Tournament 223 - Where is that bilge water coming from

[slatedog]

I have a 2002 Tournament 223 that is manually covered and on the lift when I am not at the cottage. I am down at least every two weeks and usually once a week. The cover does OK but often I find after heavy rain it will pool a decent amount of water in the cockpit area as most of my tricks to avoid it don't work well in big rains. Problem is I am finding water in my aft bilge. In fact when I step on the boat off the pier while still elevated on the lift (and change its angle slightly) the auto bilge will fire and pump some water. Where might it be getting in? I am often in the motor well hatch to turn the washdown seacock on/off so it is not sealed with caulk. Could that be it or another deck hatch? Seems like there is always enough water in the bilge to pump when I manually activate when I arrive each week (or two). Does this have something to do with the pooling of water on the canvas in cockpit when I am not there? After I have her pumped out and am underway she is dry with no issues. Thanks for any ideas ?

 

[Tashmoo]

I had the same issue on my Pursuit 21' DC for the entire 13 years that I had it. It was a small amount, around a couple of gallons a week. The water as best I could figure was coming in through multiple small locations when I washed down the boat or in heavy rain. Locations such as the under gunwale rod holders, the anchor locker an aft hatch that did not have a seal and so on. I just keep a close watch on the amount (which was constant) and pumped it down every time I left the harbor as the boat went up onto plan and ultimately just lived with it. If you find that it is getting more pronounced then I would suggest a complete examination of every through hull fitting, deck seal, drink holder.....

I even went so far as to flood the bilge while the boat was dry and on the trailer to see if any of the through hull fittings were leaking. Nothing.

 

[BobP]

How about via the anchor locker opening ?