water in the bilge

[marc cugnon]

I own a islander 270 and not matter what i am trying to do, I cannot eliminate completely the water that seems to accumulate in the front bilge.
I checked for leaks etc..I had people standing at the bow to drain the water forward but a day later, water is back. Where does it come from? javascript:emoticon('')

 

[megabytes]

Some possibilties:

o windlass (caulk and anchor drain)
o stanchions
o deck hardware
o leak in freshwater lines
o cup holders

 

[Fishtales]

Could be the anchor rode if you use and store in the bow.
Try to determine if fresh, salt or a mix of water. You may be able to eliminate some of the possibilities.

Good luck and remember, water in the bilge is a feature!!

 

[Grog]

How much water are we talking about?

 

[SOJOURN]

Water In Bilge

232 Gulfstream - Water in forward bilge
30 Marlin - Water in forward bilge.
The best I can tell is that it is fresh water.

Neither boat had or has water in the stern bilge.

Both boats have windless and I have never, nor has the dealer, been able to track the problem down.

Good luck

 

[Gman25]

I get water in my foward bilge too. Not too often in the aft

2005 300 Marlin w/F250's

 

[BobP]

Gman25, does your A/C evaporator condensate drain into the forward bilge ?

Brain gave me the idea from his Islander A/C retrofit.

 

[journeyman]

water in the forward bilge may be from a source in the aft area. Both bilges are likely connected either directly or indirectly. If your boat sits in the water like mine, water will naturally collect in the forward bilge and while underway in a bow up position run to the aft bilge. If I remember, I'll sometimes manually run the aft pump while the bow is up but you can never evacuate all the water. Two big sources of water are the aft seat cup holders and transom rod holders which both drain directly into the aft bilge area.

 

[Gman25]

Gman25, does your A/C evaporator condensate drain into the forward bilge ?

Brain gave me the idea from his Islander A/C retrofit.

My A/C drains in the shower sump pump box. There are times when there is quite a bit of water up there and im pretty sure its rain and hose water because there are times when its bone dry

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2005 300 Marlin w/F250's

 

[ocnslr]

Gman25, does your A/C evaporator condensate drain into the forward bilge ?

Brain gave me the idea from his Islander A/C retrofit.

My A/C drains in the shower sump pump box. There are times when there is quite a bit of water up there and im pretty sure its rain and hose water because there are times when its bone dry

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2005 300 Marlin w/F250's

My A/C condensate pan drains in to the shower sump. I installed it that way..

And yes, there is usually some water in my forward bilge. It is fresh, and comes from rain into all the places mentioned already above.

 

[anothertoy]

I have a Sailfish with the same problem. I have found 2 sources so far;
- a minor freshwater hose leak (I put food color into tank and then checked color of bilge water to figure this one) and the raw water washdown hardware (surprising amount was leaking in here) but my bilge still fills up. I notice that the hardtop supports leak quite a bit into the fish boxes and if the other supports leak similar amounts this may be a source. The windlass is a very minor source as I covered it with plastic and still ended up with water in the bilge. Grady told me to check the cabin windows but they don't seem to leak so I am also still looking for ideas. In my boat the forward bilge pump also seems too far forward as there is a substantial amount of water left after it shuts down.

Good luck as I'm almost to the point where I'm just going to live with it.

 

[Renovator]

I recently purchased an '05 Sailfish and have also noticed the front bilge discharging a bit more water than I would expect from time to time and I believe my water is coming from the livewell getting full and sloshing in between the livewell liner and deck. The inner top of my livewell is not completely sealed around the edge and when it gets full or a fish partially blocks the overflow I think it is running down into the forward bilge. A good bead of silicone should fix this I hope.