I have a 2010 Sea Ray 520 Sedan Bridge. I have owned the boat for 5+ years. I am constantly getting water in the bilge where the engine sea cocks are located. They were both replaced & we still got water in the area. We also had one of the thru-hulls reset & still we are getting water. Has anyone had this experience or resolved an issue like this? Any input is appreciated.
Water in the bilge
- Thread starter Salt Fix
- Start date
First track down where the water comes from. Salt? Or fresh?
In either case, sometimes you can put down paper towels or baking soda around the perimeters to home in on the source.
Could be a thru-hull, but could also be any one of a number of hoses or fittings leaking. Freshwater system? AC systems? Raw water engine/gear or genset coolant systems? Rub rail connections? Windows? Self-defrost fridge/freezer drains? Et cetera...
-Chris
In either case, sometimes you can put down paper towels or baking soda around the perimeters to home in on the source.
Could be a thru-hull, but could also be any one of a number of hoses or fittings leaking. Freshwater system? AC systems? Raw water engine/gear or genset coolant systems? Rub rail connections? Windows? Self-defrost fridge/freezer drains? Et cetera...
-Chris
I’ve been trying to track down the source with no luck so far - appreciate your thoughts. A friend of mine owned an older 50’ & he tells me he always had water in the same area. I was wondering if this was a common issue with these boats.
Nater Potater
Well-Known Member
- Oct 19, 2020
- 2,646
- Boat Info
- 1992 300DA Sundancer
- Engines
- Twin Merc Alpha I Gen II I/O's with 5.7 V8's
Stuffing boxes? Does closing the sea cocks make a difference? It's just a sometimes slow process of elimination.
Nater Potater
Well-Known Member
- Oct 19, 2020
- 2,646
- Boat Info
- 1992 300DA Sundancer
- Engines
- Twin Merc Alpha I Gen II I/O's with 5.7 V8's
It all depends on how they sit in relation to the waterline. I'm sorry I don't have enough experience with your model to know how they sit.
Pirate Lady
Well-Known Member
Works on more than boats! Sorry, I just had to go there.
In most situations this is not the case, but is the area around the seacock sealed from other areas? Assuming "not", along the lines as mentioned above, the first thing to do is completely dry the area then (I'm not familiar enough with your bilge) surround the area with paper towels taped in place. If the water is coming from somewhere else, even if the towels dry, it will still be evident if they had gotten wet.
Ultimately, you need to narrow down the variables of where it's coming from. Water can leak from just about anywhere but it will eventually find one of the lowest points of the boat to settle which is guess where?
In other words, where you see it accumulating is not always where it came from.
Edit: Forgot the word "not" in my first sentence
Ultimately, you need to narrow down the variables of where it's coming from. Water can leak from just about anywhere but it will eventually find one of the lowest points of the boat to settle which is guess where?
In other words, where you see it accumulating is not always where it came from.Edit: Forgot the word "not" in my first sentence
Nater Potater
Well-Known Member
- Oct 19, 2020
- 2,646
- Boat Info
- 1992 300DA Sundancer
- Engines
- Twin Merc Alpha I Gen II I/O's with 5.7 V8's
Oh, and welcome! As we're fond of saying "Pictures, or it didn't happen". We like pictures.
Baking soda was mentioned, and flour is also a good indicator. Whichever is easier and/or closer at hand, but baking soda has the advantage of being water soluble.
Baking soda was mentioned, and flour is also a good indicator. Whichever is easier and/or closer at hand, but baking soda has the advantage of being water soluble.
Same thing on my boat. Here is what it ended up being.
First the water was migrating to that forward area on the inside of the starboard inner stringer. The water would leak around the limber hole that goes through that stringer at that sump area.
The water was getting into the boat from two locations - the deck to hull joint and a small location where the exhaust goes through the hull in the aft area behind the davit post. It pooled into that location behind the davit post then leaked into the stringer where the stringer was attached to the transom. The glass layup between the stringer and transom was very bad and allowed water to get into that hollow stringer. The largest leak was under the rubrail at the back portion of the boat where that rubrail and hull to deck joint turns down. We took the rubrail off the boat then cleaned out all of the OEM caulking which was very poorly installed then filled that joint with 3M 5200 using long nose syringes. For that leak at the exhaust penetration we ground down the glass on the inside of the hull prep'd the area and laid up five or six layers of new glass. On that area where the stringer attaches to the transom - again ground the area and laid up new glass to completely reinforce and seal the gaps.
So pull the plastic plug for the forward engine mount bolt access and take a look inside of the stringer using a borescope. If it is wet then you know.
First the water was migrating to that forward area on the inside of the starboard inner stringer. The water would leak around the limber hole that goes through that stringer at that sump area.
The water was getting into the boat from two locations - the deck to hull joint and a small location where the exhaust goes through the hull in the aft area behind the davit post. It pooled into that location behind the davit post then leaked into the stringer where the stringer was attached to the transom. The glass layup between the stringer and transom was very bad and allowed water to get into that hollow stringer. The largest leak was under the rubrail at the back portion of the boat where that rubrail and hull to deck joint turns down. We took the rubrail off the boat then cleaned out all of the OEM caulking which was very poorly installed then filled that joint with 3M 5200 using long nose syringes. For that leak at the exhaust penetration we ground down the glass on the inside of the hull prep'd the area and laid up five or six layers of new glass. On that area where the stringer attaches to the transom - again ground the area and laid up new glass to completely reinforce and seal the gaps.
So pull the plastic plug for the forward engine mount bolt access and take a look inside of the stringer using a borescope. If it is wet then you know.
