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Water in interior bilge


Motters79

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Hello everyone. I'm looking to buy my first narrowboat and have my eye on a 60ft 1997 Bridgewater boat at Whilton Marina. It has a few issues, the main one being water under the floor inside the boat. Someone has cut a hole in the floor at the back and there is about 1cm of water. This is probably just at the back as the boat slopes toward the stern. Should I be worried? Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Edited by Motters79
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7 minutes ago, Motters79 said:

Hello everyone. I'm looking to buy my first narrowboat and have my eye on a 60ft 1997 Bridgewater boat at Whilton Marina. It has a few issues, the main one being water under the floor inside the boat. Someone has cut. Hole in the floor at the back and there is about 1cm of water. This is probably just at the back as the boat slopes toward the stern. Should I be worried? Any advice appreciated.

No. Many reasons it will be there and its nowt to worry about. The short answer is NO don't worry, you may now get several LONGER answers.

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Possibilities are:-

Plumbing leak(tank, pump,pipework etc)

Heating leak

Bath/shower tray leak

Condensation

Rainwater leak (windows/mushrooms)

Hull leak (unlikely).

Depending on which it is and what damage it has caused will determine how worried you should be.

 

Edited by rusty69
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Yes, you should be worried.  Water inside your boat is generally a bad thing. They've probably cut that hole because it's been an ongoing problem, so there could be a significant corrosion issue you can't see. You need to know exactly what's going on.

Do have a search around the site and others so you know about boat buying pitfalls. In particular, make sure you're happy with any broker you might use and about engaging your own surveyor rather than using theirs.

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1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Yes, you should be worried.  Water inside your boat is generally a bad thing. They've probably cut that hole because it's been an ongoing problem, so there could be a significant corrosion issue you can't see. You need to know exactly what's going on.

Do have a search around the site and others so you know about boat buying pitfalls. In particular, make sure you're happy with any broker you might use and about engaging your own surveyor rather than using theirs.

I agree water in the cabin bilge is a bad thing, but it is not unusual for an access hole to be made at the back of the cabin, so that the cabin bilge can be checked and emptied if necessary. In fact I think it is part of the RCD that you are required to have a bilge pump fitted or an access point where one can be used.  So not necessarily there because of an ongoing problem.

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1 hour ago, Motters79 said:

Hello everyone. I'm looking to buy my first narrowboat and have my eye on a 60ft 1997 Bridgewater boat at Whilton Marina. It has a few issues, the main one being water under the floor inside the boat. Someone has cut a hole in the floor at the back and there is about 1cm of water. This is probably just at the back as the boat slopes toward the stern. Should I be worried? Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Many older boats had a 'wet bilge'. Water from the front well deck drained under the cabin into the engine room and was disposed of by the bilge pump. It was possible for blockages to occur at the stern where the water  had to go through pipes or small holes into the engine bay.  Modern boats have 'dry' bilges but it is still possible to get water in them due to a leaky window frame or water system leak for example but maybe be even condensation. This is why they have an inspection hatch usually under the rear steps. You need to determine what type of bilge you have before worrying too much. A 'dry bilge' boat will not drain into the engine bay so investigation will be required.

 

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Thanks for your comments. It seems like there's a few possible reasons for this water. Hopefully if my offer is accepted the survey will highlight the problem and it can be rectified. Hopefully something simple! The salesman assures me it's nothing serious, but then he would! Boat seems pretty good other than the water in the bilge and bit of an oil leak on the engine. The current owner is obligated to reduce the price to account for any work that needs doing as per the survey, so I shouldn't have anything serious to deal with one I've bought it.

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Yes, you should be worried.  Water inside your boat is generally a bad thing. They've probably cut that hole because it's been an ongoing problem, so there could be a significant corrosion issue you can't see. You need to know exactly what's going on.

Do have a search around the site and others so you know about boat buying pitfalls. In particular, make sure you're happy with any broker you might use and about engaging your own surveyor rather than using theirs.

Thanks Seadog. You make a good point about using my own surveyor. I'll make sure of that! Cheers

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9 minutes ago, Motters79 said:

The current owner is obligated to reduce the price to account for any work that needs doing as per the survey,

Having recently bought a boat from Whilton, I think your understanding is slightly incorrect.

We were told that any safety issues that would cause a BSS fail would be fixed at the cost of the seller - there were two for our boat and they were fixed effectively by a drop in the price to reflect that work. 

I think you need to check what exactly would result in a price reduction for work identified that needs doing.

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Check if there are any fish swimmin about in there. If so and only a tiddler or stickleback a hole in the hull will be quite small, a hole that a bilge pump might cope with. If its a big pike or 20lb carp it will be a big hole which no ordinary cheap pump could cope with. :closedeyes:

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2 hours ago, Motters79 said:

... The current owner is obligated to reduce the price to account for any work that needs doing as per the survey, so I shouldn't have anything serious to deal with one I've bought it.

Your confidence in surveyors is a touch naive IMHO!

1 minute ago, system 4-50 said:

... The current owner is obligated to reduce the price to account for any work that needs doing as per the survey, so I shouldn't have anything serious that was easily detectable to deal with once I've bought it.

there, that's a bit better.

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4 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Your confidence in surveyors is a touch naive IMHO!

I wasn't going to say that. In fairness the op is asking sensible questions rather than " Do I need a mooring if I travel eight feet every month " etc etc. Most water will be from leaky windows, condensation or a leak from plumbing non of which most surveyors will pick up and non of which are a big deal on a twenty year old boat that will need some fettling anyway. If it were a foot deep I may be more concerned personaly :) I think Biz has it in a nutshell re the size of any fish in there being a good indicator, he does have an uncanny ability to pass on his knowledge to other folk :D

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Over the years my bilge has been consistently  DRY. (I cut an inspection hole when I fitted the boat out). This year I've found water on several occasions. Causes ,at different times , were tracked down to a) failed grouting in the shower, b) leak in the vicinity of the fresh water pump and c) intermittent failure of the float switch in the shower/hand basin sump tank. None were a major task to rectify, all were a right pain in the b*m at the time. It's one of the joys of having a boat.

 

Frank

 

As an aside I've just discovered how to spell check on this site!!. Spell a word wrong then right click :detective::detective:

Didn't work for spell spelt as sell

Edited by Slim
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That's interesting. The boat in question does need some tiling redoing in the shower, so I guess that's a major suspect. Maybe living with it a while and monitoring various potential sources will be the only way to sort it, assuming the survey doesn't deal with it. I imagine you become fully aquainteted with every nook and cranny of a narrow boat over time! 

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8 hours ago, Motters79 said:

That's interesting. The boat in question does need some tiling redoing in the shower, so I guess that's a major suspect. Maybe living with it a while and monitoring various potential sources will be the only way to sort it, assuming the survey doesn't deal with it. I imagine you become fully aquainteted with every nook and cranny of a narrow boat over time! 

Talking of spell checks, computers flag up the word narrowboat as being incorrect but it is perfectly acceptable to spell it as all one word. At least in the boating world it is. :)

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I would be interested to know what tests and check a surveyor would make to trace the source of bilge water, how long it would take him and what would be the cost.

The typical leaks listed in this thread will take weeks of trial and error to track down. 

Unless the rate of ingress of water becomes serious, I would manage it by adequate bilge ventilation (possibly a few mini-fans fitted into vent holes, plus regular checking at the inspection hole at the rear bulkhead).

As a potential buyer, the OP needs to make a pragmatic judgement about how long the boat has been lying with the water level unchecked . 

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Once you've gotten to the cause of the water, (and presumably removed it) why not fit one of these little thingys https://narrowboatellis.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/budget-bilge-alarm-and-porthole.html   I fitted one to the cabin bilge along with a pump "should something ever got wrong" - I have another in the engine bilge which is more assessible and I test it weekly - when it stops going off, I'll replace  BOTH batteries.

Peace of mind for only a fiver if the link still works.

 

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