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Leaking Stern Gland Flooding Engine and Back Cabin....


hscott

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Hello

 

Discovered on New YEar's Eve that our boat has suffered a leaky stern gland which has resulted in the engine becoming submerged, and water leaking into the boat trhough the gap near teh pipe leading to the calorifier. Water had also been coming through the exhaust pipe which added to the volume inside the boat.

 

The wonderful people at RCR came to our aid and helped us get the water out of the inside of the boat, and then the engine, and miraculously, the engine started - we were amazed and very very grateful for this major bonus....

 

However, our big concern is that there is water lying inside the hull which although we have drained by using a battery operated pump, there still lies about an inch of water on the side that is visible, and goodness knows what down the middle and other side of the hull. We've only had this boat (cruiser stern) for just over a year, and so aren't fully familiar with its layout, so are unsure about what exactly lies beneath the floorboards.

 

Does anyone at all have any experience of floodings of this sort, and in particular of draining/drying out hulls? How on earth do we manage it?

 

THank you to anyone who can help us...

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Normally the cabin bilges are separated from the engine bilges by a watertight bulkhead. Perhaps this is not the case with your boat. Many people swear by disposable nappies as a method of soaking up the last few mm of water. I have used cat litter to good effect, enclosed in an old pair of tights (they blonged to my wife, honest). We had similar problems when the water tank emptied into the cabin bilges, but it does work its way to the rear of the cabin. If you keep removing the water, it does dry out quite quickly under the floor. Ilearnd my lesson and cut a "trap" in the rearmost wooden floor enabling access to the cabin bilges. I have considered fitting an automatic bilge pump in the cabin bilges after our experience, but maybe that is overkill?

Edited by Dylan
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Thing to do is get the bows higher than the stern so that all of the water is to the rear. Pump out and then use disposable nappies to finish off any water the pump won't take. Make sure you dry the tops of the batteries to stop them discharging and have all of the doors and windows open to dry the inside of the boat. Inside take up the centre flooring to the rear of the cabin and check for dryness.

 

You will need to change the engine oil and probably the gearbox as well. If there is only a small amount of water in the engine oil, run the engine to charge the batts and get it hot enough to boil off the water.

 

Throw away any food left exposed as the damp will rot it.

 

Fix the problem with the boat!!!

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Is it flat bottom or"v" like a Springer, is there a metal sheet separating the engine compartment that the water has run over and can't return from? Have you stopped the leak as it should really only drip at worst when you completely "lunch" it, and not sink the engine!!

Possibly replace packing(I'm sure this forum can get everyone through that if you put up a post).

Unfortunately drying out a bilge is difficult without a heat wave, and opening the floor here and there. A hoover that sucks water is usefull,a sponge, rolled up newspaper poked into/under hard to get at bits, left in position for a while and replaced when soaked. You could find access points under showers, baths, and other places where a pump may be installed, or gunge trap/filter. Also the water tank area can often have gaps to the bilge. Dont foget to tilt the boat, to help the water run towards draining areas; by say putting heavy stuff on the roof.

The drying time is reduced or even prevented by the lack of air flow and water trapped as damp in say concrete ballast and any wood, or just held in position as condensation. Basicly it is "almost" impossible to dry out a bilge at this time of year, but don't give up as starting the process is the way to do it. Get your heating on full bore and if you can, run a hoover with the end poked under the floor near the stern every now and then to get some air flow.

I have often thought of connecting the air intake on the engine to the bilge, and vents near the burner to help facilitate this seemingly impossible task. Indeed I once fitted a boat out for someone with hundreds of little gaps in the floor bearers and a similar system, so their engine would suck any gas in the bilge out on starting, incase of a leak.

Glad your engine started anyway. :lol:

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I had the problem of how to dry out under the floor, after the water tank dumped its contents there. Luckily I have a shore line supply so it was quite easy. I have a square hole cut into the floor at the back, just in front of the bulkhead, about a 9 inches square. After pumping out as much water as I could through that hole, with a small electric pump, I used a (COLD) fan heater to blow air through the bilges. I made an air-funnel by cutting the bottom off a plastic bag to make a tube, and sellotaping one end of the tube over the front of the fan and sellotaping the other end to the floor all around the hole.

 

I left it blowing for a week (on COLD) and as far as I could tell, by then everything was completely dry.

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Yeah, a cheap/old aquavac is a powerfull tool for this sort of job.

- Then just any decent open-cell car sponge and bucket works best for me.

- If its just water it works as well as a nappy each time, and far less wastefull.

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Hello

 

Discovered on New YEar's Eve that our boat has suffered a leaky stern gland which has resulted in the engine becoming submerged, and water leaking into the boat trhough the gap near teh pipe leading to the calorifier. Water had also been coming through the exhaust pipe which added to the volume inside the boat.

 

The wonderful people at RCR came to our aid and helped us get the water out of the inside of the boat, and then the engine, and miraculously, the engine started - we were amazed and very very grateful for this major bonus....

 

However, our big concern is that there is water lying inside the hull which although we have drained by using a battery operated pump, there still lies about an inch of water on the side that is visible, and goodness knows what down the middle and other side of the hull. We've only had this boat (cruiser stern) for just over a year, and so aren't fully familiar with its layout, so are unsure about what exactly lies beneath the floorboards.

 

Does anyone at all have any experience of floodings of this sort, and in particular of draining/drying out hulls? How on earth do we manage it?

 

THank you to anyone who can help us...

 

Might I suggest you do a subsequent oil change in very short order, as there may be all sorts of crud that the initial engine empty out won't have removed. Also, if RCR didn't, I'd be inclined to drain and refill the gearbox, as the lubricant within may well be contaminated. Make sure you know what to refill it with, first, though. Commiserations on the undoubted grief.

 

Mike.

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Normally the cabin bilges are separated from the engine bilges by a watertight bulkhead. Perhaps this is not the case with your boat.
I think hscott's boat has a watertight bulkhead - only it wasn't watertight! Hence the need for all penetrating pipes going through the bulkhead to be as high as possible - at leat 18" off the engineroom floor. If your pipes go through lower than this you could try smearing Marineflex or another brand of PU sealant all around the pipe & fitting as it goes through the bulkhead.
I have considered fitting an automatic bilge pump in the cabin bilges after our experience, but maybe that is overkill?
I don't think it's overkill and have done the same. If the pump never has cause to actuate, I'll still be happy.
Thing to do is get the bows higher than the stern so that all of the water is to the rear.
Good idea, empty the watertank - assuming it's at the bow and you have access to the bilges just forward of the stern bulkhead. Edited by blackrose
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Hello and thank you to everyone for your speedy and helpful replies - really really appreciate it.

 

To answer a few things, RCR haven't fixed the problem yet, although we have ceased the leak and have been advised not to turn the engine over until we've got an engineer to fix the problem - this is in hand, as is the oil and gearbox oil change, starter motor repair and general service and repair of engine (and cleaning up of engine area...)

 

It's not a springer hull, it's an Evans and Son hull fitted out by a family-run hire firm which we bought in 2006 - only 10 years old and in excellent condition with a good survey report. There is one hatch in the very rear cabin which allows access to the hull, however it's only on one side (as I said before) - no idea if there's anything obstructing the whole of the hull draining to this side, that's our main concern - think we might need to create further hatches to check.

 

We have removed all the curtains, the mattresses and anything else that might retain moisture - spending the next few days with heaters and de-humidifier in the affected area, and trying to get hold of the aquavac thing this morning...we've also emptied the water tank as we're in the process of winterising too, so that's more or less empty.

 

Thanks for all your advices - really really grateful....

Edited by hscott
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I can also endorse the wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner method. Argos do one for £34 which is an absolute miracle. It holds about 20L of water and will get your engine bay absolutely dry in short order.

 

Chris

 

 

And screwfix have a Karcher one on special at the moment for about £40.

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you can get a little submersible pump like the whale ones but not so pricey, from towsure for 8 quid that'll run off your twelve volt and get the level down to a few mil, then socks full of sawdust or cat litter, or cheap nappies will soak the last of it up.

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Hello!

 

T H A N K Y O U for the aqua vac suggestion! WEnt to ScrewFix (THANKYOU!!) in Burton on Trent today and it worked an absolute wonder!!!

 

Having the engine looked at tomorrow for oil change, gearbox oil change and overhaul - seems we've been incredibly lucky that the damage isn't a lot worse...two convector heaters, the central heating on full pelt and a de-humidifier, and we have a floating sauna which is starting to dry out already....back out early tomorrow to continue.

 

Thank you all for your kind suggestions and support!

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