Forward Bilge Compartment Question
 

My boat hasn't been in the water in the last two months but somehow water seems to find it's way into this compartment. I don't even use the ice chest in the boat. Where does the water for this compartment come from? I don't have anything in the front 3 compartments either besides the stupid orange life jackets.

If you have water in the main bilge and the bow is lower than the stearn, it will find its way there - same from trailering. The anchor locker could also leak water back under the step if the drain hose cracks or clamps leak.

There is no water in the main bilge. When not towing the bow is higher then the stern. Where does the icechest drain to? The other thing that is weird is the water is always light brown almost like oil or something.

Bow hatch leaking?

Honestly I don't know. There are no signs of it leaking and it doesn't rain much where were at.

May sound stupid, but what color is the water you boat in, or possibly if you recently bought the boat, where the boat came from. The lakes we boated on in NC and SC were tinted with tanic acid from all of the trees. The water looked like coffee. Another thought is that it could be water seeping/draining out of the stringer channels or bulkheads in the locations where the wood is not coated in resin. If I remember, some members on here commented that the limber holes were not necessarily at the "bottom" of the compartments, and the holes were not necessarily sealed with resin.

I can't remember where I had the boat last but I typically boat in the Pacific, Havasu, or Lake Elsinore is right by my house so it occasionally get's dunked in there. The water in Elsinore looks like the water in my boat, color wise. Hmmmm

Myself and a buddy with a similar Fountain have the same problem. It think it comes from the engine bilge forward when you are running. The ice chest does drain into the forward bilge. In my boat, the water in the forward bilge under the step is brown also. It could be from anywhere, including the anchor locker. I have given up trying to find the source and just wet vacuum it out once in a while when I clean the boat.

My 38 does the same thing.I too have given up looking for it.It gets wet right under the steps into the cabin.I will use the shop vac thing or a good towel.

Bow rails could be leaking. On my 29, my anchor locker was leaking. (I left the anchor in there and ran big seas)

If the water is clean, it has recently gotten in there. If it's brown, it's been there for a while. Heavy rains will quickly point out a problem.