Water in R23 shower bilge

[jagizzi]

I am wondering how water could have gotten into the Bilge with the shower sump in it? We have never used the shower and I am sure that no water went from the sink faucet into the sump.

I opened the compartment as the sonar was making a noise and there was 2 inches of water in the bottom, outside of the shower sump, which has broken loose from the bottom by the way. It is simply cemented in place and the bond did not hold together. I consider this minor as we will probably not use the shower.

The water was fresh water which means it is most likely rain water in my opinion. The anchor locker seems to have no penetrations that would allow for water intrusion.

I am looking for ideas from anyone. There is no wet spot in the berth compartment that I can see or feel, I am at a loss but the amount of water is concerning given that we have only had the one rain event so far this year.

 

[baz]

I would drain out all that fresh water to begin with and start monitoring it periodically.

Is you boat in the water all the time or on a trailer ? If on a trailer is the cockpit covered up in same way ?

If I were faced with this I would first drain the 2" of water using a SKWOOSH Bilge Sponge https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NFVZA0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and then spray hose water over the bow and cabin quite aggressively to see if any water goes to the bilge section in question here.

2" of water is quite a bit of water. If the boat is in the salt water then given the bilge water is fresh water it has to be rain or as a result of a wash down.

Is your fresh water tank empty ? If not then pump it dry before starting the above to eliminate that as being the source for fresh water getting to the bilge.

With 2" of water does this mean the bilge pump in that area simply does not operate until there's more than 2" deep ?

I have the 2018 R-27/OB and I was concerned about fresh water collecting in the aft section where the raw water is drawn in for the raw water wash down and toilet. It was maybe 1" deep at the aft bilge pump and insufficient to activate the pump. The other day I drained all the water out using the SKWOOSH Bilge Sponge I have that soaks up 32 oz at a time until the aft bilge was completely dry. We've had no rain for several days now and my boat is in a covered slip but its bow sticks out and will be exposed to rain. The forecast is for rain this weekend so I will be interested to see if fresh water appears in the aft bilge area. I can also simulate rain by spraying hose water all over the bow and that will be another test.

This aft fresh water issue was brought to RT's attention when it was hauled back to the Kent factory to have a few things fixed/repaired. They did a very thorough wash down test as well as pressurizing the fresh water plumbing and found no cause for fresh water getting into the aft bilge.

My guess at this time is that when I spray aggressively into the cockpit to cleanup the decking that the scuppers cannot deal with all the water fast enough and that some spills over and into the aft bilge.

It's not a big issue, but whenever I see water in the bilge I have to wonder how it gets there and under what conditions.

With having an outboard motor there's no reason for water to get into the bilges other than from rain or wash down activities to find places to to drain into the bilge areas.

I expect and want my bilges to be dry for the most part.

 

[oneeyedjackass]

shower sump, which has broken loose from the bottom by the way. It is simply cemented in place and the bond did not hold together

We had the same problem with shower sump coming loose. No water in there though

 

[jagizzi]

Well, the water is not related to the shower. I dried it this afternoon and was going through some other tasks and lo a behold there is water in there again! I had the shower sump pulled out of the bilge to let things dry so it is clearly not from the shower drain.

This is a bit worrisome as this part of the bilges does not connect to the main bilge, there is no drain for this section. Water will simply continue to build up until...

I followed the trail of water to the starboard side wall and that is far as I can see so far. Next step is a mirror on a stick to investigate further.

The worst part is that there is almost no rain today, just a fine mist, and I am getting water inside. When we start to really get rain and the boat is back in the water it will be worrisome.

Onward for now.

Jim

 

[baz]

It seems your boat is on the hard and not in the water.

So, drain out all the water in the bilge and cover the boat with a tarp. If after a rain shower there's no water in bilge then this is your baseline data.

Now remove the tarp and either wait for rain or wash the boat down aggressively or not with hose water as if it's raining. Now check the bilge for water. If water found then you've established the cause and now the task is to figure out exactly how the water is getting in. Start by spraying hose water at different locations on the boat's decking.

One possibility is the hole in the cabin roof where the TV antenna and/or radar cables pass through maybe not be properly sealed. Also the port & starboard nav lights have wires that have to pass into the inside of the cabin, so check these areas as well. There's also wires leading from the cabin's roof mounter horns to the inside of the cabin.

Check the gunnel located cleats and/or chocks to check their sealing as well.

 

[jagizzi]

Yes, boat is on the hard for now. I'll have to open my thinking up a bit more to include cabin top items.

I sprayed the deck cleat, railing and window on that side and no leak. If the mirror reveals no further details I think that I will give up and hand over to Ranger for some help.

This might be tough but really, with the outboard, we should be able to keep the bilges dry, or at least mostly.

 

[baz]

FYI...
For my new 2018 R-27/OB which is kind of similar to the R-23 I have made the aft and forward bilges completely dry. My boat is in a covered slip with about 2 to 3 feet of the bow exposed to rain fall. So far both bilges have remained dry.