The hole to nowhere...

lrlima

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
223
1996 chris craft cuddy

in the cuddy there is a hatch / compartment towards the bow of the boat (white cover in first pic). When I look inside the compartment, there is a hole at the very bottom. The hole has water in it. I figured it was stopped up and was meant to drain toward the bilge, perhaps a used to drain the anchor locker. When i put a fish wire into the hole, it pretty much hit what felt like a solid wall after a couple of feet, certainly didn't feel like it was stopped up with some crud. Alsp upon further investigation, I didnt see any channels coming from anywhere else, like the anchor locker which would be above this. So where the heck is the water coming from? We havent been in the boat for weeks and there isnt any leaks above on the "roof" of the cudy. And also, where the heck is it going? Ive never noticed waterto be above this hole that you see incabin1.jpgcabin2.jpgcabin3.jpg the pick. thanks for any input
 

EddiePetty

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
1,008
Re: The hole to nowhere...

I suspect you have a minor leak around your bow light and/or bow eye ( the backside of both accessible through the pictured hatch).

The drain is probably partially blocked with stray strands of fiberglass from the day the hull was built.

Personally I would partially fill the void with fresh water and observe the bilge for signs of the void draining......I'll bet it does, though perhaps slowly.
 

lrlima

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
223
Re: The hole to nowhere...

thanks for the reply. thats the thing, there isnt access to the bow eye or bow light from this hatch. except for the hole at the bottom, i dont see any other inputs / outputs.
 

robert graham

Admiral
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
6,908
Re: The hole to nowhere...

Maybe the water is just from condensation, humidity and almost total lack of ventilation in that front compartment?...maybe dry it with towels, rags and a hair drier...then see if it re-appears? I've seen folks run small electric fans to help ventilate enclosed cabins and compartments. Maybe just leave that white hatch cover off so it ventilates better?
 

lexer440

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
222
Re: The hole to nowhere...

Somewhere there will be an exit, maybe another piece of floor that lifts to access. I would search for it, the hole looks like its nice and round like it was made to be there and there was a reason for that.

Possible place is just inside the cuddy door right at the entrance, you may find an access piece there.
 

airdvr1227

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
1,666
Re: The hole to nowhere...

My anchor locker empties to a small thru-hull that was plugged. A little work with a coat hanger and it's all good.
 

TilliamWe

Banned
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
6,579
Re: The hole to nowhere...

that really should drain to the bilge. Your anchor locker should have it own separate drain that goes out the side of the boat.
 

lrlima

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
223
Re: The hole to nowhere...

yup, it definitely belongs there, just not sure how it empties. It really felt like i hit a solid wall with the wire and both myself and my mechanical took a turn at trying to free up any potential clogs. . Im also wondering how the hell it even got in there since it does appear anything drains into this area.
 

EddiePetty

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
1,008
Re: The hole to nowhere...

....just a second thought while I'm sit tin' here waiting for Sandy to clear out:

Assuming your CC is on a trailer or rack, lower the bow and admit some water into the bilge to verify that the drain hole indeed does connect between the bilge and bow. You might even consider adding some toilet bowl cleaner to the bilge water in an attempt to clear any organic blockage...just say in'. At least your bilge will be clean!
 
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