2014 R31 CB Hurricane Lee...small leak?

[Happy Place]

I'm north of Boston and on a mooring ball. WHile prepping for the storm, my bilge alarm went off for the very first time.

I noticed that one battery was dead from the display on my panel so I ran everything in parallel, started the genset to charge and ran the bilge pumps. The rear did nothing but the forward ran solid for about 4-5 mins.

The seacocks are all closed - I always close them when leaving the boat...and no signs of any dripping.

NOTE: During this spring commissioning, I was unable to change the zinc on the bow thruster...the thread was stripped...I planned to remove the whole unit and repair this fall.

IS IT POSSIBLE....that the lack of that zinc could have cause a pinhole leak in the housing?

Where else can I look for leaks?

OR...might this have been a slow leak from the topsides somewhere....accumulating over the summer....WISH I had checked the bilge outflow for salinity.

I suspect I have a leak somewhere as it drained a 12 V battery running the pump....WHERE ELSE CAN I LOOK FOR LEAKS?

Oh yes and we have a tropical storm on our doorstep...

It's probably too late to get hauled....I'll run the genset for a couple hours to top the batteries....then leave the batteries set on parallel?

Let me know your thoughts....and thanks!

 

[glider4]

You haven’t mentioned clearing the scuppers on a regular basis. If they’re plugged up the water from rain or spray while underway would go into the bilge. If you had a really heavy rains over a period of time with the scuppers plugged up that could definitely drain your battery from excessive bilge pump activations.
If you are leaving your boat unattended on a mooring buoy for days or weeks at a time I suggest you consider beefing up your solar system to 300-500 watts or so. While not a cure all, it couldn’t hurt keeping your batteries topped off during normal always on power consumption.

 

[Happy Place]

Just before reading this, I was in the engine room and noticed that the two outlets from the scuppers were wet.

Can I clean the scupper from inside or do I need a swim?

And btw...I pulled up the bow V berth and there was no moisture there?

 

[Maggie Anne]

I'm not sure about the 31 but on the 27, I have used a pressure washer down one of the drains while holding my hand over the other to keep water from backing up. This only worked on one side since marine growth had closed off the one way flapper valve under the stern. The flapper valve is reachable from my swim step and I used a thin bladed small kitchen knife to wedge the flapper valve open and could move freely and then it drained properly.

 

[Happy Place]

Problem is....the water pumping out is salty...not sure the scupper is to blame though I did clean it out.

Where else can water be coming in???

I ran the genset and charged the batteries up but we have a tropical storm hitting tomorrow...remnants of Hurricane Lee.

IMPORTANT QUESTION.....to be safe, I left the battery switch to run them all in parallel....will that have any negative impacts? It looks to me like I'm getting close to a gallon every hour. I'll visit the boat during the storm tomorrow and I'm hoping the leak doesn't get any worse.

 

[glider4]

I would do everything I could to get that boat on dry land as soon as possible!
Leaving the switch on parallel will probably just drain both your house and engine battery banks trying to keep the bilge pumps running.

 

[Happy Place]

At this point, I have no way to get her pulled. All marinas are closed and the trip to a marina would expose me to the open ocean....which will be impossible tomorrow. With the house bank included, I hope I will be safe through the night and I'll be back onboard first thing in the morning....though perhaps I should spend the night tonight to monitor the situation.

My only thought is that perhaps the main drain plug has backed out.....Its getting dark but I may need to get out there tonight.

 

[Turncoat]

Have you checked your thru hull fittings? One could be leaking where the fitting meets the hull even if yours are closed. Good Luck.

 

[glider4]

Are you ok? Is the boat ok?

 

[Bobby P.]

Hope all is well.

Sometimes the aft bilge pump will foul and not click on because it is all gunked up. Running soapy water in the aft bilge has proven to fix this sometimes. It worked for me two years ago.

Regarding water infiltration, the scuppers do need to be cleaned. You can get debris lodged deep in the tube and not see it from the drain. I took mine apart to clean, but as mentioned I have also cleaned out by pushing water through while having my wife held a rag on the upper scupper drain. Also, I removed the rubber flaps on scupper where it exits the transom and left them off. The flaps can trap debris. That job is better done out of the water, but can be done by jumping overboard or maybe even a long reach.

Minor amounts of salt water can and should be coming in from the adjustable packing gland on the propeller shaft. Best thing to do would be to stair at it for a few minutes and count the drip rate. If this is dripping more than a drip every 30 seconds apart at rest, or 8-10 seconds while underway, then try tightening the the packing gland. If it keeps dripping, the packing needs to be refreshed.

I highly suggest you DO NOT engage you starter batter with the main battery bank as a way to increase amperage for your house. If you do this and all batteries are drained and you have to get the boat off of the mooring and to a marina, you are SOL.

With the seacocks shut, the hull is pretty tight. Windows can leak. How long did you sit in the water without the zinc on the thruster shaft? I believe it would take awhile for the thruster to degrade to a point where it would leak, but it is not impossible. This recently caused a partial sinking to boat around her, but the boat evidently sat for a long time unattended. The zincs are there for a reason, and you should attend to that. However, you say you have no water in the front bilge area? To check the front thruster for a leak, remove your cushions AND the vinyl headback cushions in the v-birth and you should be able to access the thruster. If there is a leak, you will see it.

Last thing. Having good solar is important. Our panel keeps us juiced up enough to anchor and have the refrigerator runner. It also keep the batteries up, in general.

Keep us posted and good luck.

Best,
Bobby