water in the bow foot well in the vberth

[Kevin White]

I have water in the foot well area of the bow/v-berth. There are two small drain openings that seem to be the source. Has anyone had this happen to them? Why would there be water in that area of the interior of the boat? I had to pull up the teak flooring/decking. It was saturated and came up fairly easily and I'm hoping it's not ruined. I have it slow drying now. Thanks, Kevin

 

[knotflying]

Have you checked your rear bilge? Usually if the water gets that high at the bow you would have a flooded engine compartment. Has your bilge pump been running excessively. Is it working? If all seems good at the engine I would suspect either water coming in from the bow thruster seal or a leaking domestic water tank and clogged weep holes to the rear, which should be letting water travel back to the stern area. Remove your cushion at the bow and access the thruster area and see what is going on. If there is np water in the bilge it may be surface water not draining through the floor weeps. Do you have air conditioning with the condenser coil at the bow? If so maybe the condensate drain is plugged and the water is running on the floor. You have a bit of investigative work to do before definitive responses can help.

 

[ethanbarnett]

We had a similar problem which was caused by the AC condensation. First I tasted the water to confirm not salty. Yeah. It was a miserably hot night and we ran the AC all night. The line into the sump had a dip in it so I shortened it up so water could more easily flow. Worked beautifully.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

You did not say it you were in the water. I have had this happen twice, but only on the trailer. Discovered the aft bilge pump was fouled, and accumulated enough water in the bilge that when I parked in the driveway, which is sloped so the bow is down, the water ran forward and came out of the weep holes into the cabin well. If the bilge pumps are working correctly, this probably can't happen. I put a longer lift range tongue jack on my trailer also to compensate for the driveway slope.

 

[Kevin White]

Thank you for your ideas. At this point it could be any of the above. I have been dealing with water in the bilge because I have replaced all of the exhaust hose from the engine to the port exhaust outlet. The packing nut was dripping to much and now I have adjusted it an it is no longer leaking. It is on a trailer in my driveway. I'll check for level and maybe blow out the weep holes. I found the weep holes in the bow. Are there other weep holes I should check? Do they all exit into the engine compartment? I'll do some investigative work and see what I come up with. It does puzzle me that there would be a direct route for water to travel from the engine compartment to the inner cabin. But, I am not a boat designer so I'm sure there is a logical explanation. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the thin layer of water in time and the laminated floor piece is possibly compromised. It is slowly drying now and I am hoping it doesn't warp and pop the lamination pieces. Thank you again for your suggestions and input.
Kevin

 

[scross]

Hi Kevin!
What hasn’t been mentioned yet is a leaking hose from the anchor locker. These hoses can occasionally come loose or even fall off after the vibration of trailering. There’s a panel at the very front of the v-berth that can be removed to check that hose. The hose vents out the forward port side of the hull.
In storage, you always want to ensure you have the trailer set with the tongue higher than the tail end. This promotes better overall drainage from winter rains.

 

[Kevin White]

I really hope it's a easy fix. The scenario that I fear the most is a leaking fresh water tank. I'm not sure if or how you can get it out if there's a problem. I did fill the tank last week but I'm not sure I filled it all the way. As I was filling it, the vent was gurgling. Since I was by myself, I was praying that I wasn't filling the inside of the boat. Luckily, the inside was dry. Since then, I have had the boat out twice and it was after parking it down the side way, I noticed the water. I still haven't inspected as I have been tied up. But, hopefully, this evening.

 

[Scottfree]

If you have a compass outside it may be leaking. Mine did on our R29 Classic also causing a puddle in the v berth. It was easy to find once it ruined the TV. I also had a leak where the handrail goes through the deck. Water ran down the monkey fir. Once it turned the fur yellow it too was easy to find.

Leon