A25 bilge questions

[kerrye]

Took the A25 to the car wash yesterday for a bath. How are the bilges interconnected? I have an electric bilge pump in forward cabin and manual bilge pump going down in vicinity of stuffing box. Washed the stuffing box area first. There was then water in the front cabin when I opened the access hatches. They must be interconnected. Once the drain the keel stopped running there was still water in the front cabin bilge and the bilge under stuffing box. Pumped out a lot of water from front cabin given that keel drain was dry and there was still a lot of water under stuffing box to pump out. Engine compartment appeared to have no opening to any bilge. Water had to be pumped directly out of engine compartment. Explanations?

[DesertAlbin736]

Kerry,

I believe there is a tube or pipe that runs under the engine bed that connects the bilge in the forward cabin to the keel sump bilge aft of the engine box. Maybe in your case that connecting passage may have gotten plugged with debris? I've seen the same thing on my boat in similar situations where water appeared in under the forward cabin floorboard with no obvious source. Do you see a small bit of vertical pipe just ahead of the engine box? Unless there's a clog it should all drain aft into the keel sump. The space under the engine inside the engine box is deliberately separated from the bilge to avoid any oil and/or fuel leakage/spills from being pumped overboard.