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After sailing the (242 outings) for 11 years I should know this. End of boating season for our harbor so Motored the and evacuated ballast water per the pinky test,trailered her back home with drain vent open and jacked up trailer to drain remaining ballast water.Open up cabin next day and find 3 inches of water on cabin floor? While pumping out noticed water going in and out of that WEEP HOLE. ???? Where does that water weep out to? worried about it freezing up over winter. Also while I have your attention Is there a good remedy for repelling mice and spiders during storage beside cedar balls? Thanks such much.

Don’t know about the X but in the M the weep hole just goes into the ‘bilge’. If it were not there, the bilge could fill with water without being on the cabin floor and destabilize the boat. You could try moth balls but that might be worse than a few spiders come spring.

rick retiree wrote:After sailing the (242 outings) for 11 years I should know this. End of boating season for our harbor so Motored the and evacuated ballast water per the pinky test,trailered her back home with drain vent open and jacked up trailer to drain remaining ballast water.Open up cabin next day and find 3 inches of water on cabin floor? While pumping out noticed water going in and out of that WEEP HOLE. ???? Where does that water weep out to? worried about it freezing up over winter. Also while I have your attention Is there a good remedy for repelling mice and spiders during storage beside cedar balls? Thanks such much.

If its the hole I'm thinking of (at floor level centered at the entrance to the aft berth, under the companionway ladder) it is meant to allow any trapped water in the aft "bilges" to drain foreword. I think it was actually meant to be more of a warning that there is a leakage problem somewhere in the aft. If the hole were not there, you wouldn't know the water was being trapped. There is likely more than one possible cause, but the first thing I'd check is the hose back there that drains the motor well.

paul I wrote:There is likely more than one possible cause, but the first thing I'd check is the hose back there that drains the motor well.

This one.



Three screws to take that cloth-covered panel off, and this is what's under there. Or under mine, at least, but that's the motor well drain line.

rick retiree wrote:...Also while I have your attention Is there a good remedy for repelling mice and spiders during storage beside cedar balls? Thanks such much.

We use fabric softener sheets all over the boat. Just toss them about. Never had any rodents and the boat smells nice a fresh in the spring.

We also put a screen on the ballast tube as extra defense against anything crawling in there, seems to work for us.

taime1 wrote:
We also put a screen on the ballast tube as extra defense against anything crawling in there, seems to work for us.

Why not simply lower the valve cover?

March wrote:

taime1 wrote:
We also put a screen on the ballast tube as extra defense against anything crawling in there, seems to work for us.

Why not simply lower the valve cover?

Well, to keep the air flowing and keep things dry, I suppose. That, and mostly because the PO made a little contraption out of a PVC elbow and screen - so I use it.

I use five bars of "Irish Spring" soap placed around the interior. It was soo effective, it got rid of the bleach smell the zealous PO had left with us as a result of using too many bleach tablets in the ballast.

WASP18 wrote:I use five bars of "Irish Spring" soap placed around the interior.

That's a pretty clean fix.

Thanks to those Macmen for responding to my post. Removed hatches and Found 2 inches of water in each of the four chambers in rear bilge. Checked Motorwell drain hose no leak. Havent the fogiest how water got back there but will keep an eye on it. Have installed a bilge pump where original battery was located and tapped into sink drain. Dont think that will solve that rear bilge problem but have noticed water at that spot in the past.

My leaks come from 1 or 5 things:

1. Faulty water system. I have a bladder system under the front vee berth. Plastimo's can have a seal problem at the hose connections. It has leaked through bilges & pooled in rear bilges.

2. Leaks from cockpit mods that have been poorly sealed. From bimini connections, A lazerrette mod I made in starboard seat to an annoying drip from the motor well. And additions I have made to & around pedestal. Check your work. All affected by a good rain.

& speaking of rain, 3. check your connection cables that go through transom wall to motor. Make sure your boot is waterproofed. This is a biggie

4. I have a 97 & my rubrail is worn & I get rain in the side bilges bad

5. Check & seal your chainplates & bow hook.

Good Luck

Ah grasshopper, the solution is very simple.

If you keep your Mac in it's trailer and under cover, then water is not a problem.

You don't actually need to ever put it in the water. People will assume you do - invitations from other boat owners will abound.

"Catigale" mentioned in a recent thread that he installed three bilge pumps in his X.

Would be nice if he would describe in some detail how he did it, placement of pumps, brand name of pumps, how and where the water is expelled, is it automatic or manual and has it worked out well?

By the way: I have water coming in in my 2011 through the connector for the running lights. And it is NOT a problem of sealig. But the water comes somewhere through the connector.

Si I will have to replace some time.

Difficult to find out... by the way...

Well, I finally found the leak that has been dogging me for like 3-4 years now. I tried everything on my 2000 X, fixed all the slight deck leaks I had, redid the chain plates, caulked the rub rail...but could never figure it out until today when I went sailing. I had narrowed it down to the galley area and got it dried out and put paper towels there that were staying dry when I was sailing downwind. But as I turned the boat from downwind to a starboard reach, it made the boat lean over about 10 degrees to the port side and right about then I see the paper towels getting wet from the front. We had room to run so I went down there pulled everything out and apparently, on that one tack, when the drain hole for the galley sink falls below the waterline with that angle, it has a little small leak that starts dribbling pretty good. The problem seems to be in the fiberglass nipple that connects to the thru-hull (and to the hose), and its at the top of the nipple. So this is why when I drain the sink, it doesn't leak, cause that water goes out the bottom half of the tube and therefore does not hit the leaky hole in the top of the nipple. Only when the boat is leaned over and there is all that sea water pressure on the whole hole, does it start spewing out the top of the nipple before it gets to the hose.

Now what's weird is that this leak was not there before a few years ago..my boat was dry as a bone for like the first dozen years..I wonder what caused it..maybe just a void that kept getting worse or I dunno. Anyway, it is just a tiny little fiberglass repair job but I'll go ahead and reinforce that whole nipple area with a couple more layers of fiberglass and that should take care of it and I can go back to being a dry boat again...like the good ole days..