Water in bilge

[rmh]

I have a 1996 355 Aft Cabin in the Chesapeake. Last winter I had the bull soda blasted and painted. I have water in the bilge below the galley floor and below the aft state room floor in the bilge. I do not have water in the engine compartment. I have eliminated a fresh water leak. I'm thinking there is a space between the engine compartment floor and the hull, water is leaking around a thru hull fitting, leaking in to this space and running forward to the bilge below the galley floor and running aft to the floor below the aft state room. Any thoughts, experience or opinions.

[AaHubb]

In my '99 404 the engine room floor is the hull. I would be surprised if yours is different. never the less if you are positive the thru hull is leaking your only choice is to hall out and have it re-bedded.

[rmh]

Thanks for your reply. The engine compartment floor is bone dry, any ideas where the water in the bow and stern is coming from? I've eliminated a fresh water leak. Thanks!!!!

[AaHubb]

I sometimes get rain water into the bilge from the cockpit but obviously not an issue for you. Another source would be shower sumps or raw water supply to the heads. You say the engine compartment floor is bone dry but have you looked between the stringers under the batteries? There are limber holes that would allow water to slosh from one end to the other. One other source might be a loose sink drain hose.
..Aaron

[waybomb]

How much water are we talking? Your prop shafts should drip a little.

Not all boats sit in the water with the lowest point being the engine room. The front of your boat could actually be lower than the rear while static, especially if you've loaded it up beer in the fridge and tons of personal stuff.

Start with the shaft packing. rememeber, it should drip a litlle, unless they are "dripless" seals.

[rmh]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate your input!! I get around 6" of water below both the galley and aft cabin. I can pump it out, turn off the dock side water, leave the boat, come back in a week and the same amount of water is always there??? This should eliminate sink drains, fresh water supply to the heads. The level of water is always the same. I can see all the thru hull fittings and they are dry. I "think" I've checked the shaft packing's, and they only appear to be dripping drops. I do have a drain plug in the stern, it appears to be screwed in securely. I did remove the rear gas tank (leaker) so the bow is lower then the bow, not sure if that has any bearing on my situation. I know something is wrong, I just can't figure it out. Thanks Again for any input you may have.

[Reelpriority]

I had a fresh water intrusion under the galley floor access hatch in a Carver 356. We put red food color dye in the salon A/C condensate pan. Apparently, there was either a leak in the hose connection coming from the condensate pan or the pan had a rusted area which was leaking.
We replaced the A/C unit which now has a composite pan and also made sure the drain fitting hose clamp was securely tightened. Most of the older Carver A/C units have steel condensate pans which fail at some point.

You may also want to check your 11 gallon hot water heater unit for tank leaks.

[DanM]

Ditto for me on Miss Judy's comments with my previous 356. The condensation pan drain became clogged and separately, the water heater sprung a small leak on the back side which ran into the area under the galley floor and yes you can get out the water heater without cutting up the floor. The upside is you will come away from the project with a new water heater, no skin on your knuckles, and a vocabulary you haven't used before.

[Santego]

I have the same thing on my 95' 355. A couple inches under galley hatch, engine room is dry and a couple inches in aft cabin. Just purchased boat this past October so have not had time to investigate.

[MissWhit's]

RMH, How frustrating a water leak can be. I have a 2001 406 that had the exact same symptoms as you are describing but my difference is I did have water in the engine compartment. I thought I had found and corrected the water leak three times before actually finding the issue and now that I have corrected it I have no water in the rear state room or engine compartment. I still accumulate a very small amount of water in the front bilge and this is coming from the anchor compartment since my boat sticks out of the boathouse by 6 feet and when it really pours down then I get wet. What I found on my boat was the hot water tank P/T (pressure/temperature) safety valve opens up during the heating cycle. The line from this valve was laying in the rear bilge area as designed by Carver. I replaced this clear tygon line from the valve to my shower sump. I have not had any water in the rear or engine bilge areas for over 9 months now so I am sure I actually found the root cause. I got fooled by the water as sometimes it would be perfectly clear and sometime it had attributes of lake water. I suggest spending the ~$8.00 on tubing and connect to the sump, would not hurt anyhow. Regards, John from Texas (Miss Whit's)