[Rhodes22-list] Bilge Water

[Bill Effros]

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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>  
>