Water Issue

[buoyohbuoy]

I have noticed recently that, when I hose down the boat (2014 R-25SC) after an outing, water makes its way down the walkways of the boat to the cockpit as per normal. The problem is that some water gets into the battery switch compartment and from there down into the battery compartment itself. Not a lot mind you, but enough that I have to get out sponges and paper towels to clean it up as I don't like the idea of having water around all that electrical wiring (duh!). I thought maybe the scuppers were blocked forcing the water back through the deck channels but they were all clear. I had no idea the "self" in self-baling cockpit would be "myself." :lol:
Anyone out there have a similar experience? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[j&lgray]

We had a Ranger 25 for 6 years and current have a Ranger 29. The cockpit scuppers will take care of 90% of the water. On both of our tugs, we experience what you are describing. We removed the screens in the scuppers, they just pop out, and every so often, a hose is run down the scupper to jet out any obstructions. You can test the effectiveness of the drains by dumping a a couple of cups of water down the scrupper while watching the back of the transom where the water exits the boat. There is one through hull on each side.

We also added additional layers of the rubber gasket material to the hatches after an analysis. However, both tugs would spill some water through those hatches in heavy rain and during heavy spray. For us, the cockpit storage areas are not water tight and we adjusted accordingly. After all, its a boat, water leaks are not surprising.

On our Ranger 25, our house batteries shorted out and discharged after getting a lot of water on them. So your concern is justified. Some tug owners have put those vulnerable batteries in boxes with lids. We put plastic lids over the top of the batteries and that worked well.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[NorthernFocus]

I've been wondering about this same thing. Haven't even had the boat out yet but on previous boats with similar hatches they always leaked. And this boat(R25) has more of them than I've ever seen. Has anyone come up with a way to seal them? In my prior experience the only thing that worked was hatch closures that latched/locked down. I'd be interested to hear any type of effective mods that people have installed.

 

[joempo]

On our R-25, there are 6 batteries (two additional house batteries were added by a previous owner). During the survey process, photos of the batteries were taken. When we insured the boat, the insurer required battery boxes be installed. The boxes include lids with cutouts at the corners for the cables; otherwise they completely cover the batteries, which prevents water from entering the boxes and tools, etc, from coming into contact with the terminals.
The only down-side for me is having to remove the inboard batteries in order to access the outboard batteries for maintenance. Although 4 house batteries is probably "overkill" since we don't anticipate anchoring out for an extended period, as Robyn says, "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".
I also applied some self-sticking foam weather strip to the underside edges of the removable step on the port side to prevent water from entering that storage area. I just had to be careful to not block the drainage grooves.
My two cents' worth.
Joe

 

[Levitation]

Joe, can you put up a picture of your battery set. I am having a problem visualizing what you describe when you say inboard/outboard.
Did you also have to install boxes for the factory set?
I added two batteries but I put them in the starboard locker for balance.

 

[buoyohbuoy]

Thanks to John of Andiamo for the tips. I plan to beef up the seal around the battery switch hatch to see if that solves the problem before installing battery boxes. Someone also suggested using something to divert the water flowing down the walkways as it seems to be the volume of water from there that overwhelms the channel on the battery switch hatch.

 

[Kaisardog]

Battery boxes to protect the positive terminal posts from water intrusion and accidental contact with who knows what are a good idea. i once started a spectacular battery fire by dead shorting across my standalone refrigerator battery when my wrench slipped and contacted both positive and negative posts at once. . fortunately i did not burn the boat down, or myself. :roll:

kaisardog, older and wiser by the day