My boat has trapped water and no bilge

steel · #1 05-01-2012

I have a light weight 1700 pound Santana 21' with an iron flip down keel. I've been doing some cleaning and fixing up but now I have this problem of trapped water.

Normally there is a bilge where any water that gets in the boat will end up in the bilge and can be easily pumped out. Well this boat doesn't have that. In fact it has three separate compartments which are mostly sealed from each other. There is the compartment in the stern under the cockpit with a wooden bulkhead just before the companionway. Then there's the middle of the boat inside. Then the third compartment is the side seats, V birth and this annoying platform under the companionway which are all connected together, and there's water in there.

It's the red chipped painted platform that is under the companionway that is causing all the trouble. It is full of water and I don't know how to get the water out. That means there is constantly water up against the wooden bulkhead which can't be good. It is connected to the side compartments with gaps near the bulkhead. If the boat is tipped forward some of that water will run all the way forward, but there will still be water trapped under there that didn't make it out the sides. It's doesn't seem to do anything. Although it makes it flat, it just takes up room under the companionway. Can I just cut the whole thing out? I could make my own platform out of wood that would fit under there nicely.

I'm attaching some pictures of these things to the forum. You can also go to Index of /images/santana and click on bilge0 through 3 to see the pictures.

Picture 2 (bilge2.jpg, I started with picture 0) is looking aft on starboard at the place where the water comes out of that red platform. Picture 3 is looking in the compartment under the cockpit looking forward at the wooden bulkhead which needs and has water trapped under that platform at the other side.

CarbonSink62 · #2 05-02-2012

Looks like the red platform is just a companionway step. It also seems to be glassed in pretty securely and might add some support to the hull. I wouldn't remove it unless you're sure it is just a step.

Couldn't you just drill some holes in the bulkheads of these compartments? Seems like some 5/8" or 3/4" holes drilled very low (and very carefully!) every six or eight inches would allow all the water to drain to a central location. Once everything is dry, you'll want to paint the inside of the holes with epoxy to keep water out of the wood that makes up the bulkheads.

Only software programmers start numbering things with zero. Believe me; I know.

IslanderGuy · #3 05-02-2012

I don't have any info on the Santana specifically, but from the pics my guess would be that there was originally a removable floor piece forward of the red platform to make the whole floor flat. I would also guess then that if the boat is level, this area would be the bilge, where the water would want to go if it has a path to get there.

If those are true, then there likely should have been a small whole to let water run through the platform into the (currently open) bilge area. If that all appears to be true when looking at the boat, I'd just drill a whole in the base of the platform, right near the hull to let the water run to the main bilge area where you can easily get it out. Then I might also make up a top for it, so things aren't falling into the water if there's any in there before you clean it out.

Just guesses though...

captflood · #4 05-02-2012

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS : Whoa stop think and sort. Stop treating the symptoms and treat the couse is the hatch door letting in the water. find where the water is comming from and stop the the ingress or drip. looks like you have some delamination taking place near those water loggedge wireing . that can getthe wireing suspended out of harms way? Remembert what keep the water out will keep the water in. you can use capillory action to empty a compartment or syphoning. AS ALWAYS GO SAFE

deniseO30 · #5 05-02-2012

Steel I'm getting a virus alert on your photo link. it doesn't mean you have one there. it was just a warning on my system.

Nice boats Santana, 3 of them in my YC. fast little boats too!

Minnewaska · #6 05-02-2012

One hole at the very bottom of each bulkhead should allow the water to drain to the low spot, which needs a pump. Water always seeks the path of least resistance, so one small hole will do.

Good advice on identifying the ingress too.

steel · #7 05-02-2012

Thanks for the advice and the suggestions for making holes

There is a tiny hole at the end of that red platform but it's like 2 inches above the hull. So kind of pointless.

@Captain Flood
Some delamination? Yeah there are bits and pieces of wood here and there that haven't completely fallen off and rotted away yet. Actually much of the wood is still there but it's is mostly delaminated and ruined everywhere. That's why there is the plywood added on top. That was from the previous owner. I've only had this boat a year. The wiring is just a pile of disconnected wires running to where the switch box is. Nothing is left connected to power. I just hook the wires up to the battery when I need to turn some lights on.

How do you know the hatch is leaking? I think the hatch is the only thing that is good. Just about every deck fitting is leaking and the companionway door probably lets in water too. I fixed the forward deck fittings when installing the restored the V birth cushions but there are lots more to go. I think water has gotten in between the deck and whatever the bottom side of it is made of. I don't think it has a wood cored deck ... The good news is that the fiberglass is holding up well.

@deniseO30
My my anti virus software prevented me from viewing a directory listing of pictures I would stop using it. They probably marked all of ignorelist.com as a site that has malicious content because there probably are some sites on there that do. Yeah this Santana is a fast boat. It has a Johnson 6 outboard on it and I can go quite fast and use like 1/2 or 1/4 of gallon gas in an hour.

@everyone
The previous owner must not have managed water on the boat well at all. The bilge pump is in the aft cockpit compartment which of course is not the lowest place on the boat. That wooden bulkhead had this like spray on foam stuff all around the bottom sealing it. Was the cockpit drain leaking and he sealed off the bulkhead and put in a bilge pump to solve that problem? I fixed the leaking cockpit drain with silicone.

So yes some holes for drainage and then putting the bilge pump in the proper location will help. If water gets in the side compartments I'll have to get it out with a sponge. If there gets to be 2 inches of water in the bilge then it'll probably make its way in to the side compartments. I guess this boat just wasn't made to deal with any water inside. That's why I wanted to remove the whole red platform so I could seal off those gaps that let water through in to the sides. The red thing is probably completely delaminated. It's hardly strong enough to stand on. Maybe I could just cut a big square out of the top of it, then cover it with plywood when I don't need to get under it. I just need to fix all the leaks and get a wet/dry shop vac for the boat. That would be nice to clean out all the shards of wood that have rotted and delaminated too.

mitiempo · #8 05-02-2012

steel

I have a path to the proper solution. Click on this link SailNet Community - View Profile: WDS123
and send a private message to him about your problem.

The S stands for Schock - builder of the Santana's. He knows the design and construction of your boat better than anybody.

If the thread had Santana in its title he would probably already have posted.

steel · #9 05-03-2012

mitiempo, WDS123 replied to my PM and said:

Quote:

First - stop the water from entering the boat. You wrote that all your deck fittings are leaking. That is very serious and should be addressed before drilling any additional limber holes in the structure. The Santana is designed w/o a sump and with seperate compartments deliberately to provide (semi) water tight bulkheads. It also makes leak identification easier.

I know I need to fix the deck fittings. I'm doing it little by little. I think this boat has been stored outside for many years with the current deck fitting situation which is why I was able to afford it.

Now that the water is already there I seriously don't know how to get it out. Maybe I could tip the boat back on the trailer and get the hose from the shop vac under there and try to suck it out?

Is my Santana able to stay floating if any one of the three compartments is flooded? That would be neat. If so I guess I should avoid connecting the center compartment with the side compartments. Better yet, I could isolate the port and starboard compartments and then I would have 4 water tight compartments.

WDS123 · #10 05-08-2012

shop vac is time tested method - would not rec'd tipping boat on trailer.