Ballast tank leak or hull breach - MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!

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Catigale
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Ballast tank leak or hull breach - MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!

Post by Catigale »

I noticed Im collecting water in my bilge at a rate too fast for rain leaks or seepage from water tanks...
:(

It seems like most likely candidate is a ballast leak since Ive inspected the hull from outside and cant see any damage issues...

Anyone have any experience on the :macx: here...I believe it is on starboard side.

ON edit - summarising thread - after testing ballast and hull found no breach...leak is most likely overlow from ballast valve with loose plug

On edit Sep 2007 - found leak source was badly corroded compression post, probably due to electrolysis.

On edit May 2012 - the compression post was found to be composed of stainless steel on one end and mild non-stainless steel on the other - the corrosion was inevitable for this material.
Last edited by Catigale on Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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LOUIS B HOLUB
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Post by LOUIS B HOLUB »

Just a thought...the galley sink, and head sink drains are things I'd check. Maybe the hose clamps, etc. couldve been knocked loose. These drains are at the water lines when the Mac X is afloat and ballasted.
Next, I'd put some color dye in the ballast tank, and see if the bilge leakage indicates that as a problem.

Good luck....I hope you post what you eventually discover....thanks.
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Mork
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Post by Mork »

Just a thought. If it is a ballast leak then it follows that if you put it up on the trailer then the water should leak back into ballast tank if the transom valve is open. If the water does go from the bilge then there is your problem.

If it does not, though not conclusive, it suggets otherwise.

Have you double checked your through hulls?

Have you tasted it? Sweet or saline?

Just trying to apply logic and help sorry if it sounds like trying to suck eggs.

"Keep it on the wet stuff"
leon Aka Mork
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Catigale
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Post by Catigale »

Im going to try filling the ballast tank on land with a dry bilge and see if I can see where water comes from inside.

Normally I would oppose such an appalling waste of water, but its end of pool season and I have 3000 gallons of extra in the back yard...life is good.

Stay tuned.
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NiceAft
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Post by NiceAft »

Another thought. :idea:

When mechanics want to find if there is a coolant leak in your cars compressor, they place a dye in the freon (or whatever they use now). Using the same idea, but a different sense (Smell), try the following.

Empty the ballast, refill it, but place a fair amount of bleach in the vent in the bow. Clean any spillage well, and air out the boat. If there is a leak from the ballast it will smell of bleach. If the leak is from elsewhere, it won't smell. Might this work?
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Catigale
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Post by Catigale »

Can anyone point me to a decent diagram of the ballast tank layout on the 2002 vintage :macx: please??

Im going to have to understand where the leak is coming from to pull this off...
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Greg
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Post by Greg »

Stephen,

I would suspect the usual leak points (chain plates, deck hardware, windows, anchor locker drain, sink drains engine mount area etc) before getting overly concerned about the ballast leaking. Get your twin helpers out there with garden hoses and have them hit each suspect piece while you monitor the inside with a flashlight.

To check the ballast with the boat on the trailer:

Fill the water ballast then drop the tongue down to the ground to put pressure on the forward part of the system then check for leaks- then raise the tongue to put pressure on the aft part of the system.

When I was looking at used X’s, I found one that had been in the water with the ballast full for over a year. I was concerned that the tanks could have frozen over the winter and fractured the system. I talked to Bill and that was his recommendation for checking the system for leaks.

We ended up not doing the test after a pre inspection of the boat and motor prompted us to continue looking.

Additional thought: I have never filled the ballast on our boat when it is loaded on the trailer but I am curious what the weight distribution would be, i.e. if you raise the tongue you wouldn’t want too much weight aft or she may sit on her haunches.
IIRC some have filled the ballast with the boat on the trailer to weigh her down as part of hurricane preparation.

Good Luck!
Greg
Last edited by Greg on Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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wtelliott
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Post by wtelliott »

I had water appearing in my 01X bilge last year. With the ballast full, the boat sat lower in the water and I discovered that the thru hull for the sink drain had a leak. The fiberglassing around the thru hull was done poorly. When the ballast was empty, the boat rode high enough in the water so waves and whatnot didn't pose a problem. The admiral and I took her out when there was some decent chop and while she manned (or womanned) the helm, I was crawling around searching for the leak. Found water coming in when a wave hit the galley sink thru hull with a little force.
Didn't take much to repair, but since then I have made it a point to check the bilge regularly.
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Frank C

Post by Frank C »

Catigale wrote:Can anyone point me to a decent diagram of the ballast tank layout on the 2002 vintage :macx: please??
The original line drawings convey a hint of the tank's design. IIRC, it's basically 2 low-profile tanks, bow and stern, connected by two tunnels. The 26M uses the same design, so that diagram is similar.
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They Theirs
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Post by They Theirs »

Fill the boat with water. Hook up yard blower to drain, put on a dive suit...Bubble-Up.....Add soap for amusement.
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Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL
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Re: Ballast tank leak or hull breach??

Post by Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL »

Catigale wrote:I noticed Im collecting water in my bilge at a rate too fast for rain leaks or seepage from water tanks...

:(

It seems like most likely candidate is a ballast leak since Ive inspected the hull from outside and cant see any damage issues...

Anyone have any experience on the :macx: here...I believe it is on starboard side.
Maybe it's from the stress of being towed at 14 mph.
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Catigale
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Post by Catigale »

:D
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theroche
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Post by theroche »

:macx:
Any recent mods around the tank area, or???
Please post what you find
godd hunting
mike
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Catigale
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Post by Catigale »

Macerator in the rear table seat, but all the drilling etc was well away from the tank....Ive got her in the driveway right now and will dry her out completely, then fill the ballast tank and let the hunt begin.
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Catigale
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Post by Catigale »

Heres a question...I will drain my pool into the ballast tank this coming weekend and want to level the boat...what should I use as reference

Centerboard trunk?
Bootstripe?

Some part of deck?

The boat sits pretty level with respect to the bootstripe on the water so that sort of makes sense to me

Im trying to reproduce the position of the boat in the water, then fill the ballast with dry bilge and see if I can see water coming in.

I can see an area on top of the ballast tank that 'looks' like it might seep in the 'fridge locker'...goods news is I can get to it without cutting.

IF this fails I will take her down the to the Hudson and ballast up and read the Sunday times for this experiment...tough life.....
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