OH NO, Where did all that water come from?

[slocum2]

I finnally put the boat in the water this past week with minor problems. A drip, drip from the stern tube and an impeller that wouldn't pump. I changed the impeller and while I was at it a hose that had seen better days. Everytrhing was tight and the boat sat happy for two days with only the drip, drip from the stern tube.

Yesterday I was taking down to the mooring, a 25 mile trip and all was well, I checked the bilges every few minutes and was about to start relaxing when I looked again and we had water to the floorboards. We had been running on the engine for 30 minutes before this. The boat is a 33 foot Offshore, with a Universal 16.

I stopped the engine, shut the seacock to the engine (all others were closed) passed up the lifejackets and begun to pump. Using two bilge pumps and a hand pump it was cleared in a few minutes.

Here is the mystery:
1- Nothing appears to be leaking in the engine. All hoses are tight, the heat exchanger is not leaking, my new impeller is pumping.
2- All other seacocks are closed and dry
3- I can't find a leak!

We motored back (after my heart settled down) with no problem and no leak.
Where did the water come from???

[labatt]

Did you check your fresh water tanks or hot water heater to see if any hoses broke and you happened to have water in them?

[Tartan34C]

Is the exhaust system OK? If that’s leaking you pump water into the boat while the engine is running. You might also get exhaust fumes inside the boat so be careful about this. Some systems use a water jacket with the water being injected into the exhaust near the hull and others use a mixing elbow to inject water into the exhaust at the manifold.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

[chuckg5]

first thing is to stick your finger in the water an taste it.
fresh or salty?

[morganmike]

Check the bottom of your raw water pump with your finger. You likely have a bad seal, and water is running either out the seal ports or from the gasket seat. I had this problem the first time I rebuilt my pump, and it can be very hard to spot visually if the stream is on the underside of the pump, running along an underside edge of the crankcase, and down a mount to the bilge. It filled my bilge to the floorboards in 30 - 60 minutes of engine operation.

[slocum2]

Thanks for all your input. I ran the boat for a half hour today and no water to be seen. I don't think it came from heater or watertank as they seem tight.

The mystery continues

[werebeagle]

have any Frenchmen been seen in the area?

[bestfriend]

Good one Charlie.
I had a similar problem, and it was hard to find because it was the water heater relief valve. It only happened when both the water pump and the water heater were on at the same time. It nearly emptied one of my tanks.

[SanderO]

Your water tanks leaked?

jef
sv shiva