Drain plug discharge

[fluidjuice]

Could some one tell me how much water is acceptable to come from drain plugs when they are undone ,After about 2 hours in the water today i must of had about 2/3 litres of water drain out when plugs were removed, is this "NORMAL" or should i be worried about a crack in the hull or worse. any ideas would be gratefull.

Thanks Fluidjuice

 

[haskindm]

Re: Drain plug discharge

You will need to determine where this water came from. Boats differ on how they manage bilge water. Some drain any water that comes into the boat into the bilge. Some even drain built-in coolers/fish-boxes into the bilge. Some have a separate bilge into which nothing drains. My Grady White has such a bilge and a self-draining cockpit. In three years I have never had any water in the bilge. If you have an I/O check to make sure that the seal around the out-drive is not leaking. An inboard will always have some water in the bilge due to the "packing nut" allowing some water in where the prop shaft passes through the hull. Many times swimmers will get in the boat and the water they bring with them will find its way to the bilge. Long story short, depending on the design and use of your boat, this may be perfectly normal or a sign of impending disaster.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Drain plug discharge

Could some one tell me how much water is acceptable to come from drain plugs when they are undone ,After about 2 hours in the water today i must of had about 2/3 litres of water drain out when plugs were removed, is this "NORMAL" or should i be worried about a crack in the hull or worse. any ideas would be gratefull.

Thanks Fluidjuice

I wouldn't say that 2-3 litres is normal or did you mean two-thirds of a litre?

Either way, it really depends on your boat (inboard/outboard) I have an outboard and when I stop quickly or reverse quickly, I take large amounts of water into the rear well of the boat. It doesn't come into the bottom of the bilge but in my older 14' runabout it did.

If an I/O , like haskindm said, could be a seal leaking, etc.

Common places on the hull is at the seam between the hull and cap behind the rub rail. Do you know the boat or is it new to you?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Drain plug discharge

no water is normal, and desirable. the drain plug if old or not tight enough, can leak, the hull joint, under the rub rail, as mentioned. any thru hull fittings, livewell hoses all can leak.

 

[109jb]

Re: Drain plug discharge

None is normal, unless you had swimmers getting in, or somehow took some in another explainable way. Both my boats and my fathers take in no water even if left in the water for days. Only time the bilge pump has to be run is when we have wet people getting in or if we get caught in a rain or something.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: Drain plug discharge

As the others have said, we need more info : What size boat is this, what type of drive, what have your running conditions been ?

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Drain plug discharge

Yes, I agree that "normal" is no water in the bilge.

Is your boat stored outside between outings? Possibly getting some rain water in there?