Leak in the cabin floor 1999x

[Tony E]

HI I have a 98x and after I got it for the first several months I always had a leak so I feel your pain:( The little hole under the stairs is simply an indicator that yes you have water under your top floor and that this is just a warning to you that you have water in the boat. When I first discovered this I then took the covers off the floor to find out that I had a major leak and I had taken on gallons and glallons of water and i started to pump the water out. Usually any forward motion will cause most of the water under your floor to travel into the back and once the back half is filled up with water then it will start coming out that little hole or when you stop. It took me a while to figure out as there are a lot of possibilities for a 98X to leak but mine was where the previous owner had drilled 2 - 3 inch holes in the bottom of the boat to install sensors for speed and depth. Does that even sound right to drill holes in the bottom of the boat? Anyway after I fixed that hole I have been good since. I still have a small leak in the ceiling somewhere as it leaks when it rains but I'll figure that one out maybe this summer. I hope this helps:)

[dlandersson]

Picture? There may be some confusion here. I have a 97X and my "little hole under the stairs" is the vent for my water ballast tank.

HI I have a 98x and after I got it for the first several months I always had a leak so I feel your pain:( The little hole under the stairs is simply an indicator that yes you have water under your top floor and that this is just a warning to you that you have water in the boat. When I first discovered this I then took the covers off the floor to find out that I had a major leak and I had taken on gallons and glallons of water and i started to pump the water out. Usually any forward motion will cause most of the water under your floor to travel into the back and once the back half is filled up with water then it will start coming out that little hole or when you stop. It took me a while to figure out as there are a lot of possibilities for a 98X to leak but mine was where the previous owner had drilled 2 - 3 inch holes in the bottom of the boat to install sensors for speed and depth. Does that even sound right to drill holes in the bottom of the boat? Anyway after I fixed that hole I have been good since. I still have a small leak in the ceiling somewhere as it leaks when it rains but I'll figure that one out maybe this summer. I hope this helps:)

[Seapup]

Picture? There may be some confusion here. I have a 97X and my "little hole under the stairs" is the vent for my water ballast tank.

This is just a random boat I found online, you can see it under the steps.



The thought is since the floor liner is sealed you could have a couple thousand pounds of water in the bilge without knowing and capsize if it all goes to one side. The hole is there so you see water on the floor and know something is wrong.

[dlandersson]

Ok, my '97 26X does not have the same step configuration. It's built up and the vent hole is on the top.

Are you missing a piece?

[Seapup]

Ok, my '97 26X does not have the same step configuration. It's built up and the vent hole is on the top.

Are you missing a piece?

There were about a dozen changes to the 99/00 by the factory. One was the ballast vent was moved from under the step to the bow (to prevent trapped air) and the step was removed completely and replaced with a ladder.

I read somewhere that Macgregor recommended drilling a hole in the liner of the pre 99 boats back by the step so any water in the bilge will be visible as it spills onto the floor. Better there than sinking you. Seems silly, but I guess they wanted to make it idiotproof and prevent someone from capsizing a boat full of water.

[Tony E]

Now I am confused but don't worry that's pretty easy to do:) There is two holes around that area on my 98X. Mine has the step that you can remove by undoing two butterfly nuts. If you take the step off then you can see a plug that when pulled goes directly into the ballast tank and this is how you fill or empty your ballast but equalizing the pressure. If this step was on and you were looking at the front of it then you would see the little smaller hole on the bottom of the front that you can see in the picture. This is the hole that i was talking about being your "I'm taking in water" indicator hole. Is it different on a 99X?

[March]

What we call "the bilge" in the pre 1999 26x is actually a two compartment area: the first one is the ballast tank which is self-contained. In theory. Unless the ballast tank is punctured, the water insdide it is accessible only throiugh the valve aft of the transom and the "breathing hole" Tony is describing, under the one step. That's it.
This ballast container is embedded into the bilge proper which is divided into two, roughly, by the boot of the swinging keel. If there's water in the bilge, it will typically collect at its lowest point: under the galley, or under the setee. If the boat sits on the trailer, nose-up, it is possible for the water to collect under the cockpit area, but it'll still come forward mid-section of the boat, as soon as the boat floats. From whence it must be bailed out, either by way of a pump, or towel-wringing, or a plastic bailer, or whateve. The water inthe bilge will typically come from badly insulated chain-plates--or from a punctured water container that must have leaked gallons upon gallos of fresh water.
Now the little hole next to the step will either leak water when the bilge is already full of it, or will drain the water (into the bilge) that must have come through the companionway, or whatever.
You need to look under the galley: is the bilge dry there when the boat is horizontal? Look under the table, too, or under the starboard settee: is that areas of the bilge also dry? You may have water on the starboard side of the bilge, but not on the port side.

[jbgibbs99]

PS - Declan - I was at the Hotel Arts a couple of weeks ago and was admiring a 26x in the marina by there - was that you by any chance?

[gabid]

Now I am confused but don't worry that's pretty easy to do:) There is two holes around that area on my 98X. Mine has the step that you can remove by undoing two butterfly nuts. If you take the step off then you can see a plug that when pulled goes directly into the ballast tank and this is how you fill or empty your ballast but equalizing the pressure. If this step was on and you were looking at the front of it then you would see the little smaller hole on the bottom of the front that you can see in the picture. This is the hole that i was talking about being your "I'm taking in water" indicator hole. Is it different on a 99X?

My is a '98 as well. She has the step with butterfly nut, but no vent hole under the step, it is just lining there. The vent for the ballast tank is forward under the v-berth. So 1998 was the year with a lot of design changes from manufacturer.

[Tomfoolery]

My is a '98 as well. She has the step with butterfly nut, but no vent hole under the step, it is just lining there. The vent for the ballast tank is forward under the v-berth. So 1998 was the year with a lot of design changes from manufacturer.

My '99 has the removable step with the butterfly nut, and the ballast vent in the bow (none under the step). But mine DOES have the little weep hole where the step/stern berth plinth meets the cabin sole, like those with the folding ladder instead of the step in the pic above.

Go figure.

[Declan]

jbgibbs99
sorry for late reply. Mine is parked in the same Marina hidden amid the small boats . The one you saw just by the waters edge is owned by a Spanish guy.
I have been living here in my mac for 2 and a half years now and for a year before in Ireland where I bought it. Guess I am the only one in this site to live for so long in a Mac.

Still have water under the floor. Put dye in the tank and can say it is sea water down there for sure. Although there is no sign of water entry there, the local mechanic believes it must be coming from the water intake for the toilet. There is always water around there on that side. It has not come onto the main floor recently and since hauling it out into the dockyard is expensive, I am waiting on that.