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Water in the hulls?

Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:17 pm
by Kassf
We have noticed our stern is lower, below the water line. We are new to the boat. How could we see if there is water in the hulls? Or other thoughts?

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:28 am
by SecondWind
These boats are very sensitive to loading. Have you put a lot of stuff onboard, perhaps added a heavier dinghy? If you have diesels, they also sit lower in the water. Heavier things should be stowed midship as much as possible.

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 7:41 am
by Smj
The stern of the boat is supposed to be a watertight flotation compartment, water sometimes gets in there. There should be an inspection plate in each aft locker. Open it up and see what you find! If there's water in there it's easy to pump out and it can hold hundreds of pounds of water!

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:01 am
by Kassf
Thanks yes we've tried to balance and move jerrycans forward, etc. we are going to check the inspection plates too. Thanks!

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:30 pm
by thinwater
How far below the water? I've never seen a loaded PDQ 36 that was not 4-6" underwater at the transom. Might be a normal amount.

Best cure is not just moving things forward, but moving things OUT completely that you don't really use. Less "just in case" and "someday" stuff.

Food for thought:
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2012/12/wieght.html

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 9:26 am
by Smj
Fully loaded with dinghy and motor raised in the arch the transoms of our 36 are between 1.5"-2" submerged. I would bet the older PDQ 36's were quite a bit lighter in the stern as they didn't come with the hardtop or SS arch. We had a custom aluminum arch built that didn't weigh much more if any than the stern rails and davits that it replaced.

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 4:47 pm
by chicagocat
Just reiterating what SMJ said earlier: Check the watertight compartments. I had water in mine in Anne Z. I ended up re-glassing a crack in the enclosure for the rudder post that runs through the compartment. It's documented in another thread that you can search for.

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:58 am
by lauraj
We are on year two of our "hull water" issue. At this point, we just have it on the schedule the every time we anchor for more than a day or two, we pump out the forward and aft compartments. We have replaced bolts and resealed areas in the forward toe rails and filled in the screw holes for the bow guards. the front now seems to be 90% "solved". The rear however is still a pain in the rear. :roll: we have filled/sealed every hole we can find and still get water inside.. up to the outside water line and it is salt water. We pulled the rudders and checked the tubes...no issues. We have two possibles left....the inspection ports themselves could be leaking (but then the water should fill above the outside water line OR The seal around the back step/ladder panel must be leaking. (but then why are we getting rain water in when on the hard?)

The project on the list for this winter when we return will be to unbolt/remove those back panels, inspect chamber to any leak source and replace the seals. Any insight or suggestions from anyone with these type of ladder/step panels would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:33 pm
by GaryWizard
I had this problem with my 36 LRC - both "water-tight" compartments in the stern got water in them. I re-sealed the screw holes for the LPG holders & used 5200 to seal what seemed to be any mating areas in the access areas opening into/out of the stern-most (rudder post) areas. That helped for the port but not the starboard.

I also found water in one of the forward compartments but after pumping out there's been no problem there

Re: Water in the hulls?

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:31 pm
by doubledutch
I had water building up in both stern hull cavities of my PDQ32.
The starboard side turned out to be a slow leak in a connection to the stern shower head. The water ran down the underside of the line to where the line passed through the corner of the cavity. After fixing the leak I have gone several years with no water coming in.
The port side is still getting water in. It appears to be coming in at the inboard hull joint under the molded strip - I was able to see the water trail when I shone a light in through the inspection port. I plan to lift the strip and check the joint in the spring but for now I took a spray can of Weathershield Leak Stop and sprayed the interior corners in the areas of concern. I had to tape the can to the end of a pole with a strap hinge and cord rigged up to press the nozzel as it was well beyond arms reach. The boat is out of the water for the season but we are getting lots of rain at the moment so I will see if it works.
Henry