Water in forward bilge

[sph801]

Hello fellow Maxum owners. I purchased my 3300 SCR in 2019. I had some water in the forward bilge (small access hatch in the aft cabin). I pumped it out and kept checking it periodically and it's been bone dry. I need to mention that for some reason the previous owner cut and taped up all the wires going to the float and pump. He also pulled the wire off the switch at the helm. ??? I never looked into it because the bilge was always dry. Fast forward a few weeks ago, I checked the bilge and there was water in there. I've started the process of working to get the pump and float switch working but my question is: where is the water coming from?
1. I believe on the 3300 the forward bilge doesn't drain to the aft bilge.
2. I don't have a built in AC so it's not condensation
3. My shower drain goes right into a pump that gets pumped out through a through hull fitting. I don't know if this is standard but it's how mine is set up. I checked the pump and the drain and don't see any leaks.
4. I removed an access panel in the top of the port side storage locker in the aft cabin. This gave me a view of the underside of the fresh water fill port and overflow drain. I filled the water tank until water came out of the overflow fitting and no leaks.
5. I ran a hose on the bow allowing water to enter the anchor locker. Nothing there.
If anyone can point me in another direction or better yet has the same boat and has identified this issue please help.


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[Phillbo]

Fresh water or salt ? If salt, taste the water.... Do you get a lot of rain where the boat is? If so try sucking it out with a wet vac and see if it comes back only after a rain.... How much water?

[geoffm70]

exact same thing was happening to my '94 3200scr.

turned out to be a slight leak from the faucet in the head. it was under the counter, found it via the access behind the galley seat backrest on the head wall. Thankfully it was obvious and a simple fix.

If it's fresh water and hasn't rained, maybe draw a line of the water level in fresh water tank and see if the water level moves?

[sph801]

Thanks for the responses guys. I dipped a finger in the water and tried tasting it. Seemed like fresh but couldn't tell for sure. I'm going to pick up a hydrometer from Petco and test the water. We've had some rain but I can't see it pouring in. If it's rain it's seems it's a slow accumulation in the bilge. Thanks for the tip on the leaking sink. I will see if I can access it somewhere and have a look. The only issue with that is we spend a lot of time on Moorings and on anchor where we leave the fresh water pump on. I don't hear it cycling on and off without running water unless the leak happens when the faucet is running. Will check that. Thanks again guys.


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[sph801]

So I'm at the boat. Just checked the forward bilge and between Monday 1pm and today at 3pm I pumped out about 1 gallon of water.

1 - When I left the boat Monday I took the town water hose off the boat.
2 - The fresh water tank was full and still is.
3 - The fresh water pump was off but I turned it on when I got here today. It has not been running.
4 - I was able to remove my toilet paper holder which gave me access to the head faucet. Bone dry. No leaks there.

I bought a Hydrometer. The good news is that it's fresh water in the bilge.



But where is it coming from!!!!

I mentioned I ran a hose on the anchor locker/bow. Could it have taken awhile to reach the bilge? I also need to find out if there was any rain here at the boat.


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[sph801]

I still haven't found the source of the water but today I got the bilge pump working. During the processes I discovered the float switch didn't work so a trip to West Marine and I had a new float switch. So at least now the switch at the helm will manually run the pump and the float switch will do it's thing. Now to continue the search for the source of the water. I am so hoping it's not a small leak in the fresh water tank. I have no idea how I would get it out.


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