Hi There
I went through the same thought process re outboard v inboard engine but was completely (and I think correctly) convinced by Matt of Swallow Yachts that the boat is much better suited to having an outboard. And in fact there are I think very few built with inboards 
Reluctantly I am having to sell my boat, and wonder whether you might be interested. She was built in 2021, very high spec and in pretty much immaculate condition.  She is pale grey, with teak trim, performance rig, Garmin chartplotter, harken winches, Yamaha 9.9 outboard with electric start , brand new (never been in the water) custom made trailer. Sail no is 78. She has been sailed very little and is currently stored undercover.  Let me know if you would like more details and pic.

Wow Gareth - I'm impressed that you spotted this.  The fleet of Swallow Yachts is only visible for about 3 seconds!

Hi Andy
I’ve had several sources of fresh water leaking into the locker. The shower unit is certainly suspect no 1 - either it needs a new washer on the shower head connector, or  possibly just tightening, or else check the push-fit plumbing connections. I have had problems with elbows leaking both in the heads and near the pump. I think part of the problem is that on a boat we keep depressurising the system and to some extent it’s the water pressure that maintains the seals.
Next suspect is the socket for the tiller pilot in the seat/locker lid. This socket is subject to quite high forces and the lid isn’t very thick. I noticed mine was starting to move under load and leaked rainwater. I glued a wooden backing pad on the inside and reset the socket with epoxy and haven’t had any trouble since.
Another way I managed to get water in was via a towel that I hang off the rail under the locker lid. I realised one day that the towel was wet because I’d got one corner of it trapped under the lid and it had wicked water in from the channel at the back, surprising how much water was in the bottom of the locker as a result.
It might also be worth checking the drainage channels around the lid for hair-line cracks.

I have water gathering in the port locker and wondered if anyone else had suffered from the same fate. According to my tongue it is fresh not salt.

I can't see anything obvious - my suspicions are with the whale shower - maybe it leaks down the side but really am not sure.  It and the bilge pump are the only holes.

It is not a lot - perhaps a litre over the past couple of months. It has been raining hard and consistently recently.

Next step I guess is to lay down some paper to see if they pick up a drip etc

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.


Andy B

Well the pump is all back together again now, and reinstalled on the boat yesterday. Turning it the other way up was slightly more involved than it should be on other boats as I have my fridge compressor mounted on the bulkhead and it gets in the way of the inlet hose. Without the compressor in the way you should be able to just turn it 180 degrees upside down and screw it back in the same holes. I had to glue another pad on a bit higher up, and it's also angled to give a better run for the hoses - see photo. When you turn it the other way up you will need to change the direction of pumping. You can either just switch the 12v wires round so the motor runs the other way, or you can turn the pump head 180 degrees. Switching the wires might sound easier, particularly as you may need to add more wire with the motor being further away, but it could cause confusion in future with the black supply wire connected to the red motor wire. Turning the pump head is just a matter of removing two nuts, turning it round and putting it back on again, so pretty simple.
One thing that I've noticed over time is that the system leaks air, so I have to prime the pump using the hand pump first otherwise it fails to suck the water up high enough to get to the pump. I think some air is getting in via the ballast/bilge changeover valve as you can see bubbles in the pipe, and also air is being drawn backwards through the Whale hand pump, and this is in spite of me installing a non-return valve in the line. Once it's sucking water it's ok, but it still slowly sucks the water back from the hand pump until after about 5 minutes it's just sucking air again and needs another few pumps on the handle. It takes about 20-25 minutes to empty the tank, but I seem to remember when new it took 15-20. 
If you want any info about refurbishing the motor then let me know.

(For some reason the thumbnail photo is rotated 90 but it's the right way up when you click on it for full size?)