Is it normal for water to remain in bilge

[Hardeight]

I went to look at an 88 mid cabin express yesterday. This vessel has not been run in several months, and with everything I have read here it concerned me. when I Looked in the engine compartment there was about 5 inches of water in the bilge. No one was there to show me the boat but I did manually turn on the bilge pumps but it did not remove all the water ( about 2 inches left). Also the plywood floor under the aft cabin storage area felt very damp. I know this vessel made an 800 mile trip before it landed at this marina but has had no attention since. She is very dirty and there was some mold growing in the cabin. I am still considering purchasing her but my offer will not be any where near what they are asking. I still plan on having a survey and a mechanic to do compression test on the engines and check the generator. Do you guys have any thoughts? thanks Bill

[BobCT]

Bill,

I think you are looking at a "mid cabin" because of your aft cabin comment. Is the galley on the Starboard side? If so, that's a mid cabin...

I don't get any water to speak of in the cabin bilge (now) but there was quite a bit when I bought the boat. Check the bulkhead separating the cabin from the engine room. The water tends to wick up into bulkhead and cause rot. I replaced a 3x3 section a few years ago after my vacuum cleaner literally went through the bulkhead and I was looking at the front of my engine. Now that's a feel good moment! Fortunately it was a small area and relatively easy fix. The rest of the bulkhead is fine and will stay that way on my watch.

In the engine room there is always standing water at that same bulkhead due to rain water. The intake and exhaust hoses channel it into the bilge. I rigged up some Macguyver hoses and shutoff valves last year and use my shower pump as a way to vacuum it up between rain storms.

Finally, the bilge pump never gets all the water. The residual water in the hose always runs back into the bilge. At 5" it should have come on by itself so the float switch might be bad or clogged.

Bob

[Hardeight]

Bob, thanks for your response. Yes it is a mid cabin express, and I do believe the float switch was stuck.... If I get this boat I will installing some new bilge pumps. These guys have really let the boat go to hell in the last year..... maybe their loss is my gain. I really think she would be an awesome vessel with a little work.... Just getting some other opinions before I commit. Thanks

[cmcmjk]

I'll second what Bob said. I thought I would have a dry forward bilge this season. I dried it out over the winter and fixed everything that could leak EXCEPT the actual bolts for the thru hull flange. After the boat went in I watched and to my surprise water was seeeping slowly from the bolts of the thru hull. It will be dry next year!

The engine bilge will always have water in it unless you have dripless shaft seals. The main culprit on our boat is the drainage channels around the hatches. It seems to me that Mid-Cabins list to starboard and the drain in the rearmost hatch channel is to port. Instead of the water going down the drain it goes into the bilge on our boat. I am gong to add another drain to that area this season.

If you are comfortable with posting the asking price and what you think is a good offer let us help you out. There is no reason to over pay in this market!

[yorklyn]

Not sure what "plywood floor" you are refering to in the aft cabin? If the actual floor that you step down onto was wet it could be a leak from the helm seat mounting bolts. their are four seat mounts under the seat bases with 3 bolts in each. if you are refering to the storage area on the port side it could be one of a few things, seat base as mentioned above, hot water heater leak or maybe the storage bin that is recessed into the cockpit side just before you go down the stairs.
The 10 meter mid cabin is a great boat, especially at the prices in todays market. Pay attention to the drain holes that are cut into the stringers that allow water to drain down to the bilge pump. On some boats they were not fiberglassed but simpley painted over with gel coat. If you have alittle stringer rot its not the end of the world and would not be too hard to fix , it would help in negotating a lower selling price. Stay away from boats with really bad stringers unless you are up for an adventure! From what I have seen the topsides hold up very well and any core rot is typically localized (around deck fills etc).
If you have any other questions please dont hesitate to ask.

Todd