[C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts

[Jeff Church]

After chasing all the usual sources ('fringe drain, water tanks, air 
conditioner, various water heater sources, area under the galley drawers, 
packing gland, stern shower hose, emergency tiller access) I discovered that 
the stringers are hollow (sometimes they are filled with foam) and can hold 
a fair amount of water. Water that has accumulated in the bilge enters or 
leaves the ends of the stringers as the boat heels under sail. Water can 
also weep into or out of the stringers in the bilge area through small 
pin-holes where the stringer is tabbed to the hull. The solution was to 
drill a 1/4" hole through the top of the stringers and down through the 
foam, and manage to avoid drilling through the hull. Do this to the 2 
stringers on either side of the sump that contains the float switch. Then 
use an OilBoy pump to remove the water. Now I pump them out every spring 
after I finish commissioning the boat and the bilge stays bone dry.

JeffC

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <crashley at gte.net>
To: "C320-List" <C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 8:10 AM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts


I have another theory on this. I always had standing water in the three
lowermost sections of the bilge (where the keel bolts are) which I
attributed to the old style packing glad that I know was dripping a little
fast but I didn't want to mess with the corroded nuts. Last week I put in a
PYI dripless seal which stopped all water coming in thru at the prop shaft,
then I pumped and dried out all three sections and they stayed that way for
several days. After I came back from a rather exhilarating sail last weekend
(went thru some high heeling angles)  I noticed  a little water in the first
2 foremost bilge sections. I thought "crap" but afterward I realized that
maybe this was some standing water in the bilge line that goes all the way
to the back of the boat and (I assume) must be still filled with water and
maybe the boat movement and heeling caused it dump back into the bilge. I
will test this theory at some point by emptying the bilge line.

CRA
Rosebud #882