water in bilge

Posted By: Gene Halpern - ex Nimble 20 'Morgan Truce'
Date: 4/1/08 3:22p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: bilge pump (shenanigans)

After several years of sailing, I had water in the bilge of my N-20 mysteriously start appearing on occasion. I thought about a bilge pump for a while, but that seemed like a short-sighted fix rather than a cure. So I went about trying to find the source of the water. I'll spare you the details of all the places I looked---and get right to the one place that was the culprit. I thoroughly dried out the bilge with a sponge. I motored along for a while... no water in bilge. Then I dropped the centerboard and motored some more... water appeared in bilge! Hmmm. I then removed the wood trim surrounding the brass pipe cap on the top of the centerboard trunk. I had my wife motor along (with the board down) and I could then see the water coming in at the TOP (!) of the (inner) trunk! It was just down an inch or two from where the brass pipe cap was--on the port side. I had to cut a small hole in the outer layer of liner fiberglass so I could get to the inside trunk where it was leaking. After repairing the leak, I patched over the hole I had made with a small sheet of brass and screws---thinking that I might have to get in there at some future date. The thin brass was just the right thing so that it would not interfere with the filler boards necessary to convert the single to a "double." (I use the term "double" very loosely here...) I never did have to revisit that leak. My bilge continued to remain bone dry after that repair. My theory: the deployed centerboard made enough turbulence to spray water up into the top of the trunk---where it found a weakened spot.