New owners - water in keel underneath bilge

[Jaybee]

Hello everyone, new owners of an Ericson 30+ here. I wanted to make a nice hello post but after poking around every nook and cranny on our new boat today we found something disconcerting. We were testing all the systems, taking inventory and getting to know our boat when we found a hole cut under the dining area setee. With water covering what looks like are the keel bolts?

I attached a few pictures, anyhow where COULD the water be coming from since it is BELOW where the bilge pump is.

Thanks for any help, Jeff and Melissa

 

[Dave G.]

Jaybee, I too have a 30+ but I cannot figure out where in the boat this is as I don't have any keel bolts that are/were hidden under FG. Is this the aft settee ?

 

[Jaybee]

Jaybee, I too have a 30+ but I cannot figure out where in the boat this is as I don't have any keel bolts that are/were hidden under FG. Is this the aft settee ?

This is the port side right next to the head. Between the head and the table. It looks like the hole where I can see the water was not factory.

 

[Frank Langer]

000l)

Hello everyone, new owners of an Ericson 30+ here. I wanted to make a nice hello post but after poking around every nook and cranny on our new boat today we found something disconcerting. We were testing all the systems, taking inventory and getting to know our boat when we found a hole cut under the dining area setee. With water covering what looks like are the keel bolts?

I attached a few pictures, anyhow where COULD the water be coming from since it is BELOW where the bilge pump is.

Thanks for any help, Jeff and MelissaView attachment 43770View attachment 43771

Hi,
Congratulations on buying your E30+. We have owned a1984 E30+ for 16 years, have considered other, bigger boats but have not found anything that sails as well as these E30+ boats, is manageable in a strong blow even when single handing, and is so pretty!
I don't know how much you know about sailboats, so I'll touch on a few possibilities as to where the water is coming from.
If you have a normal stuffing box, not a dripless shaft seal, it may require adjustment so it only drips a few drips per minute when motoring to keep the shaft from overheating. Another possibility is the lids to the cockpit lockers. If there is no weatherstripping there, a good rain or boat washing will allow water to enter, run below the engine into the bilge. Another possibility, if you have the optional water tank under the V-berth, is that water somehow ends up in the bilge when filling that tank. Another possibility, but you won't know till you haul the boat, is that the keel bolts are leaking a bit. You can check this now by doing a quick taste test whether the water is fresh or salty, but if you're on a lake that won't apply.
If you have the optional shower, and have used it, the sump area under the plate in the head can leak into the bilge if the caulking there has failed.
Another possibility is any of the thru hulls, where the caulking, or the hose clamps could admit water.
That may give you a start, but if none of that applies, let us know and we'll scratch our heads a bit more for other possibilities.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

What year is your boat ?

 

[Dave G.]

This is the port side right next to the head.

Ok, on mine when I pull the storage tray out it is open to the hull & bilge. It does not have that FG liner. Under that settee is where my depth & speedo thuhulls are.

 

[Frank Langer]

Ok, on mine when I pull the storage tray out it is open to the hull & bilge. It does not have that FG liner. Under that settee is where my depth & speedo thuhulls are.

My 1984 is similar to yours, but does have the liner and the openings shown in the initial pics. That bilge area collects all water flowing or leaking on the inside of the hull from the bow to that first bilge area. My bilge pump was in the small fibreglass box with the wood lid on the cabin sole. I moved it below so it sits on the hull, where it will drain more water if necessary.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

does have the liner and the openings shown in the initial pics.

Frank does yours have that small rough cut out to access the keel bolt ?

 

[Frank Langer]

Yes, I can access all 7 keel bolts thru various cutouts and holes. I actually dropped and rebedded the keel about three years ago.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Remarkable how different our sister 1984 boats are.

 

[Jaybee]

Thank you for the detailed reply Frank. I do have some mechanic experience and some boat knowledge(but a lot left to learn) so I guess my question was a little poorly worded.

So apparently I have a fiberglass liner for a sole above the hull. The bilge and bilge pump are in the fiberglass liner. Looks like I need to cut a hole in the fiberglass liner and put the bilge pump down in the actual bilge where the keel bolts are if I want to get that water out...

I did notice the lack of weatherstripping in the cockpit lockers, have ya'll put weather stripping on your lockers?

If you have the time Dave I'd really like to see pictures of what yours looks like without the fiberglass liner! I think if we haul out and drop the keel for a reseal I think I might just modify the fiberglass sole and extend the bilge all the way down.

 

[Dave G.]

If you have the time Dave I'd really like to see pictures of what yours looks like

I'll try and get some pics of that. What year is your boat ? I did put some weather stripping on the cockpit liners. Just used some adhesive backed stuff from HD, 3/8" if I remember correctly.

 

[Jaybee]

I'll try and get some pics of that. What year is your boat ? I did put some weather stripping on the cockpit liners. Just used some adhesive backed stuff from HD, 3/8" if I remember correctly.

It has 1984 on the title. We tried to find the hull number but couldn't locate it, any ideas? According to the Ericson Facebook group it should have been on top of the starboard transom, they said it would be hard to see but I don't see anything at all.

 

[Dave G.]

Yes that's where mine is. Maybe someone did a a gelcoat job in the past and sanded it off ? It would be a stamped number into the gelcoat. The title does not show a HIN # ?

 

[Jaybee]

Yes that's where mine is. Maybe someone did a a gelcoat job in the past and sanded it off ? It would be a stamped number into the gelcoat. The title does not show a HIN # ?

On the Title it says ERY30675M84I

So my best guess is ERY = Ericson Yachts 30675 = Hull Number and M84I = Model year 84?

 

[Frank Langer]

Jaybee,
When I re located the bilge pump pickup to the area by the keel bolts, I didn't have to cut an extra hole. I just undid the clamp on the strainer, removed it, pulled the bilge hose back into the bottom and reattached the strainer. I now reach the strainer through the smaller opening in your pic. It was a simple job, though your boat may be a bit different.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

ERY30675

Ericson Yachts 30 hull #675

 

[Dave G.]

I can access all 7 keel bolts

I have 10 keel bolts...

 

[bigd14]

Jaybee, congrats on the new boat! Post up some photos of her!

As with all newly purchased used boats you have also purchased the previous owners neglected maintenance items. This is nothing to be disconcerted about and is totally normal. We have all been there. You will find that most of the problems you will encounter have already been solved and documented by others on this site, and if not you will get lots of advice on what to do.

For the issue at hand, I don’t have any photos but I do get some water in that same location. I believe on mine (later 1984 model hull 651 with cabin top traveler should be the same as yours) there is a small round hole in the TAFG (tri axial force grid) to access that keel bolt. Looks like someone enlarged that hole for better access. I use a turkey baster (thanks to Loren Beach for that tip!) to remove water from this area. I have also installed weatherstripping on the cockpit lockers. I believe most of my water ingress is from the dorades on the stern or from replacing the knot meter paddle wheel. I don’t get much water in general and it’s mostly in the winter when it rains. Agree you should find out if it’s salt water. If not it’s probably not worth worrying too much about, or simply re-plumbing the bilge pump as per Franks suggestion.

I’m not sure any additional work is needed to fix that bilge area. You say you have a fiberglass sole? Do you have photos of it? That sounds different than mine which is 1/4 inch teak and holly plywood over the TAFG. Here is what the TAFG looks like underneath the teak and holly plywood. https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/e30-tafg-structure.14448/

Also it looks like you may have had some oil or diesel in the bilge at one time. Mine was the same way when I got it (leaking diesel tank). Suggest you add some degreaser to the bilge and sail around a bit. Turn the bilge pump off before hand so you don’t end up pumping the resulting gunk into open water. Then pump it into a container and wipe everything down. Might take a couple tries but it really helps for reducing bilge smells and finding stuff that drops into it.

Congrats again and enjoy the process of finding all these little problems!

 

[bigd14]

So looking at the photos again I think my boat does have a similar cutout. The settee was removed by a previous owner so they could install a cabin heater. See bottom of this photo. Look similar?

I was wrong, the water collects near the aft keel bolt on my boat not the forward one.