Water under floor

[Mike E-W]

Noticed a spongy spot in the floor at the back of the boat seemed damp so lifted inspection plate and discovered the under floor space full of water . Pumps not running at night or add hock at a loss to understand where its coming from unless the hulls damaged . Any thoughts ?

[john6767]

Shower or bath drain would be a possibility, if you don’t think it is the water supply.  Can you tell if the water is soapy?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

A failing water pump can leak water from the pump body without losing pressure and triggering it to run. Guess how I learnt that! Some people mount the pump in a shallow tray to help find this if it starts. Any leak between pump and tank will be the same. As suggested above, does the water in the bilge smell relatively good? Might be a clue as to if it is fresh water, or shower drain, or something else.

 

Jen

Edited June 18, 2018 by Jen-in-Wellies
spellling

[Alan de Enfield]

26 minutes ago, Mike E-W said:

Any thoughts ?

There are really only 5 possible ways that you can get water 'in' the boat :

 

1) Hole in the Hull (presumably very small pin hole, or you would have noticed sooner)

2) Rain water around leaking fittings (mushrooms, windows etc)

3) Condensation on poorly insulated hull, or on windows and running down behind the boarding

4) Leaking water pipes on the 'outlet' side of bath / shower / sink / toilet

5) Leaking 'fresh' water on the supply side between tank and pump, or pump and taps, or fresh water tank itself.

 

There is a 6th possibility that happens with some frequency but it is not much talked about - pump-out tank corroded and leaking into the bilge (unlikely if you have a cassette toilet)

 

Start with the easiest (5) and work you way up the list.

 

3 & 1 are not easy to find, 2 would normally result in some 'staining' around the woodwork so can be seen but not (necessarily) easily rectified .

 

Remember that water can 'run' anywhere behind roof linings, wall boards etc and that as a boat generally slopes front to back, the leak could actually be at the front, but not 'show' until further back.

 

Get a cup-full of water from the bilge and stick the tip of your tongue into it - its surprising how sensitive the tongue is and you should easily be able to tell if it from 4 or 6, and possibly 1

 

Water problems are one of the hardest to find - good luck.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[Gareth E]

I've had this twice during the 5 years I've owned my boat. First thoughts were: panic! It all worked out though.

 

The first time was the result of a leaking water pump. Second time was a combination of leaking windows, leaking mushroom vents and condensation. I can't do anything about the condensation so there's a bit of dampness down there during the winter months. Silicone was a temporary cure for the vents until I re fit them when I paint my roof. The leaking windows were cured with creeping crack cure. Could have sworn the windows were fine but when I removed the inside trims to reveal the hull around the windows during heavy rain, I saw water running down. 

[Bee]

Funny stuff water. Years ago had a leaky wooden boat at that place near Manchester where the water is bright orange, water in the boat was not orange though. As for your problem the chances are that it is a leaky pump or plumbing somewhere. dry it out as best as you can, leave for a while and repeat. Water will continue to appear for some time as it drains down so don't panic for a while.

[WotEver]

8 minutes ago, Bee said:

Funny stuff water

Fish pee in it. 

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There are really only 5 possible ways that you can get water 'in' the boat :

 

1) Hole in the Hull (presumably very small pin hole, or you would have noticed sooner)

2) Rain water around leaking fittings (mushrooms, windows etc)

3) Condensation on poorly insulated hull, or on windows and running down behind the boarding

4) Leaking water pipes on the 'outlet' side of bath / shower / sink / toilet

5) Leaking 'fresh' water on the supply side between tank and pump, or pump and taps, or fresh water tank itself.

 

There is a 6th possibility that happens with some frequency but it is not much talked about - pump-out tank corroded and leaking into the bilge (unlikely if you have a cassette toilet)

 

Start with the easiest (5) and work you way up the list.

 

3 & 1 are not easy to find, 2 would normally result in some 'staining' around the woodwork so can be seen but not (necessarily) easily rectified .

 

Remember that water can 'run' anywhere behind roof linings, wall boards etc and that as a boat generally slopes front to back, the leak could actually be at the front, but not 'show' until further back.

 

Get a cup-full of water from the bilge and stick the tip of your tongue into it - its surprising how sensitive the tongue is and you should easily be able to tell if it from 4 or 6, and possibly 1

 

Water problems are one of the hardest to find - good luck.

 

 

7 Pressure relief valve on colorifier

[Onewheeler]

8 Bloke with bad aim in the toilet

[john6767]

3 hours ago, Onewheeler said:

8 Bloke with bad aim in the toilet

So sticking your tongue into a sample of the water is the best way to tell what it is ?

[David Mack]

9 Leakage from a wet (radiator) central heating system.

 

10 Leakage from the engine cooling water system pipes serving the calorifier (assuming leakage in the rest of the engine cooling system would end up in your engine bilge and not in the cabin).

 

If the tongue test reveals that the water is sweet then it probably has antifreeze in i.e. from engine or central heating system.

Edited June 18, 2018 by David Mack

[rusty69]

11.leakage from a leaky pet tortoise. 

[Momac]

11 hours ago, Mike E-W said:

Any thoughts ?

Pump it out.

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

11.leakage from a leaky pet tortoise. 

Other leaky pets are available.

[Chewbacka]

58 minutes ago, David Mack said:

9 Leakage from a wet (radiator) central heating system.

 

10 Leakage from the engine cooling water system pipes serving the calorifier (assuming leakage in the rest of the engine cooling system would end up in your engine bilge and not in the cabin).

 

If the tongue test reveals that the water is sweet then it probably has antifreeze in i.e. from engine or central heating system.

Could be the guy in number 8 drinks a lot of sweet cider or is diabetic.......

[Guest]

12. Leakage from the magnetic filter to the webasto, the lid might have unscrewed itself, thus putting water out, heating pressure drops. Something else I now know what to look for! 

[system 4-50]

13. Incompetent butler - regularly opening the champagne incorrectly. (note - this is only possible on certain types of boat.)

[Tacet]

14.  Flow from gate paddles into welldeck overwhelming scuppers

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, Tacet said:

14.  Flow from gate paddles into welldeck overwhelming scuppers

Quite possible on some boats that had the well deck drained via a pipe in the bilge 

[Mike E-W]

Noticed a spongy spot in the floor at the back of the boat seemed damp so lifted inspection plate and discovered the under floor space full of water . Pumps not running at night or add hock at a loss to understand where its coming from unless the hulls damaged . Any thoughts

 

Thanks to all for the advise found the pump leaking when running a  gasket had  failed . Huge thanks to Graham and the guys at Braunston marine pumped out the water and fitted a new pump  .

[WotEver]

43 minutes ago, Mike E-W said:

Thanks to all for the advise found the pump leaking when running a  gasket had  failed . Huge thanks to Graham and the guys at Braunston marine pumped out the water and fitted a new pump  .

#5 then

 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Mike E-W said:

Noticed a spongy spot in the floor at the back of the boat seemed damp so lifted inspection plate and discovered the under floor space full of water . Pumps not running at night or add hock at a loss to understand where its coming from unless the hulls damaged . Any thoughts

 

Thanks to all for the advise found the pump leaking when running a  gasket had  failed . Huge thanks to Graham and the guys at Braunston marine pumped out the water and fitted a new pump  .

Fresh-Water system. - Probably one of the most common failures which is why I suggested looking at #5 first.

Well done - glad you are 'sorted'.

[ditchcrawler]

my pump sits in a food tray with a Chinese water alarm probe so I know when it leaks again

[BruceinSanity]

Good outcome. Water pumps can be sneaky that way, only leaking when actually running. Expect to have to keep removing water for a while as it wanders its way to the back.