[Rhodes22-list] Bilge Water

[P&M Beals]

Thanks all for your replies...I was away for a few days in Erie, Pa.
visiting relatives...

I grew up on a  wooden sailboat, so water in the bilge was always a given.
After a good sail with the boat on her sides we would take in a lot as the
wooden planks that had not been used to the water would take in a lot.
good memories...

Now, it is fiberglass, and I thank you all for helping me to get more in
tune with a fiberglass vessel, which should not be taking in much water.

I have checked the drain holes at the stern seats and don't find any major
obstructions there. Since our rain has died down, so has the water in the
laz.  Somehow I suspect that is where some of the water in the laz came
from. 

Re the bilge,  I will try the hose down method to check for leaks into the
cabin... 
IT is interesting to read the different opinions...

I finally met John ( last  name not provided... he seems to be a private
soul), whose Rhodes 22 has been at home on Raritan Bay, I think since 1986,
the year he bought his R-22, new, from a location...did there used to be a
Rhodes distribution location in NY? maybe Long Island even- I think that is
where he said he got his R-22...?
He  has a traditional mainsail, teak rails, and strives to get in 100 sails
a season, at least.  He remembers Stan well. I would love a chance to sail
with him on his boat, but he is truly a single handed sailor, and seemed a
bit taken aback by my request to try to sail his boat with the traditional
main...

(or was it the forwardness of a woman asking for a sail on a gent's
boat...what would his wife say perhaps?)

Since we were away for a while we missed a good sailing weekend...
Hope you all enjoyed a good one.

Phyllis
Whisper
Keyport, NJ


> From: "Saroj Gilbert" <saroj at pathfind.net>
> Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 11:53:22 -0400
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bilge Water
> 
> such subtleties... other than wanting to be sure my bilge pump is working...
> it is electric altho I have a manual backup... I pay little attention to the
> water in the boat unless it is accumulating.... I know I need to correct the
> port lights and CB tube... have decided to leave the stern scuppers alone
> for now...  Frankly I've never been in a boat that is bone dry... mine or
> any other so I don't have that expectation... must be missing something...
> 
> Saroj
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2005 11:44 AM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Bilge Water
> 
> 
>> Phyllis,
>> 
>> All the boats are different.  Many people with one system don't realize
>> other boats don't have the same characteristics.
>> 
>> The way a bilge is supposed to work, it is the deepest accessible point on
>> the boat--like a sump pump pit in your basement.  If you empty the bilge,
>> you empty the water from everywhere else, also.  My boat does work that
>> way.  Water entering the laz (or anywhere else) exits from the bilge.
>> 
>> I use a plastic hand bilge pump available from WM for $20 which is stored
>> under the Port Cabin Seat to empty the bilge.  It moves a huge amount of
>> water (for our boats) in a very short time.  I drain through the cabin
>> sink.  (It is rain water stored in a plastic container.)
>> 
>> Water in your boat changes the balance of the boat.  I always leave an
>> inch or two in the bilge, because it levels the forward to rear balance.
>> 
>> On my boat, the least amount of rainwater stays aboard when the bow is
>> high.  During the winter I store the boat extremely bow high.  Whatever
>> water does seep in, winds up in the laz, where I can see it.
>> 
>> I don't pump out the laz water before launching, because I want the boat
>> to launch stern heavy.  I then pump out the bilge to within 1 or 2 inches
>> of the bottom.  And then I adjust things so the boat at rest is bow heavy
>> (because Stan says the boat sails best this way, and because sitting in
>> the cockpit counter-balances the heavy bow.)  But I want to make sure the
>> weight in the bow is not water, and this technique ensures that (I think.)
>> 
>> I always sail with a couple of inches of water in the bilge, and I find
>> that the water level generally does not rise over the course of the
>> sailing season.  If I pump out the bilge, 1-2 inches of water will be back
>> in it by the time I return to the boat.
>> 
>> I check the bilge every time I sail to ensure the water level has not
>> risen.
>> 
>> Apart from the bilge, my boat stays dry all season.
>> 
>> Bill Effros
>> 
>> P&M Beals wrote:
>> 
>>> Rummy,
>>> 
>>> I didn't realize that
>>> water that might be due to rainfall into the laz would not travel down
>>> into
>>> the bilge... .I thought there is a continuous open pathway from cabin to
>>> stern & vice versa. I can see what I think is foam flotation material when
>>> I
>>> look into the lazarette and try to look forward...but I haven't understood
>>> too well what is under there, or which areas are blocked or separated from
>>> others...
>>> 
>>> If only one could get the up close view that Lou or Alan have, I would
>>> probably understand the vessel a lot better!
>>> 
>>> One more thing to do in my not so spare time...check for leaks, but easily
>>> done may be checking those drain holes...I did have a bunch of leaves get
>>> into the cockpit last fall...
>>> 
>>> Hopefully a good sailing day tomorrow with three teen-agers aboard.
>>> I took my first dip off the boat last weekend...in only 4 feet of water.
>>> You have to love that ladder. I managed to scrub the sides a bit. despite
>>> a
>>> thorough bottom paint job I still have picked up 4-5 barnacles...at the
>>> bow
>>> almost near the waterline which I thought was odd.  who knows what is
>>> underneath which can't even be seen.
>>> 
>>> Oh you lucky lake sailors...any zebra mussels get into your lake?   (I
>>> know
>>> about the Great Lakes zebra mussels).
>>> 
>>> There is an R-22 owner on Raritan Bay, anchored next to me.  He sails
>>> single
>>> handedly many days in the season with a traditional mainsail, and seems to
>>> have quite a great time...I would like to compare the traditional mainsail
>>> sailing with the IMF...maybe I will get to go out on his boat.  He rows
>>> his
>>> dinghy out to his boat while we catch a launch, that's why it's been hard
>>> to
>>> get acquainted.
>>> 
>>> Anyway-
>>> 
>>> Thanks again, Phyllis
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> From: R22RumRunner at aol.com
>>>> Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>>>> Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 20:26:50 EDT
>>>> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>>>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] How bad is some water in the laz?
>>>> 
>>>> Phyllis,
>>>> The only way water can get into the laz is over the rim of the cover.
>>>> This
>>>> can happen due to the rear drains getting clogged, or have hardened and
>>>> cracked,  or in our case, because of more rain that the drains can
>>>> handle.
>>>> Water in the bilge means that water is entering the cabin. This can come
>>>> from  several
>>>> areas. The most suspect ones are the ports, the companionway hatch and
>>>> the
>>>> centerboard pennant tubing. These are problems that can be diagnosed and
>>>> fixed easily, it just takes time and perseverance. Place someone inside
>>>> the  cabin
>>>> and have someone on the outside take a hose a spray everything down. I
>>>> would
>>>> recommend having an outline drawing made up ahead of time to note the
>>>> areas
>>>> of leakage.
>>>> 
>>>> Rummy
>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> __________________________________________________
>>> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>> 
>>> 
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