Attn: 41 pc owners
- Thread starter Blown284
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FormulatCT
Member
Do you have water coming in, by design?
On the 45, there are several sources, like cup holders, that by design direct water directly into the bilge.
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On the 45, there are several sources, like cup holders, that by design direct water directly into the bilge.
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GandDFreehold
Member
I think most bilges will acquire some water, over time. Heavy rains, wash downs, etc. I wouldn't think your bilge pump should run regularly though, once in a while, yes. Also, the bilge pump will not remove all of the water, so, having the OCD, that I do, I vacuum out the remaining water, frequently. Usually about 2-2 1/2 gallons sit down there after the pump is done. If you're getting more water than that, or the bilge pump is running regularly I'd check for leaks somewhere, shaft packing, raw water pump, leaking hoses etc.
I spoke to a friend last night who has a 41 PC as well and said the same thing. I always thought it was weird to have *some* water in the bilge at all times but when I looked at the bilge pump setup, it explains all of it. The "low" bilge pump doesn't get any water till it's approx 2-3" so anything less than that just sits there. I'm going to try and figure out a solution for the last 1-2" .... call me anal retentive/OCD... but standing water like that can't be very healthy
I am/was seeing stagnet water in the bilge that neither the low or high bilge pump could get. Probably about an inch worth. I used a vacuum today to get all that water up. I looked all over the place and have no leaks.... prop shafts are fine, rudders are fine, etc. The pump wasn't running but approx once every day or two but it's been enough for me to investigate things further. Now that the bilge is completely empty (is that possible? LOL), I'll keep a closer eye on it and see what comes up and if there's anything else going on. We have been getting quite a bit of rain so perhaps that has contributed to it.
snakestang
New member
I bought a cheap ($12) self priming diaphragm pump on Amazon, built an acrylic box for it and ran tubing from the lowest part of the bilge to the shower sump box. The pump motor is not brushless so I put it in a box to avoid blowing the boat up. Ended up putting it on a cheap timer to run for a few minutes every other day when we weren't on the boat. Worked like a charm! It would suck every last drop of rain, wash water and condensation out of the bilge. Thought about adding a sensor to it so it would know the start and stop but never found the need.
Thanks for that info and after I posted, i started looking on the forum and think I ran into your post with that info. I ordered a diaphram pump and was/am headed down the direction you went --- timer set (or some manual switch?) that I could set and let it do its job once a day or every other day for a few mins....... when you ran it to the shower box, how did you plumb it to exit actually out of the boat? You just pushing it from under the shower and to further back of the boat or actually into the shower box that's under the batteries area where it gets sucked overbaord?
snakestang
New member
I drilled a hole in the top of the shower box and put a barbed connection on it. The box has it's own float switch so when it filled up it ran on it's own and pumped the water overboard. I was in an SS though and my shower sump was located in the bilge. You might be able to tie it into one of the other overboard lines in the bilge fairly easily.
The timer was cheap enough so I went with that and adjusted it to every other day since there wasn't a lot of need for it to run every day. I never once returned to a wet bilge but the first few runs were a little hectic until it cleared the few random pieces of plastic and what not that I couldn't see in the bottom of the bilge. The diaphragm pump doesn't like debris and can't push it through.
Thank you very much!
Before I go much further on my bilge project, I want to see what other 41 PC are experiencing. Being OCD, I decided to vacuum the water out of the bilge in the engine room and in the salon. To my surprise, this resulted in about 15 gallons total (approx 1" across bilges) of water. After 24 hours of no rain, etc... I checked the salon bilge and there's no water in it (yay!) but the engine bilge is back to 1" and I can't understand why. I see no signs of the shafts dripping, the rudder posts don't appear to be dripping or leaking and I see / hear no signs of water entry yet there is approx 1" of water. After discussing this with several people now, I've gotten answers from very expeirenced boaters who have said "This is perfectly normal don't worry about it" and a few who said "You really should look more into this and see where water is coming in from". So my question is... is this 1" of water considered normal for our 41 PC's?
snakestang
New member
I wouldn't consider any water in the bilge outside of rain/wash/condensation normal. You are collecting water from somewhere whether it be loose hose, leaky water tank or something else. 15 gallons is a LOT of water for no rain. If you are in salt, you can test the water for salinity after a thorough cleaning of the bilge. That would at least narrow it down.
Is the 1" the lower limit of the bilge pickup? Is it possible the pump is already pumping water off the boat and you just don't know it?
Is the 1" the lower limit of the bilge pickup? Is it possible the pump is already pumping water off the boat and you just don't know it?
snakestang
New member
It will be interesting to see what others think but to me, there should be no water in the bilge unless it rains, you wash the boat or have a lot of people on/off the boat swimming. It might not be a water intrusion, it might be coming from the interior of the boat itself. You can dye your water and then run everything and see if the dye ends up in the bilge.
Regarding the dye in the water, I have "coolant" in the water tank now to keep it from freezing --- it's how I do it every year. That's both in the cold and hot water heater so if it was water "internally", that water should look/be coolant that goes into the bilge and it's not. The water I'm seeing looks yucky like a grey'ish merky mess.
I went down to the boat today to investigate further. The water in the bilge is yucky and I'm guessing it could be salt water from the bay but it looks yucky. I spoke to another friend with a 50 foot Doral who indicated that he has no leaks and can vacuum all the water up in the engine bilge and the next day have 1". So it's not that I'm challenging you because I"m not. I'm trying to figure out if there is a leak, where it might be coming from. I hear no leaks from anywhere (rudders, shafts are fine) and I see no evidence like the hot water heater or anywhere else where water might be coming in. I've been throughout that back of the boat (I'm a bigger guy so getting back there requires a lot of acrobatics). I'm guessing that I could get someone real small to go deeper in the back of the boat where I can't but I'm not so sure that will yield anything further as I'm not feeling any water on the decks anywhere back there (used rags, used my hand).
Again, the water is approx 1" and not high enough for my low bilge pump to pick it up. After vacuuming all the water out (I had quite a bit in my salon bilge) and stupidly forgot that the front a/c unit dumps out there in that bilge vs. the shower basket.
In looking/reviewing the diagram from Formula, the sink, shower, and main salon a/c all dump/drain into that shower bilge area which has a float and when the float triggers, it pulls the water out and off the boat.
I have a new diaphram pump, 3/8" clear hose and a timer but am hesitant to do anything else until I ensure that I don't have an issue first.
Looking forward to hearing from other 41 PC owners about their bilge.......
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snakestang
New member
I'll call you later. Got tied up yesterday.
You have a leak. Sorry, just being blunt. If the water is salty tasting then you know it's from the Chesapeake. Anyone who says a wet bilge is NORMAL has too much money.
You have a leak. Sorry, just being blunt. If the water is salty tasting then you know it's from the Chesapeake. Anyone who says a wet bilge is NORMAL has too much money.
I agree, no water should be present in the bilge. You have thru-hull fittings for the engines, a/c, generator, etc. that could be seeping and need re-bedded. You may have an anode plate that may be thru-bolted on the transom, too many places where water could be seeping. Sounds like the little guy may be needed. Good luck.
Sorry to be waffling here. I def have a leak somewhere but have been unable to locate it despite my efforts. I'm a bigger guy and some of the places on this boat, I simply cant get my big body into. More specifically, at the back of the boat behind the generator, black tank, etc I can't get to. I've inspected every single hull fitting to see if I can see water intrusion, hear water intrusion and I see none. Which leads me to thinking maybe the leak is coming from the back of the boat. I get it, during rain, washing the boat, etc .... that makes sense and I can work on areas to keep that from getting into the bilge but this water appears to not be that. My bilge pump is working great and goes off approximately once every other day --- I've been trying to monitor that a lot closely.
Any other ideas where to look?
Any other ideas where to look?