07 240DA taking on water possibly in multiple places.

May 21, 2016
134
Pensacola
Boat Info
240 Sundancer 2007
Engines
5.0 Bravo 3
Check out this link here. It is not showing up in the new posts results so maybe it will get more attention here.
http://clubsearay.com/index.php?thr...-the-bilge-at-rear-of-the-engine.85432/page-2

I have tried to narrow it down. A few weekends ago, I noticed dripping from the rear of the engine and took videos posted in thread above. Not much water but still, need to track it down. This weekend we went out for an overnight stay. I decided to seal the rear bilge from the midship bilge, where the gas tank is, by putting toilet bowl wax in the small crack where the bulkhead that separates the gas tank from the engine bay to form a seal of sorts. The wax ran width wise across the bottom of the engine bay and about 3 inches up the tapered sides. So it made a dam between the engine bay and the gas tank area. Hope that makes sense. Well throughout the day, I would check the engine bay and no water seemed to be pooling in there. Things seemed to be going good until we went to bed. We turned in approx 10:30 and by 11:50 the carpet in the front berth was getting sopping with salt water. So we made a decision to sleep in the back cabin in the middle of the boat thinking that water may be coming in through the front hook eye. Well that did seem to slow the intrusion down. The carpet was only slightly more saturated in the morning than it was only after an hour and a half of us sleeping in the front. So this had me thinking that it is in fact the front eye that is leaking. So I cleaned up the floor and the sump area under the stairs. That is when I noticed water coming in in from the screws that held the stairs to the floor. I thought, how can water be coming in from below the floor when the engine bay does not have very much water in it. It must be pooling up in the gas tank Bilge area in front of the wax damn that I made. I decided to poke a hole through the wax to see if water would come out of the tank area into the engine area. I was kind of surprised when not much water came out from the tank area. I continued to try and mitigate the water intrusion into the cabin as much as I could but water continued to seep up from under the stairs through the screws. When I finally got the boat back to dock and got her on the trailer, I pulled the rear plug while on the ramp so we were on a pretty steep angle. several gallons of water poured out of the back not including about a half gallon of water that I remove myself while at the moored. This is getting very frustrating. No submerged through hulls seem to be leaking. Not sure what to do or how to dry everything out at this point
 
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So now I’m back to not being sure if water is coming in through the front eye. Once the floor was dried up in the front and the only place I saw water was coming from the stair area and not from the front of the boat so unless water that enters from the front eye travels below the floor and then is able to come up through the screws that hold the stairs then it could possible. I just don’t know what is below the flooring and how water is able to travel under the bilge.
 
So, I got to thinking, I installed a swim platform a couple months ago so I decided to pull the bolt out of the bottom support rod to see if there is water getting in there. As you see, there is water behind the pole but it is fresh water and I don't go in fresh water. What a mess. Where might this water be coming from? I did have a full tank of water this weekend and I do spray the engine down with water after flushing it. All other water intrusion has been salt water.
 

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I didn't read this entire thread but I'd suggest you remove that wax. Your boat is intended to drain in a certain way. I think your "dam" idea may do more harm than good.

I struggled for years with leaks from the swim platform supports on a prior boat. I'd start there since you said you've previously added them. Did you bed them correctly when the platform went on? What did you use?
 
I’m not personally familiar with your boat but have you checked the fresh water tank? Makes since it could be leaking because at some point it gets below the potential crack in the tank and the leak subsides.
 
You did not mention weather - was it raining of dry? Did you use any water in the cabin before going to bed (ie: shower, galley sink) that might not have flushed/pumped out? Are you getting any water coming into the storage under the v-berth. Any water intrusion into/below the galley storage? Also you mentioned saltwater - can you be sure? All this will help to identify if external water is leaking in or tank water is not being removed or drained.

Personally if you used water before turning in I would check all the fittings as I have seen sinks, drains, hoses etc crack and leak into cabinets only to seep out over time.

-Kevin
 
Forgot to mention one other thing - if you were using the AC/Heat it could also be pumping sea water in when it kicks on and if a hose is cracked could be seeping salt water into the cabin.

-Kevin
 
I didn't read this entire thread but I'd suggest you remove that wax. Your boat is intended to drain in a certain way. I think your "dam" idea may do more harm than good.

I struggled for years with leaks from the swim platform supports on a prior boat. I'd start there since you said you've previously added them. Did you bed them correctly when the platform went on? What did you use?
I have already removed the wax, it was only there so I try to narrow down where the leaking is coming from. As far as bedding, I drilled undersized holes and used stainless lag screws in the bottom of the supports as you see in the pic. I then used 5200 to seal the area and squeezed some in the holes prior to securing the pole.
 
I’m not personally familiar with your boat but have you checked the fresh water tank? Makes since it could be leaking because at some point it gets below the potential crack in the tank and the leak subsides.
I have not checked the freshwater tank yet but did look into the storage areas up front and even pulled up the carpet in the floor of the front berth where the table mount is....Everything was completely dry. I do want to check the front hook eye but have not pulled all of the trim out just yet.. trying to figure out where to start with that.
 
You did not mention weather - was it raining of dry? Did you use any water in the cabin before going to bed (ie: shower, galley sink) that might not have flushed/pumped out? Are you getting any water coming into the storage under the v-berth. Any water intrusion into/below the galley storage? Also you mentioned saltwater - can you be sure? All this will help to identify if external water is leaking in or tank water is not being removed or drained.

Personally if you used water before turning in I would check all the fittings as I have seen sinks, drains, hoses etc crack and leak into cabinets only to seep out over time.

-Kevin
The weather was kind of windy but real nice. no rain. only things used in the cabin were the toilet and the sink. the sink drained into the sump that then would turn on and discharge out the side of the boat. the toilet picks up water from a through hull fitting that is accessible from the engine bay, I had my wife flush while I watched the fitting with no signs of leaking, I pulled the AC return grill off and am able to follow the toilet water feeding tube, the waste water discharge tube and the AC discharge hoses to where they exit the small area where the AC sits. I can see where the hoses run from the bathroom to the wall where they exit to the engine room. No leaking at all. The AC was only used to cycle the unit on and off for a few minutes during the day, not at night.
No water leaking into the v-berth that I can see without digging into the trim to get down under the seats and storage. No water coming from the galley storage either. This is the same side the fresh water hose travels to get to the back. All water found inside the boat so far has been salt water. The only freshwater I have found was the water that came out of the hole that the swim platform support bolt was removed from.
 
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So if the weather was nice we should be able to eliminate any possible leaks from rain so that leaves intrusion through the engine room (but you mentioned there was not much water in there) and any other pickup that feeds into the cabin.

Since you mentioned your toilet was fed by raw water I would look at the pick, pump and lines to make sure it is not leaking from any of those connections. Also, I am not sure where your AC is located but did you check the AC pump line - you only mentioned the discharge line? Have you also verified the sump pump is not overflowing for any reason like a sticky float or a cracked discharge line?

Check everything from the seacocks to the discharge. Dry the areas real well and use paper towels to check for wet spots while the systems are being used.

-Kevin
 
i went thru a leaking front hookup eye on a 2006 240 sundancer two years ago .

it fills the fwd bulkhead ( where the watertank sits ) and the water finds a way subfloor and soaks the carpet of the entry step area from below . to get access there you have to take the pain and remove the entire v berth construction . when done and you have a visual on the hookeye plate let some people sit on the bow to push the eye under water and see if water drips in to make sure thats your problem . in this case you will also have standing water in the fwd bulkhead . once i sealed this hookeye i never had a wet carpet again .
 
Aerobat. Where did you start removing stuff to get to the eye?
Also, I checked both storage areas up front and both were bone dry, even after the lower step was soaked. Is it possible for the leaking water to bypas the storage areas and still make it to the lower area?
 
you start to remove the many screws of the top plates of the v berthing , there are some hidden screws infront -behind the cushion below the mirror as well behind the carpet port locker in the fridge vicinity . then you unscrew and remove the other plate where the table is stored . further you unscrew and remove the upper brackets where the where the sidecushions are attached to .

theoretically the compartment where the eye is bolted is isolated without any drain but in reality water slowly finds a way subfloor without overflowing the v berth lockers and pushes on the entry step carpet .

it took me two seasons and much pain to locate this because i suspected everything else than water entering this front isolated compartment resulting having a wet carpet on the entry step .

bevore you disassamble your cabin - the port v berth locker holds a carpeted removable plate against the fwd compartment . when you remove this and cut a little bit of the carpet in this locker you can touch by hand the watertank . put a rag or something into the bottom of the watertank compartment to see if its wet there . should the compartment where the watertank sits be bonedry its not the eye.
 
Another question. If it was leaking from the Eye, would the water have to travel across the step area that the table mount is cut into? Or would it travel below that step leaving it dry and only the lower deepest standing area to get wet
 
Never seen a boat with a bow eye below the water line Eye bolt nuts are usually in the anchor locker which is self draining
 
in my case for a longer time without knowing it was the eye the water went below this compartment without wetting it or wetting the lockers - only a wet entry step carpet.

i found out it has to be the eye being on sea during holidays and shocked found out i have huge amounts on SALT water in the very fwd compartment . then i realized it cannot be the watertank leaking or rainwater .

scoflaw : the thru bolted eye on a +2006 240sundancer is that close to the waterline that it is permanently splashed by the bowwave and if you have a full fwd watertank and two adults sleeping in the fwd cabin you push it below waterline , its not in the anchor locker , its in the watertank compartment front cabin - dont ask me who designed such a nonsense .
 
The first pic is the bracket for the from eye. To be honest, It didn't appear that water was coming in through the bolts. I even had my son spray water on the eye for about 5 minutes and I didn't see any water coming in...Hmmmmm

The second pic does show water in the water tank area so it got in there somehow.

Aerobat77, My lockers nor the step that has the table mount have never been wet from this to my knowledge.

Should I go ahead and re-seal this before I button it back up?

The front of the boat is the upper left of the 2nd pic
3t+LDP12QEmEbViWukMs8g.jpg
fullsizeoutput_c4c.jpeg
 
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Could it be water coming in the anchor locker drain? That little SS clamshell is just covering a whole.
 

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