shetland family four problems

[banksy]

Hi everyone, I have started looking at putting an auto bilge pump and a manual bilge pump onto my Shetland family four. It had neither on it when I bought it recently. It has other bits n bobs that work fine, lights, cd player, depth finder, GPS system and a vhf radio.
This is my first boat, having looked at it for some time it seems there is no way for water to run from the front of the boat to the back if for example the window was broken and water was coming in the cuddy ? I've notice a couple of times some water that gathers around the floor in the cuddy has nowhere to go really ? Does this sound normal ? I thought water would have run from the front all the way to the back somehow. I've pulled both the front and back round table slots off the boat and the one in the cuddy had a sponge stuffed down it. It looks like there is expanding foam underneath both of them as well. I was thinking about pulling the deck floor up around the back of the boat to have a look but I don't want to go that far really. Would I be ok to install an auto bilge inside the back of the boat where the plug goes in, just below the outboard ? I would also have a manual one on board just incase i needed it. My boat will be moored on the water so I'm a bit worried about what to do here.

Any advice at all would be great, cheers and happy boating.

[johnhalls]

Here are a few suggestions from way back in the old forum.

John

on 29/08/2010
at 02:57

HI Chaps.
My family four is leaking water from the raised deck area into the cabin, Its coming in from where the cabin joins the deck, because the cabin floor is lower than the deck there is a step and that is where the leak is coming from. I am gonig to reseal the seams of the joints with resin, But is there a drain plug into the raised deck to drain any water that has managed to make its way into it.
There seems to be one on the stern of the boat, but not the raised deck?
this message was re-edited on 29/08/2010 at 02:59
john halls
on 29/08/2010
at 10:22

I had this problem last year. I sealed the joint between the raised deck and the cabin bulkhead with silicone sealant. The leak stopped.

Hope this helps

John
this message was re-edited on 29/08/2010 at 10:23

on 30/08/2010
at 21:42

Thanks John.
I went to my boat today and lifted the lino floor covering in the cabin to expose the fibreglass floor and did the same on the deck around the cabin and hosed some water onto the deck with the boat tilted forwards so the the water would collect around the cabin wall.
And the water instantly started leaking into the cabin, So i have spread some fibreglass resin around the bottom of the cabin wall/deck where i think the leak is coming from and will call to the boat tomorrow and hose the deck again and i will cross my fingers that the problem has been solved. I discovered that there is no drain plug into the raised deck but i dont think any water was getting below it anyway. It was really doin my head in because i could'nt figure out how the water was getting into the cabin, Put it down to either a leaking window seal, hatch, Or Very bad condensation
john halls
on 04/09/2010
at 09:28

It will probably stop most of the build up of water. However my boat has a tendancy to take in rain water ( I know because I've tasted it) to such an extent that it sits in the water an inch or so lower than a month or so ago. It's probably due to the rain storms we've been having. I found a syphon pump in Clas Ohlsen's and am currently pumping the water out via the hole which houses the table leg ,lol.
Good luck
John


john halls
on 04/09/2010
at 21:08

I used the pump today and found no water, not a drop.
apparently it has been absorbed by the foam.

on 04/09/2010
at 23:35

Hi. Went down to my boat today and there is still a bit of water in the cabin after putting resin around the suspected leak area.
But i think it is just the remaining dribbles of water that i hosed onto the deck area.
So i sealed the whole lower deck/cabin wall with sikaflex sealant.
Im going to leave it a week or so to let the sealant cure properly and hose the deck again, If it still leaks i think i will go crazy.lol

on 10/09/2010
at 21:44

After leaving the boat for a while to let the sikaflex sealant cure, I am delighted to say that the cabin was bone dry after three days of very heavy rain. Problem Solved!!

[dellquay13]

Hi Banksy,

I have put my auto bilge pump in the sump under the outboard well.
The space under your cabin and cockpit deck is filled with foam, but there will be gaps because it is always injected too far apart. There are no bulkheads under the floor so water under the floor should run front to back but there are wooden stringers running side to side and glassed in and any water always forms shallow pools between the stringers. Getting the boat at a steep angle on the trailer can help get it all to the stern where there may be a small hole to let the water drain into the sump.
If you are going to keep your boat afloat check the topsides/hull joint, window seals and hatch seal with a hose pipe as cabin floors get leaky easily compared to cockpits and have been found to be responsible for under floor water on a fair few F4s.

Hope this helps,

Chris

[dellquay13]

Hi Banksy,

I have put my auto bilge pump in the sump under the outboard well.
The space under your cabin and cockpit deck is filled with foam, but there will be gaps because it is always injected too far apart. There are no bulkheads under the floor so water under the floor should run front to back but there are wooden stringers running side to side and glassed in and any water always forms shallow pools between the stringers. Getting the boat at a steep angle on the trailer can help get it all to the stern where there may be a small hole to let the water drain into the sump.
If you are going to keep your boat afloat check the topsides/hull joint, window seals and hatch seal with a hose pipe as cabin floors get leaky easily compared to cockpits and have been found to be responsible for under floor water on a fair few F4s.

Hope this helps,

Chris

[banksy]

Thanks a lot for all the info!! Think I know where to start now. Feel more confident about where to put the bilge as well. Great response