Salt water in the bilge
Printed From: myHanse.com
Category: Hints & Tips
Forum Name: 341 / 342
Forum Description: 341 / 342 Hints and Tims
URL: https://www.myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9877
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 01:44
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Topic: Salt water in the bilge
Posted By: Madera
Subject: Salt water in the bilge
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 15:33
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Hi people, I'm new to this forum and hope to find some help with my problem. I own a Hanse 342 of approx. 9 years old. We are the first owner. Last year the the rudder bearing was replaced. Since then we have salt water in our bilge. This can vary from 10 liter up to 100 liter in a week. We have checked all the potential causes but we are unable to find the source. The seacocks are all dry and don't show any trail of water ingress. Also the keel bolds are dry. The water seems to come from the back of the boat. For your information we have a sail drive. The engine area is completely dry as well as the sail drive. We thought to have found the problem with a small whole in the exhaust pipe of the engine but having that replaced the problem still exists. Strangely enough it seems somehow to stop entering. other wise would the water activate the automatic bilge pump which it doesn't or even worse sink the boat. Does any of you people recognize this problem? Do you have any suggestions that might help us to identify the issue and locate the leak? We are getting quit desperate after eliminating all potential causes and not being able to locate the problem. To give you an idea the beginning of this season we launched the boat again in the water, after the winter, letting us be towed to the jetty, not starting the engine, to see if the engine could be the cause. Guess what again water in the bilge. After being complete dry on shore outside with no cover. Thanks in advance for your feedback and hopefully suggestions. ------------- Hanse342 |
Replies:
Posted By: H8jer
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 18:32
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Are you sure it is salt Water? Sounds Strange. ------------- Hanse 370#487 30HP 3-cabin |
Posted By: Rock
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 20:34
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The pipe in Which the bottom bearing sits comes to mind, especially as you mentioned bearing replacement. If they used too much force taking the old bearing out, perhaps it caused a crack. Do you have a gator? Peter. ------------- Hanse 400e "M-square2" #0241 |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 21:46
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Thanks for your reply. Yes I'm 100% positive it's salt water. ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 21:49
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Rock, do you have experience with these kind of leakage? I have puzzled my mind to understand the link between the bearing replacement and the leak since that was the only change. Since the water is not coming from the inner shall is it possible you think that between the outer shell and the inner shell water ingresses and ends in the lower part of the bilge, mid ship? ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 02 October 2016 at 21:51
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What do you mean if I have a gator? ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: robh
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 01:33
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What Peter/Rock is referring to when he asks about a gator is the large rubber seal that fits over the bottom tube where the bottom bearing is located and up around the top internal part of the rudder stock. This is called a gator and is sealed by hose clips around the bottom and around the rudder stock sealing the bottom bearing against any sea water coming in. If this is in place it could have a split in it, so worth checking. ------------- Cheers, Rob "Blue Horizon" Hanse 341#113 Portsmouth Harbour UK |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 08:33
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Thanks for that. The inner part of that section is completely dry. No water ingress visible on the inner side. The pipe, hoisting the rudder stock with the gator is laminated on the inner shell which is not showing water. Area is completely dry. Is it possible that by replacing the bearing a small crack was made on the outside in the recess where the bearing is fixed causing the water ingresses between the outer shell and the inner shell and gets in to the bilge? Somehow there must be a relation between the replacing of the bearing and the starting of the leakage. Appreciate your thinking. Thanks for helping to allocate the problem. ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: echoofwight
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 09:41
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I would be surprised if it was the rudder bearing as it is above the waterline and the gator is there to keep it clean,. Not to stop water getting in. Although the sea cocks are not leaking you need to check all sea water pipework below the water like, for example the pipe to the raw water filter and the pipes to the heads and the sink and showers drain pipes etc. 100 litres a week sounds like a very large amount so I would expect it to be obvious where the leak is. Please keep us updated. Steve ------------- Steve. Hanse 341 Echo of Wight, . Deep draft and rudder, white hull, Single aft cabin. Raymarine instruments. Raymarine radar. Garmin AIS. Wheel Steering, Portsmouth. |
Posted By: skipper
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 10:42
The seal around the rudder stock could also be called gaiter When at dock the tube is almost empty and when using the engine at sea the tube is filled with water but not to the top. Do you get water into the boat when sailing (starboard / port tack) ? Do you get water into the boat when motoring ? Do you get water into the boat at the dock ? ------------- Cheers, Skipper Former owner of Hanse 342 2005 (Sparcraft mast, white hull, wheel steering, deep draft keel, short rudder) |
Posted By: robh
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 12:58
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Steve's comment about the rudder and gator are technically correct but when the boat is motoring the bearing location on the hull can dig in quite a lot. Depending on the loading this could result in sea water being forced up above the designed level and if the gator is not sealing properly water could be getting in. I agree with Steve on checking all the other points a little more closely as it is not always obvious that one of these is leaking, incorporating the advice given by Skipper you should be able to pinpoint the cause. ------------- Cheers, Rob "Blue Horizon" Hanse 341#113 Portsmouth Harbour UK |
Posted By: Graham342
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 13:37
Posted By: Martin&Rene
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 21:41
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I am not quite certain I agree with Graham completely. On my back cabin 341 if I look under the port bed, then at the back there is a hole where some cables come through the inner wall of the back locker and it appears that there is some form of inner section in addition to the outer hull. What I do know it that when I purchased the boat, the calorifier, which in my boat is mounted centrally in the back locker, leaked at the safety valve and the water ran from there underneath the port bunk and appeared in the well in front of the heads door and not into the area by the fuel tank. So I think water does drain from the back of the yacht into mid part of the yacht. I also do get a small amount of water by the fuel tank and my thoughts on this are partly condensation on the outer of the fuel tank and partly water draining off the socks of the fenders that I store in the port lazarette. This water could run down the inner wall of the lazarette and through the hole I described above. To reduce the amount of water collecting there, I let the fenders drain a bit before putting them away and this seems to have had some effect. I really feel for Madera as I know just how hard it has been for me to find small leaks on the plumbing. I know it is a pain to really dry out all the bilge areas of the boat, but if you do and you keep inspecting the areas when your are on the boat, before, during and after sailing the you must be able to see which part of the yacht the water first starts collecting in, possible helped by following Skipper's suggestion to put down some paper. As you said you had water in at the beginning of the season, before you had sailed and before you had run the engine, it really does feel that it has to be one of the seawater inlets or outlets or the keel bolts. Since your boat has been out of the water, is there a chance that the hoist people people have somehow managed to knock the keel and cause a water ingress at the keel bolts, which may only show up when the keel has certain loads on it. ------------- Martin&Rene Hanse 341 Dipper Wheel steering, 3 cabin layout, normally based in Scotland |
Posted By: Graham342
Date Posted: 03 October 2016 at 22:10
Posted By: Martin&Rene
Date Posted: 05 October 2016 at 13:15
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Graham I possibly gave the wrong impression, as I agree with you that the fuel tank fits onto the hull. I am not on my yacht, but I think there is a separate inner moulding which includes the bed bases, the support for the fore and aft bulkhead between the 2 cabins (or cabin and locker) and also the engine mountings and I presumed the water had found its way down under this moulding from the back locker through some holes in the lazarette inner wall. I suppose it is a choice, do you want a water tight locker area, or do you want as many areas as possible to drain down to the bilge pumps. ------------- Martin&Rene Hanse 341 Dipper Wheel steering, 3 cabin layout, normally based in Scotland |
Posted By: H8jer
Date Posted: 05 October 2016 at 18:10
http://myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7534&KW=sunk&PID=59183&title=old-stuff-of-371-that-sank#59183" rel="nofollow - Http://myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7534&KW=sunk&PID=59183&title=old-stuff-of-371-that-sank#59183 ------------- Hanse 370#487 30HP 3-cabin |
Martin&Rene wrote:Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 05 October 2016 at 20:59
He Skipper, that is a interesting detailed drawing. Explaining my biggest fear. I think that the water ingresses by a crack somewhere behind the bearing caused by replacing it. Difficult to say when the water enters but i can assure you that even not sailing nor motoring, staying at the jetty, the water gets in. Is that remotely possible assuming a crack is made in the area of the bearing?  The entire area indicate by the blue arrow is complete dry. Until the bulkhead no water. Is it possible that it gets in the bilge without noting it in the indicated area by the blue arrow? ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: echoofwight
Date Posted: 06 October 2016 at 08:13
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Just a thought. I had a leak on the seacock on the saildrive. Not on the tail but where the seacock screws into the saildrive. This was very difficult to find, took me ages at the time. ------------- Steve. Hanse 341 Echo of Wight, . Deep draft and rudder, white hull, Single aft cabin. Raymarine instruments. Raymarine radar. Garmin AIS. Wheel Steering, Portsmouth. |
Posted By: samuel
Date Posted: 06 October 2016 at 19:20
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May I suggest that you buy some talcum powder. Dry as much of the hull as possible then sprinkle the powder around all though hull outlets and the saildrive seal. You could also do this around the calorifier & the freshwater pump & freshwater connections if the first attempts are unsuccessful. Include the echo sounder & log fittings It is better to do a few areas at a time Then when you return to the boat you should be able to locate the path of the leak as it will have washed the powder away. When done the powder will not have made too much of a mess in the bilge & can be left or hoovered up sometime or just pumped overboard with the water. At least it will leave a nice odour ------------- Daydream Believer- Hanse 311- No GBR9917T- Bradwell Essex |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 21 October 2016 at 08:48
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I would like to thank all the forum members for there helpful suggestions and considerations. I can say that this is a valuable forum with good knowledgeable people. It s really frustrating to search for something that can't be found. I think I will take out the rudder and let somebody inspect if there is a puncture in the Polyester. I can't ignore the fact that the problem started direct after the rudder bearing was replaced. All other suggestions as the keel bolts as well as the sail drive valve have been excluded by us since these areas stay complete dry. ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 21 October 2016 at 08:53
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Does any body have some drawings with a cross section showing the construction of the boat? On which you can see the outer shell, inner shells etc. ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: Gregor
Date Posted: 23 October 2016 at 11:27
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Just a thought, do you see moore water coming in during or after sailing or when you have been using the motor? In the later case, check your exhaust water lock. ------------- Uisge Beatha Currently sailing Dehler 36 JV (2002) Previous boat: Hanse 311 #80 http://www.uisge-beatha.eu" rel="nofollow - http://www.uisge-beatha.eu |
Posted By: Madera
Date Posted: 24 October 2016 at 13:31
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Hi Gregor, Thanks for your thought. Unfortunate the water comes in even when we have not used the boat at all. ------------- Hanse342 |
Posted By: Graham342
Date Posted: 24 October 2016 at 13:35
Posted By: alidal
Date Posted: 04 October 2020 at 08:17
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On my H 400 there is no gator around the rudderstock.... Is this something that was forgotten to assemble when the boat was built? I have never had water in here...  ------------- Hanse 400#655 |