Help needed -- water in the bow

[Slayer]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to the forum as I purchased my first Parker, a 1989 2520, this past fall. After repowering and replacing the fuel tank, I've been extremely happy with the boat but I've just encountered what seems to be a significant problem and I'm wondering if anyone could provide some help?

The bow of the boat (beneath the pilot house) is holding a significant amount of water that I believe should be draining to the bilge but will not. There is so much water now held in the bow cavity that it's come up to the top of both drain holes and sloshes out when under power. The drains aren't actually connected to flexi-tubing, instead they're simply holes that empty into the hull cavity.

From replacing the fuel tank, I know that there's a PVC pipe that runs beneath the tank and connects the bow cavity to the bilge. Despite many attempts to snake the pipe, I've been unsuccessful in getting a plumbing snake or electrical snake to enter the pipe. I was thinking of cutting an access hole (that I would later cover with a plastic inspection plate) just forward of the tank cavity (within the pilot house and again just forward of the drain hole pictured below) so that I can get my hand into the bow cavity to find the opening to the pipe but I'm unsure of the stringer plan and whether I would intersect a stringer that runs across the boat at that particular point.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated as I'm now worried that serious rot could be occurring due to the sitting water. Thank you!

 

[A-K]

Could you locate a boro-scope and video probe down the drains and access port.

Could the source of the water be the anchor drain…rain water or seawater? Did you try running the snake down the anchor drain?

Just some thoughts. Good luck.

 

[Master_and_PropBreaker]

Feel your concern about the sitting water. Not sure how to fix your drain problem, but until you solve that, you may be able to get most of the water out. You'll need some kind of manual pump or 12v bilge pump though, and for your boat to be 5-point secured to the trailer. After making an inspection plate hole somewhere in the lower part of your bow interior (where will not compromise anything structurally) and securing your trailer wheels with chocks, consider lowering the hitch with a floor jack. For safety reasons, when lowering, don't stand or position jack in front of the hitch - go in from the side. When low enough, support the hitch with a block of wood. Should slosh all the water to the front - and you can pump it out. Afterwards, see if you can rent a compaxial blower with ducting that will fit the inspection plate hole and blow hella air through the cavity. It should help speed up your drying process.

 

[baker]

Feel your concern about the sitting water. Not sure how to fix your drain problem, but until you solve that, you may be able to get most of the water out. You'll need some kind of manual pump or 12v bilge pump though, and for your boat to be 5-point secured to the trailer. After making an inspection plate hole somewhere in the lower part of your bow interior (where will not compromise anything structurally) and securing your trailer wheels with chocks, consider lowering the hitch with a floor jack. For safety reasons, when lowering, don't stand or position jack in front of the hitch - go in from the side. When low enough, support the hitch with a block of wood. Should slosh all the water to the front - and you can pump it out. Afterwards, see if you can rent a compaxial blower with ducting that will fit the inspection plate hole and blow hella air through the cavity. It should help speed up your drying process.

I don’t see the pipe in the picture?
A hole can also be drilled in the cabin floor for access

 

[Antidote]

The access into the bilge inside the pilot house should go just behind the entrance to the birth. If you have a holding tank for the head it is mounted just inside the entrance to the pilothouse. Right in front of the drain in the floor in your picture.

 

[Slayer]

Thanks everyone. The water is getting in through a leaky deck hatch and entering the bow cavity via the two floor drains in the pilot house. There must be some way for the water that accumulates beneath these drains to reach the bilge and I'm assuming it's the PVC pipe that runs the length of the keel (beneath the fuel tank) that I saw when we removed the old tank.

Antidote -- that's helpful! If I create an access point just forward of the floor drain in the picture, you think the drain pipe opening will be directly below it?

 

[Antidote]

Antidote -- that's helpful! If I create an access point just forward of the floor drain in the picture, you think the drain pipe opening will be directly below it?

If you have a holding tank the drain pipe goes under it also. The easiest access would be where the factory installed my hatch which is just behind the entrance to the berth. I'm doing my 500 hour today. If I remember I'll snap a pic and post of the house deck today. Things may have changed over time though. My boat is a 2019.