Bilge water in new boat

[Jack236]

Hi all. I just joined this forum, first post.
Took delivery of my brand new Fisherman 236 a few months ago, awesome machine . . .
I've read lots of posts about bilge water, accumulation midship, etc., but most have to do with something breaking, so I'll use new thread.

I was told by my salesman, and the guy that gave us a GW factory tour, that there should be NO water in the bilge unless something is wrong, except perhaps some water brought in by the anchor rode. You can see that this is by design, deck level drains, cooler drains, even cup holder drains get routed overboard.
However, I accumulated gallons of bilge water after heavy rains. After much probing, I found a sloppy caulking job around the round Beckson access ports. Removed them all and re-caulked. Still got some water when testing with a garden hose but not as bad.
The underside of the deck plates say "lubricate or replace regularly," so I used vasaline to lube the gaskets, then read on Beckon's web site
"don't ever lube the gasket!" Well, I had removed and put back these plates many times during the testing, so I ordered new gaskets (O-rings) and replaced them all. Could not test with garden hose, but still have some water after a rain and anchor never used.

I would like to hear from anyone with a relatively new GW their experience with rain water. (Don't know if the older boats have this feature).
As I inspect the boat, it seems like the only places rain "should" get in would be around the bow seatback posts, that swivel and don't appear to have any seal, and some could run down the anchor chain through the windlass, but these seem they would be minor. Any other sources? Anyone have a near-dry new GW? GW went to lot of engineering effort to keep water out.
(I know its under warranty, but don't think the dealer would go to this effort to fix and test, and don't want to have to bring it back multiple times.)

Would love comment and to hear any real world experiences.

 

[georgemjr]

I have never owned a Grady (5 of them now) or heard of a Grady that didn't accumulate water in the bilge (midship). I know they shouldn't but they all seem to.

 

[reelserious]

I have owned my Sailfish for 19 years. It has always had water in the mid-ship bilge. I spent a lot of time during my first season trying to get to the bottom of where it was coming from. After determining it was fresh water and sponging up what the pump didn't get, I added food coloring to my water tank to see if I had a leak somewhere in the system, The next day I had water in the bilge again and it did not have any color. Based on this, I just assumed it must just be condensation which accumulates on the inside of the hull and settles into that dip up near the bow. Right or wrong, I gave up worrying about it and just enjoyed the boat.

 

[Fishtales]

To be honest, I've never had any boat that didn't have some small amount of water in the bilge. I expect some as I wash the rode down after using and I often wash the sole of the cabin (drains into bilge). The sole of the head goes into the sump which has it's own pump. It has water from washing out the head and even though it is evacuated, the float has to trip. Also when it turns off, some water runs back into the sump. I guess I could put a check valve on it if I wanted to. I assume the two other bilge pumps don't fully evacuate the water either. So once you get water in, you don't get it all out.

As for gallons. GW uses their hulls on many different styles of boats. In some cases 4 different layouts. I'm sure water in the bilge settles in different areas - some may not be where the pumps are.
There are tubes that connect the sections together so water moves around (underway, on the drift or at the slip or mooring).

So what can you do?
- Figure out the lowest spots in your hull and epoxy in a pump. Where the pumps are by design there are platforms for these so you can screw them down. Probably not so in other spots. It is a PIA to run the wiring, evacuation hose, add a thru hull, epoxy it down etc.
- Add a small resistive moisture controller (WM sells them), lightbulb or something like dampx to address moisture and mold. I found the amount of water far less with this.
- As stated live with it.
- Obsess over it and sponge it out every time.

 

[SkunkBoat]

My grady is actually pretty dry compared to my old boats. I get some water from hosing down with a hard spray....it gets in anchor locker, retractable cleats, deck plates (but I have recently replaced a lot of them and sealed them good), the hatches in the stern with the cracked plastic tubs...lots of water if I spray too hard there.

Check the seal around the deck drains, my old boat dripped there.

 

[Jonah]

I'm impressed by the effort that you say GW is putting into preventing water in the bilge. Even cup holders now drain overboard? (I've never owned anything newer than a '96.)

After reading many similar threads on this forum, I have given up on worrying about small amounts of water in my bilge, especially since mine is over 20 years old. However, if I had just bought a brand new GW, and if two representatives had told me it shouldn't have water in the bilge, I'd have them come out to address the issue—even if only to make them admit that it's common for GWs to accumulate water there!

 

[SkunkBoat]

A lot of modern boats with lots of foam floatation have all the rod holders, cupholders, etc plumbed to the deck

 

[seasick]

Hi all. I just joined this forum, first post.
Took delivery of my brand new Fisherman 236 a few months ago, awesome machine . . .
I've read lots of posts about bilge water, accumulation midship, etc., but most have to do with something breaking, so I'll use new thread.

I was told by my salesman, and the guy that gave us a GW factory tour, that there should be NO water in the bilge unless something is wrong, except perhaps some water brought in by the anchor rode. You can see that this is by design, deck level drains, cooler drains, even cup holder drains get routed overboard.
However, I accumulated gallons of bilge water after heavy rains. After much probing, I found a sloppy caulking job around the round Beckson access ports. Removed them all and re-caulked. Still got some water when testing with a garden hose but not as bad.
The underside of the deck plates say "lubricate or replace regularly," so I used vasaline to lube the gaskets, then read on Beckon's web site
"don't ever lube the gasket!" Well, I had removed and put back these plates many times during the testing, so I ordered new gaskets (O-rings) and replaced them all. Could not test with garden hose, but still have some water after a rain and anchor never used.

I would like to hear from anyone with a relatively new GW their experience with rain water. (Don't know if the older boats have this feature).
As I inspect the boat, it seems like the only places rain "should" get in would be around the bow seatback posts, that swivel and don't appear to have any seal, and some could run down the anchor chain through the windlass, but these seem they would be minor. Any other sources? Anyone have a near-dry new GW? GW went to lot of engineering effort to keep water out.
(I know its under warranty, but don't think the dealer would go to this effort to fix and test, and don't want to have to bring it back multiple times.)

Would love comment and to hear any real world experiences.

View attachment 5928

Did you find 'gallons' in the aft bilge or the mid bilge? Do you know if any bilge pumps ran? A few gallons in the aft bilge should trigger the pump. The reason I mention this is because if the pump did run at all, you had more than a few gallons.
The situation does not sound normal to me. I would have the dealer take a look and also speak to Grady for advice.

A few gallons in the mid bilge could be normal or not. I am concerned that something else other than deck plates may be leaking. Make sure that water accumulates only after rain and not while just sitting. If so, I would also try to take a good look at the aft scupper plumbing.

 

[HMBJack]

Pints or even quarts of water in your bilge is quite normal. Gallons are not.
One hint - is you're getting water after heavy rains. So use that knowledge to your advantage.

Of course you can't fix a leak until you know where it's coming from.

I recommend placing sections of newspaper down in various places in your bilge.
Then, with your garden hose, spray your boat everywhere you can.

You should get a good idea of WHERE the main leak is coming from.
Could be more than one area. I'm thinking the anchor rode locker or perhaps a hatch cover or deck seam that wasn't properly bedded at the factory.

 

[Gman67]

I have a fisherman purchased new in 2015, my aft bilge is always bone dry, even after heavy rain. The deck plates sit flat and the gaskets are tight however I have never checked the front of the boat.

 

[seasick]

I have a fisherman purchased new in 2015, my aft bilge is always bone dry, even after heavy rain. The deck plates sit flat and the gaskets are tight however I have never checked the front of the boat.

The aft bilge should be bone dry but the forward bilge if you have one or area in front of the tank may not be so dry. Water pools there and unless the hull is tilted pretty far back, it may not run into the aft area.
If I may ask: What is the length and do you have a windlass?

 

[Fishtales]

I think some comes in from the rode if you have a windlass. The inspection plates are another culprit for sure. I had the freshwater pump cycling a few years back. Found a small leak on the supply line to the faucet in the galley. Older boats have some of the cup holders drain into the bilge. Windows can leak as well. On a new boat, I wouldn't expect to see any of these items other than the rode from the sea or fresh if you wash the rode in the locker. The soles drain into the bilge so if you rinse out the cabin you will put water in the bilge as well.

 

[Performance42]

I think some comes in from the rode if you have a windlass. The inspection plates are another culprit for sure. I had the freshwater pump cycling a few years back. Found a small leak on the supply line to the faucet in the galley. Older boats have some of the cup holders drain into the bilge. Windows can leak as well. On a new boat, I wouldn't expect to see any of these items other than the rode from the sea or fresh if you wash the rode in the locker. The soles drain into the bilge so if you rinse out the cabin you will put water in the bilge as well.

Buy a few Ultra switches run to two Rules, and forget about it.

 

[grady33]

I have a 2006 330 Express and water accumulates midship after heavy rain. Keep one of those bucket vacs on boat and have sucked 10+ gallons out before but usually just 5 gallons. Before getting to dock, I will manually run both bilges and it keeps water minimal. Most of the time, the bilge is dry.

My 2000 272 Sailfish was the same. Water was always midship.

 

[jasgator5220]

It's funny some say it should be bone dry, others say they always have a little water . . . most likely depends on the model of boat. I have a 2004 257 and it'll always have a little water in the bilge. Heck where you mount the pump is on a slightly raised section in the center of the bilge, thus even if your bilge pump had the ability to suck out every ounce of water it still couldn't get the water in the slightly lower areas of the bilge.

 

[drbatts]

In both my Gradys I have always had a small amount of water in the mid bilge. Never anything significant, but always a little. The 265 was worse then the 305, which I attribute to the pop up cleats and the transom compartment lids. Which I don't have on the 305. I did also end up having to reseal all the inspection plates on the 265 because they all leaked a little too.