Trojan Boat Forum

Hey folks... Before I start, let me assure you I'm not taking on water but LOSING water from my fresh drinking water system. I say that because I have filled the water tank a few times now. Each time I fill it slowly to ensure no air locks and fill it right to the top until I can literally see the water in the filler nozzle. I then return after about 24 hours to the boat. During that time there is no use at all of the system. I would estimate Im losing about 3 gallons during that time and its showing up of course in the bilge. During this 24 hours I turn the switch that governs the water pump to the off position at the wall so the pump could not come on at all. When I return to the boat I flick the switch on and the pump starts running by itself and runs about 2-3 minutes until it gets up to pressure and then shuts off. It also does this about once an hour when we are on the boat without anyone turning on the taps however it only runs about 30 seconds and then shuts off when it gets up to pressure.

So !!!... there are my symptoms and from my perspective I'd say its safe to say Im losing water.

NOW!!!...my question.......

.Is it from the tank itself or simply one of the lines?????

I know its sounds like it should be easy to figure out but on a 1976- 36 foot tricabin, I have hatchs everywhere and lines disappearing here and there and everywhere when you try to follow them. Even the fresh water tank is not all that easy to check fully for a leak...
QUESTION.... Is there a ""smart way"" to diagnose without actually finding the leak, if its coming from the lines,or the tank itself ??
I'd hate to try pulling out the carpets, hatchs etc, only to realize later that good old common sense should have told me is was the tank that was leaking.
Something is telling me there is a smart way but I can't come up with it.. Thanks

I would guess to check the line from the tank to the water pump. If your losing water without it on and it runs longer than it should when you turn it on, your leak is propably in that line.

Have a water heater? You may lose 2-3 gallons from the bottom of the tank (the hot water outet) if the hose connection is loose.

If the pump is cycling every hour, you have a leak after the pump, not before like from the tank. As mentioned, the hot water tank is a good suspect, but could be anywhere after the pump. If you have a dockside connection, check it as well, could be a faulty check valve.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any simple way to find a water leak. I sympathize with you since I also have a tri-cabin and water lines running everywhere and hatches everywhere. You may just have to trace the lines one-at-a-time till you find the leak. You may be able to valve branches in or out of the active circuit if you have valves in place.

You may want to consider some sort of coloring in the water to try to isolate an area or region of the boat where the water is entering the flow that ends up in the bilge.

Have you tried using the dockside water connection? When I use mine it bypasses my tanks and does not use the system pump. You may want to see if you are leaking at all using that system.

Just some thoughts.

Get a tube of food coloring and pour it in the tank before you fill it up again,(this will let it mix better) may possibly need two tubes of it, then sit back and wait for the food coloring to hit the bilge and you should be able to trace it even after it dries up. And it is safe for human consumption. Best of luck.

If you still have the factory aluminum fresh water tanks they may be full of pin holes. When I bought my 1980 F-36 in 2004, the fresh water would disappear just sitting at the dock. Closer inspection and a little rubbing of 'corrosion spots' on the end of the tanks revealed the problem - scores of tiny holes corroded through the aluminum.

I tried this a few weeks ago (turned out not to be the tank) and two tubes of food coloring were hardly visible, nowhere near enough

I was going to try a big jug of red Hi-C instead which would easily show up.

To narrow down where the leak is, vacuum the bilge as dry as you can. Then try to isolate as many areas in the bilge from one another as you can by shoving rags in stringer drain holes and creating separate compartments along the bilge where there are long runs with no obstructions etc. What ever you use to create separate compartments doesn't have to be completely water proof. It just has to slow as much as possible the flow of water from one temporary compartment to another. Don't wait for days before inspecting or you may have water in several of the compartments and not know which one it all come from. This will at least give you an indication which area the water is dripping in first and lead you to the lines in that section.

Did you ever find the leak?