1985 23' Inboard Question

[TDL]

Hi,

New to me 1985 23' inboard and have been working out the kinks for the past couple months. I'm curious as to areas where the deck/topside can be letting water drain into the bilge.

I've read on here that there is a seam where the deck and gunwales meet, but to be honest, I can't find it. From the bow to midship, it is flush with the gunwales, then from mid ship aft, there is a gutter. It doesn't look like there's any opening in the gutter, but maybe I'm just missing it...?

The two areas I think I have narrowed down where water getting into is the aft deck hatch (access to shaft, exhaust, tanks) which is only caulked in place. The second is on the transom where the 3 hatches have boxes in the transom, but the fit isn't flush with the boxes.

The reason I'm looking at the topside first before shaft/rudder/thru hulls, etc., is that last Friday, when I undid the plugs in the stern, all of the water was fresh rain water from the storms we had over the week.

Any info is appreciated. Thanks

[John3325]

I have a 76' IB, and the I get water in the bilge from pretty much everywhere based on the design of the deck/hatches. The forward hatch that slides under the console is not sealed at all. My stern hatch is not sealed at all either right now. I put a new exhuast hose on, repacked my rudder, ran new raw water hose, etc. so I lift my stern hatch up every few weeks to check on everything.

Rain water and salt water has sneaked down under the hatch for sure. My stuffing box access is a wood hatch as well which definitely doesn't seal tight against rain.

Now I am not sure if the 85' is setup differently from my 76', but if the stern hatch is sealed up good there are plenty of spots for rain water to sneak in regardless.

I have two bilge pumps, staggered so one does most of the work and the other is the "oh crap" pump. So far, front one has never gone off. Even without sealing the stern hatch yet, I have never felt unsafe or worried about the little water that sits in the bilge.

Seal everything up as good as you can, make sure you have at least two bilge pumps in your bilge, and go have some fun in one of the best 23' boats around.

[TDL]

Appreciate the response.

My deck layout is as follow: bow fish box/storage which has remained bone dry all season (surprised when comparing to my 76' MA we also have). The battery box that sits right in front of the console, the hatch was replaced with a water tight commercial grade hatch. I haven't seen any water in that yet.

Other than that, the only other deck hatch is the back one.

I have two bilge pumps too, but need to replace the forward one. I haven't felt 'unsafe' either, but more curious and just trying to understand the boat best as possible.

[fishlips56]

I have the same setup with the same infiltration areas as john3325 on my 76 23 Inboard. The rear deck hatch turns up at a 90 degree angle at the transom, water can seep in from the aft gutter if the vertical section isn't sealed. The dry storage hatch in front of the console also has 2 small drain holes at the rear of the gutter that drain to the bilge. Barry