Water in forward bilge area

[LloydT]

I've read several articles re residual water in forward bilge area, and the replies mentioned putting assorted pumps up there to remove this RW..I'm not sure if the source of this RW was discussed ,so here I am wondering where this water comes from in my 2007 28 TE? I've looked up forward and cannot find any evidence of water running, dripping anywhere.
I've checked water lines, water tank, water heater nothing shows up. No leaks in stern area or drip shaft seal.
Sure would like to know so I can shut the door on it and not have to put another pump
Anywhere
Thanks in advance

[DougSea]

Hey Lloyd. It's been a while since I've had a 28 but I do recall having water forward on occasion. A couple of quick questions;

How much water are we talking about?
If you remove it (via sponge, hand pump, whatever) how long before it returns?
Big one - Is it salt or fresh? (I suspect fresh)
Do you have A/C and if so, where does the condensate drain?

Let me know on the above and we can probably hunt this down.

Doug

[Norseman]

I had water in the forward bilge frequently: It was fresh and not from AC condensate or leaky water tank or plumbing,
The water only showed up after rain or after washing the boat.
I do remember the scupper plumbing in the aft starboard corner was somehow compromised and I took it apart twice to “fix it”, but
after I while I just ignored it and installed a pump in the bilge under the floor hatch in the cabin with a manual switch in the head area and the discharge to a Port through hull.
It worked good and hope it still does. (Sold the boat 2 years ago)

[catalina_mike]

Always had a little water in there. Installed a pump with a low profile scoop to get most of it.

[Ben423]

That area is the lowest part of my '05 Flush deck. I got tired of sponging it out so I opened the hatch under the table base and built a small dam about 4" high in the bilge, then filled in the area with thickened resin, glassed over it with a layer of fiberglass mat, then gelcoated it white. It took about a quart of resin. Now there's never any water in the forward area and I never had to think about it after that. I called it my custom bilge filler. If I did it again, I would place the dam a little farther aft.

[jms02050]

Assuming this water runs forward and comes from sources such as the rod holders, air intakes etc… I’ve always wondered why nobody has chosen to seal the pvc tube connecting the aft part of the vessel to the forward section.

You can see the tube by lifting the step into the cabin and - on my 28 - moving the inspection plate. The other side of that tube can be seen under the battery shelf which on my 28 is under the hatch between the helm seats. It runs through the bulkhead. Would think sealing this up, even temporarily would solve this common issue.

[catalina_mike]

On plane it runs back to the pumps. So I didn’t want ti lose that function.

[LloydT]

Thanks Doug and all.
I may have found somewhat of a water source, my seawater pump is dripping a bit and upon checking it out, the drip is from the bottom of the pump by the bottom screw, but I can't seem to get a wrench on it. Im sure thats not the real water source , ill keep lookin. Decided to deal with this first.
It was indicated the bolt head size of the pump cover plate is 10mm, but no ..it's neither 10, 9, or 8,
The closest i can get is 5/16 which is a bit loose and I don't want to strip the head..it's a real tight area.
Any suggestions?