If its exhaust thats alright. 

If you have an engine exhaust pointing straight up through the roof it should be covered when the engine is not running. You don't want rain going straight down the exhaust into a silencer or directly into the engine exhaust manifold.

[Arthur Marshall]

7 hours ago, magnetman said:

I wonder if this boat has one of those deep front well decks without side drains.

 

They were quite popular at one time as you get higher doors and makers such as Harborough Marine even had pipes running to the back end which obviously get blocked over time. 

 

If there is water under the cabin floor it could have come from such a front well deck. 

 

 

 

That's what mine was, with a drain running under the cabin floor to the engine bilge. I got flu one rainy  December, couldn't get to the boat, bilge pump failed as always, it filled the bilge and sank the boat on Christmas Day . January's job was raising the front deck.

[magnetman]

2 hours ago, David Mack said:

If you have an engine exhaust pointing straight up through the roof it should be covered when the engine is not running. You don't want rain going straight down the exhaust into a silencer or directly into the engine exhaust manifold.

 

This is true. I know of a boat which had the engine wrecked by water ingress through a vertical exhaust. It takes a while but over time a lot of water gets in. Similar story with fires if not used regularly. 

What I meant was that if it is the exhaust then it won't be the cause of the water in the bilge. 

 

 

 

[dmr]

35 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

This is true. I know of a boat which had the engine wrecked by water ingress through a vertical exhaust. It takes a while but over time a lot of water gets in. Similar story with fires if not used regularly. 

What I meant was that if it is the exhaust then it won't be the cause of the water in the bilge. 

 

 

 

 

I am surprised at how many boats I see with no top on the exhaust except for the splitter, even in significant rain.

[magnetman]

The proper item is one of the old Calor gas screw-on valve protection caps. Cast iron so nice and heavy and won't ever blow away. 

 

 

 

[alan_fincher]

58 minutes ago, magnetman said:

The proper item is one of the old Calor gas screw-on valve protection caps. Cast iron so nice and heavy and won't ever blow away.

 

Oh trust me they do if you forget to remove them before firing up the engine!

[Alan de Enfield]

What's wrong with a 'flapper' ?

 

Widely used on trucks and tractors.

 

 

 

[magnetman]

9 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

What's wrong with a 'flapper' ?

 

Widely used on trucks and tractors.

 

 

 

 

I put one of these on my Russell Newbery exhaust and it was rather noisy. They are meant for multiple cylinder engines which don't have a pulsed exhaust output like a twin does. 

 

 

10 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

Oh trust me they do if you forget to remove them before firing up the engine!

 

Of course in that case but I meant left unattended and weather conditions. 

 

I had about 5 out over the yars with the magnet and always wondered if they were blown orf by people starting engines or just dropped in when interacting with the gas bottles. 

 

Still got two of them but gave the others away. 

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I put one of these on my Russell Newbery exhaust and it was rather noisy. They are meant for multiple cylinder engines which don't have a pulsed exhaust output like a twin does. 

 

 

But, as you say ...................

 

 

18 minutes ago, magnetman said:

...........but I meant left unattended and weather conditions. 

 

 

You can always 'lock it' open if you can hear the 'clacking' above your engine.

[magnetman]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

But, as you say ...................

 

 

 

 

You can always 'lock it' open if you can hear the 'clacking' above your engine.

Thats what I did. Locked it open. This requires that you remember to close it afterwards 

 

The whole point of a balanced exhaust lid like that is that you don't need to remember to close it afterwards. That is why they exist. I used to close it with the cabin shaft after stopping the engine.

 

Water getting in to the exhaust is only a problem over considerable time periods. One wet night is no problem if you start the engine next day it just blows the moisture out and evaporates the water. 

 

Several weeks without running can cause problems so you take the exhaust stack off and put a heavy lid over the stub. 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

Thats what I did. Locked it open. This requires that you remember to close it afterwards 

 

The whole point of a balanced exhaust lid like that is that you don't need to remember to close it afterwards. That is why they exist. I used to close it with the cabin shaft after stopping the engine.

 

Water getting in to the exhaust is only a problem over considerable time periods. One wet night is no problem if you start the engine next day it just blows the moisture out and evaporates the water. 

 

Several weeks without running can cause problems so you take the exhaust stack off and put a heavy lid over the stub. 

 

 

I think @starman found snow to be a problem 

 

On 21/09/2023 at 10:33, alan_fincher said:

 

Agreed!  I have no idea what this "stack/chimney" might be.

I don't think its a trad with an engine room and find it hard to imagine a stack on a cruiser stern boat but without knowing the set up how can we say, still the thread has gone elsewhere now

 

[magnetman]

On 21/09/2023 at 09:39, tyrone1990 said:

I got up this morning and there was water in the boat again so that was after it was raining fairly heavily last night 

There is a stack/chimney by the motor and I guess that is an exhaust pipe but I'm wondering where that goes and whether that it the cause of the water entering the boat? 

 

 

Did you figure out what happened ? 

 

 

[tyrone1990]

On 22/09/2023 at 14:13, magnetman said:

 

 

Did you figure out what happened ? 

 

 

I have spoken to a few boaters and some are saying that my drain channel could.be blocked.

 

Another person said that it's normal.to have water under the engine bay, which I was surprised about

I need to get someone to take a look at the engine, just to ensure that all is good with it!

The water is in an enclosed area, however I did find some water underneath where the bed was beside the he engine bay which poses a new issue but it's just a small amount and it's just in that area of the boat, once sgsin someone ssid that was normal.but, surely it can't be good for the hull to have water corroding the inside.

I was thinking about blacking the steel floor on the inside of the boat but I'm just wondering whether that's necessary, but it's just  that it'll be protected if further water makes it way there without me knowing

[Tony Brooks]

29 minutes ago, tyrone1990 said:

I have spoken to a few boaters and some are saying that my drain channel could.be blocked.

 

Another person said that it's normal.to have water under the engine bay, which I was surprised about

I need to get someone to take a look at the engine, just to ensure that all is good with it!

 

You were told here that the drain channels for the rear deck boards could be blocked, especially if you have a cruiser stern, yet, as far as I can see, you do not seem to have helped by confirming the type of stern or posting a photo.

 

I think you were also asked about how often you top up the cooling system, and I would add  "to how full". Again I have not seen a reply.

 

If you want good knowledgable advice here, then you need to play your part.

 

If this is a cruiser or semi-trad stern then either poor drain design or blocked drains is the most likely explanation for water in the engine drip tray and the rest of the bilge.

 

If you regularly fill the cooling system to any maximum mark or full to the top, then you are overfilling it so coolant is blown out each time the engine warms up.

 

As the amount of coolant in the system is fixed then if the level is not going down, then it is not a coolant leak.

 

I don't think that you need anyone to look at what you have to decide which it is.

 

Now the oil, which as you have been told is probably just a thin layer sitting on the water. You might have an oil leak, but if the oil level in the gearbox or engine is not dropping by the week, this is unlikely, although an old engine will burn a certain amount of oil. The most likely explanation, it is just an accumulation of oil and diesel that have been spilt over the moths.

 

I think that you have cleaned the drip tray so if it is now dry and clean lay newspaper under the engine and run the engine for a couple of hours. If the engine is leaking oil, then splodges on the paper will give you an idea how much it is leaking and how much. A small drip is probably not worth trying to cure unless you can do it yourself on the grounds of cost, but if it gets worse that is a different matter.

 

Unless you are wealthy, it is vital that you learn to sort things out for yourself. I am sure that you can sort this out yourself, be it with advice from here, but you do need to cooperate by answering questions and confirming your actions/inactions. Be very wary about advice from random people on the towpath, be they boaters. Some will be very knowledgable and give excellent advice, while the majority, I expect, will give advice based on a very limited experience or hearsay.

 

If you what to know how full is correct for the cooling system, just ask, but we need to know if the boat is skin tank cooled or if not what type of cooling system it has.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Tony Brooks

[Arthur Marshall]

59 minutes ago, tyrone1990 said:

I have spoken to a few boaters and some are saying that my drain channel could.be blocked.

 

Another person said that it's normal.to have water under the engine bay, which I was surprised about

I need to get someone to take a look at the engine, just to ensure that all is good with it!

The water is in an enclosed area, however I did find some water underneath where the bed was beside the he engine bay which poses a new issue but it's just a small amount and it's just in that area of the boat, once sgsin someone ssid that was normal.but, surely it can't be good for the hull to have water corroding the inside.

I was thinking about blacking the steel floor on the inside of the boat but I'm just wondering whether that's necessary, but it's just  that it'll be protected if further water makes it way there without me knowing

You ought know by now if the drain is blocked? Pour some water into it and see if it comes out the hole. And shove a rod or a rope through it to check. It really isn't rocket science.

If its a cruiser deck with planks, rain will get through, as well as through the hole the control cables go through. That's what water does. There'sa join in my planks right above the drip tray, so that gets rainwater in too. My drain channels are rubbish - only one side actually drains so over winter I trim the boat so it tilts that way.

It used to be said (before we all got green) that oily water in the bilge was fine as the oil stopped the rust. The inside of the bilge should be painted. It'll take a while to rust through from the inside... I still don't know if mine rusted through from inside or outside, but it still took fifty years to do it.

Can't tell much from that photo - send us one of the back end of the boat, and one looking down into the whole engine space. Might need to stand on the roof to get it all in!

Edited September 24, 2023 by Arthur Marshall

[blackrose]

8 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

You ought know by now if the drain is blocked? Pour some water into it and see if it comes out the hole. And shove a rod or a rope through it to check. It really isn't rocket science.

 

I use a wire coat hanger

[Tony Brooks]

Oil and diesel will resolve ordinary blacking, so that is a bad idea. I echo Arthur's comments on the photo and the need for better ones. What I would say is that the part of the boat you show is very dirty, and it looks as if there is rubbish in there .

 

Until you spend a few hours cleaning and trying the whole area, I doubt anyone could give you sensible advice.

 

Your "small amount of water beside the engine bed" could be from a pressure relief valve associated with the hot water system, but we don't know much about your boat. If so it points to other deficiencies OR you can consider it as normal.

 

If you want to protect the hull from water in the bilge you would be well advised to get it as clean as you can now, so next summer you can de-rust and paint it - possible a triennial event.

 

If you think it is unusual for certain boat designs to have water in the bilge, then you had better forget that notion. On many boats it is unavoidable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

If you want to protect the hull from water in the bilge you would be well advised to get it as clean as you can now, so next summer you can de-rust and paint it - possible a triennial event.

 

Unless you use several coals of proper long lasting epoxy paint and it could last a decade 

[Tony Brooks]

8 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Unless you use several coals of proper long lasting epoxy paint and it could last a decade 

 

and ensure the surface prep is adequate, that is the bit that concerns me about epoxy paints. If there is damp rust pits below the surface then I don't see however good the paint is that rusting will not continue, so the  coating eventually flakes off.

[Tracy D'arth]

Impossible if the hull is in the water.