Water in bilge

Capt Tom

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Joined
Mar 7, 2018
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Age
68
Location
Miss Gulf Coast
Model
Freedom 205
Man I was thinking my new Grady sure is watertight when I would remove the plug and no water would drain out. The other day I removed the deck access covers and noticed quite a bit of water in the bilge at amidships but none towards the stern. OK I did a big DUH, seeing the variable deadrise causes this condition. I even raised the trailer jack as high as it would go and it still wouldn't drain so I got my floor jack out with a wooden block to finally get it high enough to drain. Hard to determine how much water drained out but it was well over five gallons. I guess most of the water came from the anchor locker because I always rinse after each use and it looks to drain in the bilge. Anyway something good to know, before I put the boat up I will park on a steep incline to drain.
 
Check you pie plate deck hatches too if you have them.

Could be letting water sit on top of the fuel tank.

One of my first projects on my new to me Grady is replacing the O-rings or entire hatch on all deck hatches.
 
All the water that accumulates in the bilge in my boat also moves forward to the front pump area. I learned about this phenomenon while hosing down the bilge after installing a thru-hull transducer last spring. I hosed the heck out of the stern area bilge and little or no water came out of the garboard drain. It all ran forward to the front pump with the trailer jack as high as it would go.
 
I didn't see the model of the boat. Does it have a forward bilge? If so it isn't working most likely. If no forward bilge, you may have a clog in one og the drain tubes that allows forward bilge water to drain aft. That is a fairly common condition
 
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I didn't see the model of the boat. Does it have a forward bilge? If so it isn't working most likely. If no forward bilge, you may have a clog in one og the drain tubes that allows forward bilge water to drain aft. That is a fairly common condition
and something that needs to be cleared asap....
 
It is a 205 Freedom. All the water is drained, removed all the deck access covers and the bilge is dry now. Just prefer to have it dry when not in use and put up in storage.
 
Yeah all the bilge water in my 307 settles mid to forward. Most of the water comes from the rain through the retractable cleats and the anchor locker. I never understood why Grady never put a clamshell drain for the anchor locker up at the bow.
 
Skunkboat, where are those drains for the forward bilge on the 265?
TIA,
SeaVee
 
The access ports are made by Beckson Marine. They will sell the entire inspection port in pop-in or screw-in configurations or just the rubber seal.
 
Skunkboat, where are those drains for the forward bilge on the 265?
TIA,
SeaVee
best as I can tell, there is a pvc tube running from fwd bilge, under fuel tanks, to stern bilge.
In the stern bilge you will see 2 pvc tubes. I am assuming one is from Fwd and one drains the Tank space.
 
I removed and replaced all of my pop out deck hatches with a Beckson screw in type which do not leak a drop.
There was a case with one ~30' Grady where a pop out lid came off in the stern area right in front of the engines and the boat filled up and rolled. That's not going to happen on my boat!