Bilge Update

A few days ago George crawled into the aft end of the boat to check for leaks and tighten the hose clamps on the cockpit shower, bilge hoses, raw water intake for the engine, and exhaust hose. He didn’t see any obvious leaks but he sprinkled talcum powder in the bilge to help track the origin of the leak. We also used a siphon pump to remove about two quarts of water from the bilge area under the engine compartment. This area of the bilge is relatively inaccessible. George accessed it by snaking the pump hose through a small hole in the wall of the bilge. The bilge is not just one open area. It is comprised of numerous compartments separated by walls. Water can move from one compartment to another by moving over short walls or through holes that are cut through the walls. Since we pumped out that one compartment the bilge has remained dry. We had almost constant rain for a day and a half and were happy to see that none of the rainwater made its way into the bilge. We would love to know the source of the leak but we may never know for sure. Since the water was closer in color to what we found in the Chesapeake it did occur to me that it could have been left over from when we had the saildrive gasket replaced. The mechanics cleaned up the leak but perhaps they didn’t get the water from that section under the engine compartment. It is hard for us to believe, though, that the water stayed there for a year and a half and we just recently discovered it. The most important thing is to dry out the bilge and keep it that way. We are hoping that what we have done so far has take care of it. 

We are leaving Spanish Wells this morning to start making our way down the coast of Eleuthera. 

George lying on the aft berth checking for potential leaks in the “way way back.”

The siphon pump that we used to remove the water from the bilge under the engine compartment (which is under the stairs.)