[Crackofdawn]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

[Ridin'High]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

Hi Greg,  I had a 35 Open with the same problem.  I went through many of the same checks that you have, only to find the source of the leak was because the A/C drain hose was not connected properly. It was suppose to drain to the mid bilge pump.  Not sure if the 36 Open has the A/C under the dinette like the 35 but I hope this helps. Good Luck! Tom

[Crackofdawn]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

Hi Greg,  I had a 35 Open with the same problem.  I went through many of the same checks that you have, only to find the source of the leak was because the A/C drain hose was not connected properly. It was suppose to drain to the mid bilge pump.  Not sure if the 36 Open has the A/C under the dinette like the 35 but I hope this helps. Good Luck! Tom

Thanks Tom, my 36 does have the a/c unit under the dinette, I will look at this to see if it is creating the moisture.

[rose_surfer]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

Hi Greg,  I had a 35 Open with the same problem.  I went through many of the same checks that you have, only to find the source of the leak was because the A/C drain hose was not connected properly. It was suppose to drain to the mid bilge pump.  Not sure if the 36 Open has the A/C under the dinette like the 35 but I hope this helps. Good Luck! Tom

Thanks Tom, my 36 does have the a/c unit under the dinette, I will look at this to see if it is creating the moisture.

Have you verified that the water is fresh - from condensate, rain water, or potable vs raw water? That could help too. Potable water perhaps you could rule out by using a drop or two of food coloring in your potable water tank. Condensate and rain should only appear in certain specific circumstances, like when you are running the AC on a humid day or when it's rained since the last time you checked.

Another source of condensate ive found is the metal table brackets in the dinette. They are uninsulated and exposed to the moist warm air between the deck and hull. When the cabin is cooled by the ac, quite a bit of condensate can form on the underside of the bracket.

[Ridin'High]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

Hi Greg,  I had a 35 Open with the same problem.  I went through many of the same checks that you have, only to find the source of the leak was because the A/C drain hose was not connected properly. It was suppose to drain to the mid bilge pump.  Not sure if the 36 Open has the A/C under the dinette like the 35 but I hope this helps. Good Luck! Tom

Thanks Tom, my 36 does have the a/c unit under the dinette, I will look at this to see if it is creating the moisture.

Have you verified that the water is fresh -  from condensate, rain water, or potable vs raw water?  That could help too.  Potable water perhaps you could rule out by using a drop or two of food coloring in your potable water tank. Condensate and rain should only appear in certain specific circumstances, like when you are running the AC on a humid day or when it's rained since the last time you checked.

Another source of condensate ive found is the metal table brackets in the dinette. They are uninsulated and exposed to the moist warm air between the deck and hull. When the cabin is cooled by the ac, quite a bit of condensate can form on the underside of the bracket.

I boat in fresh water so it was hard to tell.  I eventually found the hose draining off the condensation from the A/C tray was off.  It was a simple fix but not something you would normally look for.  I still don't know how it got nocked loose.

[Crackofdawn]

I am trying find the source of a couple of leaks in my cabin (1994 36 Open).  1) I am getting water in the forward bilge, about 3 to 4 inches that I pump overboard once a week.  This is the bilge located under the access floor panel in the forward portion of the cabin just aft of the fwd cabin bulkhead. 2) I am getting moisture that appears to be coming from under the teak floor at the aft bulkhead in the cabin between the raised entry platform and the bulkhead with the hanging clothes locker, see attached picture.  I have checked all of the obvious leak areas and I have no visible active leaks from hatches, port hole windows, windshield, fresh water system and drains.  I have not been able to verify the head plumbing and ac/heat for leaks yet but they appear to be sound.  Any help identifying area that can result in water in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg   

Hi Greg,  I had a 35 Open with the same problem.  I went through many of the same checks that you have, only to find the source of the leak was because the A/C drain hose was not connected properly. It was suppose to drain to the mid bilge pump.  Not sure if the 36 Open has the A/C under the dinette like the 35 but I hope this helps. Good Luck! Tom

Thanks Tom, my 36 does have the a/c unit under the dinette, I will look at this to see if it is creating the moisture.

Have you verified that the water is fresh -  from condensate, rain water, or potable vs raw water?  That could help too.  Potable water perhaps you could rule out by using a drop or two of food coloring in your potable water tank. Condensate and rain should only appear in certain specific circumstances, like when you are running the AC on a humid day or when it's rained since the last time you checked.

Another source of condensate ive found is the metal table brackets in the dinette. They are uninsulated and exposed to the moist warm air between the deck and hull. When the cabin is cooled by the ac, quite a bit of condensate can form on the underside of the bracket.

I boat in fresh water so it was hard to tell.  I eventually found the hose draining off the condensation from the A/C tray was off.  It was a simple fix but not something you would normally look for.  I still don't know how it got nocked loose.

the a/c drain line checks out ok, with the weather now, the a/c unit in heat mode is not making any condensation to speak of.  I think it is fresh water because I do not see salt residue any where.  I am suspecting the sliding door or the dash helm, rain is in the forecast for this weekend so maybe I can find the source.  I still don't know where the fwd bilge water comes from. Thanks for the suggestions.
Greg

[sbw1]

We sometimes end up with water in the bilge from washing the boat. If you have someone new doing this job, that can be a source if they sit the hose down in a place that allows water to run into the side air intakes to the engine room. I watched a guy wash our boat who was new to the job and saw that he laid the hose down on the dock in a way that allow water to splash into the hull opening. It was not a lot, but happened every Thursday.

[Crackofdawn]

I think I am getting closer to resolving item 2, moisture around the head bulkhead and floor. I have pulled the vinyl off the bulkhead and I can see the bulkhead is discolored from wicking up moisture over the years. When I bought the boat it had a couple of pretty bad leaks around the hatches which I have fixed. I can't find any active water leaks now so it was confusing me why the floor was still showing moisture after a couple of days of drying up the moisture. I now believe the moisture is due to the bulkhead discolored area drying out. I believe the water is draining out of the balsa core bulkhead. There are a couple of spots in the lower corner of the bulkhead where I can push on it and see water come out. Hopefully once I get it dried out the moisture will stop. Thanks for the input, updates later.
Greg

[Crackofdawn]

I finally found the source of my leak. It was the raw water PVC pipe that runs from the aft pump up the port side and to the rubber hose connection to the AC/Heat unit. A glued joint gave way in the PCV pipe. I had to pull the microwave and stove to get access to the joint. Why would the factory put a joint in this location? They did provide an access panel in the side for the cabinet behind the stove insert but I would have put the joint in the engine room instead of hiding it in this area. I had stopped using the heat and AC for awhile and as soon as I started using the AC again the fwd bilge started getting water and the floor would get wet so I pressure tested the line and sure enough, it would not hold pressure. Anyway leak is fixed and the fwd bilge stays dry now.

[rose_surfer]

I finally found the source of my leak.  It was the raw water PVC pipe that runs from the aft pump up the port side and to the rubber hose connection to the AC/Heat unit.  A glued joint gave way in the PCV pipe.  I had to pull the microwave and stove to get access to the joint.  Why would the factory put a joint in this location? They did provide an access panel in the side for the cabinet behind the stove insert but I would have put the joint in the engine room instead of hiding it in this area.  I had stopped using the heat and AC for awhile and as soon as I started using the AC again the fwd bilge started getting water and the floor would get wet so I pressure tested the line and sure enough, it would not hold pressure.  Anyway leak is fixed and the fwd bilge stays dry now.

Glad you found it- good detective work and thanks for posting the resolution.