An Oddity

[Beta Don]

On my boat there is a bilge pump in the aft locker where the rudder shaft and steering quadrant are located. Small pump with a thru hull in the transom about 6" above the waterline. I noticed it was there shortly after I bought the boat and wondered why it would be necessary, but since I'd never had it in the water I had no clue whether it was really needed or not, so I left it alone

Put it in the water, ran it for an hour or so and today when I checked that compartment, sure enough there is a little water there. Can't tell yet where it's coming from, but I also noticed that the rudder shaft tube was pretty full of water. I siphoned all of that out (about two cups full) and we'll see tomorrow if the water has returned - A leak within the rudder?? The stuffing box for the rudder is well above the waterline . . . . I really don't see that as the source of the leak, but if I don't find anything else, I'll take it apart and repack it

The bilge pump seems like a Band-Aid attempt at solving the water problem, rather than finding the source and fixing what's wrong - There should not be water in that compartment at all . . . . should there?

Don

[Vic K]

I have an automatic pump there. That's where water in my boat accumulates .
Vic

[Beta Don]

I have an automatic pump there. That's where water in my boat accumulates .
Vic

Coming up from below . . . . or down from the deck?

Don

[Sprig1]

On my boat there's a stainless steel shoe protecting the prop. It is thru bolted into that compartment. Is yours that way? My compartment was full of water and leaking out the bottom thru the bolt holes. I took it off and I'm going to bed it in 4200. Just looked at the pictures you sent me yours is the same as mine I bet that's where the water is coming from. The caulk on mine was shot. If you do take it apart and caulk it. Take a reamer and bevel the edges of the hole on the outside to get more caulk there. I haven't put mine back on. What kind of bolt goes up to the rudder I'm missing that. Any bushings on it. Also my rudder shakes a lot when you grab it.. Any thought on that?

[Beta Don]

I think you're talking about the aft end of the keel - That's where my rudder shoe attaches. I used 3 bolts about 3 or 4 inches apart and bedded everything in 5200. I also made a backing block for the inside of the keel which the 3 bolts go through. Plenty of 5200 on the inside between the backing plate and the keel. No leaks there so far . . . . that compartment is dry

I drilled a 3/4 hole in the bottom of the rudder (mine is the early fiberglass rudder) and I bedded a 1/2 inch bolt (with the head cut off) in that 3/4 hole. The bolt goes through the shoe with an aircraft nut on the bottom

The compartment where I have the water leaking in is the aft center one under the center portion of the rear bunk. The top of the rudder shaft comes up through there and *something* is leaking there

Don

[tego]

Don, If your rudder shaft stuffing box is above the waterline, then the only place for the water to get in is a crack in the shaft tube. I knew of another older 27 that had that problem. They didn't have a shoe so the rudder had no support at the bottom and that put a strain on the FG tube and it cracked. It was very hard to spot and was a very small crack. He found it by drying it off and then put chalk line chalk over the surface and it showed up as a wet spot. Hope that's not your problem. Good luck Ben

[Beta Don]

Thanks for that bit of insight Ben - That may very well be the problem here. I'll check the fiberglass tube very carefully and see if I can find where it might be leaking. If that's all it is, it shouldn't be a hard fix - I have some West System G-flex epoxy which works even underwater, so if it is cracked, that should seal it. Now that I have the bottom of the rudder supported with a shoe, it shouldn't crack again

Don

[smacksman]

I did a yacht delivery on a new boat that had a mysterious leak. It turned out that it only weeped when the prop was turning and forcing water through an otherwise watertight crack.
The other possibility is when under way and the stern squats a bit it can immerse skin fittings normally above water at rest. Talcom powder can show the track of a little leak.
Fair winds, Roger

[Beta Don]

As it turned out, it was the rudder shaft packing that was bad. It didn't leak at all except when underway. I replaced the packing and after a 2 1/2 hour test run it appears I no longer have a leak

Don

[sail149]

Interesting mystery solved!

[Mtnracerx]

I may have a similar issue. Beta Don, would you have a pictures of your issue & repair available? I'd like to compare your set-up to mine on an A27 Sport

[Beta Don]

Sorry - Don't have any pictures of that compartment. Probably would not do you any good anyway, as my boat was one of the first 100 produced and it wasn't made by Albin Marine, but under a private contract, so there were a ton of differences between it and those actually made in the Albin factory

Don

[WillieC]

Glad you got it fixed, Don. I just read the whole thread and couldn't help but think of my wet rudder compartment. Similar deal on the A25, packing is above WL. I was sure it was the bolts holding the swim step on, so I repaired all of them. There was also an abandoned transducer wire chopped off on both sides of the transom. Fixed that. It was simply coming up the rudder shaft tube and sloshing past the shot o-ring/washer assembly. It is now bone dry, thanks to Dkirsop's concise description for repair.

[DCatSea]

I had a similar issue when I first put Mazboot in the water back in 2015. Stale water only, in the gland space; so I ran the pump in manual, and haven't had any water issues since then (firmly touching wood with both hands as I write). Since then I've rerun the pump through a manual switch in the after cabin, which MAKES me check the gland space every so often, just to be sure (more wood touching going on). Once in awhile I wipe out the rudder compartment, but there's so little accumulation I think it must be condensate (wood).

[DCatSea]

Good to see your comment Smacksman. Thanks for the talcum tip.