I've had her less than a week and I think she is sinking...help!

[Yvet]

I brought my 70ft widebeam on the 25/11/2013. She has been in Wellingborough for a year on a canal. I had her craned out and transported by road to her current mooring in Ipswich. Whilst investigating yesterday I found a small hatch, opened it and discovered 6" of water all under the main cabin floor. I had pumped out the bilge the previous day so I knew the stern was dry. I returned to her today to rig up extra hose and pump her out but when I looked the water was gone!

Now I know I overfilled the water tank the previous day so I am wondering if that is where the water came from but another factor is that she is on a tidal mooring and the tide was in when she was wet and out when I found her dry...ish! So is she sinking? Has she been damaged in transit? There is a lot of rusty sludge under the cabin floor so I don't think this is a new problem. She was built in 1978 by Tolladine boat builders in Worcester. She had a hull survey 3 years ago and passed her boat safety cert less than 10 months ago, neither of which identified any problems. When she was being craned my guys looked her over and said she was well built and sound, so what's happening?.

[Robbo]

Is the hatch area now at the lowest point when the tide is out?

[Guest]

Water in the cabin bilge can also come from leaky plumbing and leaky windows seals.

[bizzard]

Are there any fish swimming about in it ?. Taste the water to see if its salty. Mind you it might be if the stern glands dripping.

Edited December 2, 2013 by bizzard

[Guest]

I think everybody is concerned the first time they find water in the cabin bilges. As Martin states, it is often a result of an inefficient shower drain pump, leaking plumbing, leaking window or similar. Also when you think you have pumped it all out, a load more appears, often from being trapped in ballast. The fact that there are signs of rust means it could have been in there for a while.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I brought my 70ft widebeam on the 25/11/2013. She has been in Wellingborough for a year on a canal. I had her craned out and transported by road to her current mooring in Ipswich. Whilst investigating yesterday I found a small hatch, opened it and discovered 6" of water all under the main cabin floor. I had pumped out the bilge the previous day so I knew the stern was dry. I returned to her today to rig up extra hose and pump her out but when I looked the water was gone!

Now I know I overfilled the water tank the previous day so I am wondering if that is where the water came from but another factor is that she is on a tidal mooring and the tide was in when she was wet and out when I found her dry...ish! So is she sinking? Has she been damaged in transit? There is a lot of rusty sludge under the cabin floor so I don't think this is a new problem. She was built in 1978 by Tolladine boat builders in Worcester. She had a hull survey 3 years ago and passed her boat safety cert less than 10 months ago, neither of which identified any problems. When she was being craned my guys looked her over and said she was well built and sound, so what's happening?.

 

Hi ya & welcome to the forum.

What a daunting time & first post.

Don't panic,

Some things to initially check is the water level actually rising, is it clear or brackish in color, are you staying aboard to monitor, is there anyone local to help you look or put your mind at ease.

That should keep you going for now.

Don't forget to let us know the outcome.good luck.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[Biggles]

Transporting by road can make it all slosh about.

 

I was paranoid my WB was leaking after being moved by road and put in the water for the first time. It took several weeks before I stopped worrying.

 

I think we all have that anxiety at first, or indeed anytime we find water inside.

 

I hope its all fine. BTW where do you put a NB in Ipswich?

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

condensation will run water into the bilge over time. leaking windows similar. keep pumping and checking. you will know by next summer.

[Phil Ambrose]

condensation will run water into the bilge over time. leaking windows similar. keep pumping and checking. you will know by next summer.

Condensation can manifest itself caused by areas of uninsulated hull being in contact with cold air/water. This will over time trickle down the hull to the bilge and make its way to the stern. Don't worry too much about it

Phil

[mark99]

Is the hatch area now at the lowest point when the tide is out?

 

Very good question. When you say tidal, does the boat sit/touch on the bottom hence shifting the water somewhere else within the boat?

Edited December 2, 2013 by mark99

[system 4-50]

Does the level go up and down with the tide?

[tree]

huggles Yvet, glad to see that you got to your mooring ok, the Lorry lol gave me a bit of a start when it started up the morning of departure as it was parked near my boat lol.

this is a very good site with lots of excellent information and advice. Welcome and it was lovely meeting up and watching your new home on its journey.

wishing you happy days and wonderful adventures

tree

[IanM]

Does the level go up and down with the tide?

If she's in Ipswich marina then probably not.

 

Edited to add: I may be able to pop up and have a look if you need a second opinion. Only 20 minutes from me.

Edited December 3, 2013 by IanM

[Biggles]

All these locals all of a sudden.

[junior]

All these locals all of a sudden.

Have you ever been to Ipswich? They are probably all related :-p

[saltysplash]

Do the taste test.....if its salty you have problems and need to sort out a bilge pump which you should have in anycase,

if not salty then it could be a number of things from condensation to dripping pipes.

 

Good luck

[Yvet]

Water in the cabin bilge can also come from leaky plumbing and leaky windows seals.

Hi had the plumber today and all plumbing is sound. No leaking pipes or pumps. The windows are all sound too.

Are there any fish swimming about in it ?. Taste the water to see if its salty. Mind you it might be if the stern glands dripping.

Water is fresh even though she has been in salt water for a week, so now I'm thinking her water tank may be leaking. And no fish seen yet LOL

[keble]

Good news, hopefully you can relax a bit now. My daughter had a massive water tank leak, survived to tell the tale!

[Yvet]

Hi ya & welcome to the forum.

What a daunting time & first post.

Don't panic,

Some things to initially check is the water level actually rising, is it clear or brackish in color, are you staying aboard to monitor, is there anyone local to help you look or put your mind at ease.

That should keep you going for now.

Don't forget to let us know the outcome.good luck.

The water level stayed the same it just moved to the bow when the tide went out and then returned to the stern when she floated again. So this water is just sitting there, all 8" of it. I've had a steel rule in there and it hasn't gone any higher. Today we pumped it all out and found what looks like a purpose made outlet to the bilge filled with mastic. So why did someone do that? I have more water to get out of the bilge tomorrow as she is listing to starboard. She has one drain in the bow on the starboard side and I'm wondering if she only has a bilge on that side which is full, causing her to list!

Transporting by road can make it all slosh about.

 

I was paranoid my WB was leaking after being moved by road and put in the water for the first time. It took several weeks before I stopped worrying.

 

I think we all have that anxiety at first, or indeed anytime we find water inside.

 

I hope its all fine. BTW where do you put a NB in Ipswich?

I'm moored in the marina next to the yachts....its very funny! I feel like the poor relative and to really piss people off I have L plates front and back LOL

Have you ever been to Ipswich? They are probably all related :-p

I am not from Ipswich...I'm an essex girl!

[frangar]

Just a bit of an aside but you will need to change the anodes if it's come from fresh water from magnesium to zinc.....it may well need blacking/anti-fouling as well....might be worth asking on a yottie forum as to what's best for steel boats.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

There you go,,hope your hart rate has calmed down,

& most of us have had very similar at some point in our boating lives,

Glad its not TO serious,& very fixable.

Take care.

[Chop!]

Hi Yvet

 

We bought a cheap wet & dry vacuum cleaner and got the water out of our cabin bilge with it.

It was caused by the shower pump being badly routed, we re-routed the pipes and fitted a Whale Gulper pump, no probs since ;o)

Hope you enjoy your new boat and have many safe & happy adventures in 2014

[davidc]

bought one of these from Screwfix to get the water out of engine hole have a cruiser stern

and it works brill.

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb350vac-1300w-16ltr-wet-dry-vacuum-cleaner-240v/36516

[blackrose]

Hi had the plumber today and all plumbing is sound. No leaking pipes or pumps. The windows are all sound too.

Water is fresh even though she has been in salt water for a week, so now I'm thinking her water tank may be leaking. And no fish seen yet LOL

 

Since the tank is part of the freshwater system these two sentences seem to contradict each other.

 

Does it have an integral tank or is it a stainless or plastic tank?

Edited December 27, 2013 by blackrose

[DHutch]

The water level stayed the same it just moved to the bow when the tide went out and then returned to the stern when she floated again. So this water is just sitting there, all 8" of it. I've had a steel rule in there and it hasn't gone any higher. Today we pumped it all out and found what looks like a purpose made outlet to the bilge filled with mastic. So why did someone do that? I have more water to get out of the bilge tomorrow as she is listing to starboard. She has one drain in the bow on the starboard side and I'm wondering if she only has a bilge on that side which is full, causing her to list!

what do you mean by that? A lot of canal boats have the corner of the dividing steel work cut off the make 'lumberholes' to link the srctions . It could be the previous owner has filled a pair of these with mastic to separate the bildge into two, a rear one, and the cabin one?

 

 

Daniel