[C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts

[Jeff Church]

Cy,

Yep, we are neighbors. I visit Northpoint a couple times a year when we go 
out for a daysail and stop at the restaurant at Skipper Buds.

When you lift the piece of cabin sole that covers the bilge, you're looking 
at the hull and the stringers. They are the transverse portion of the hollow 
floor timber grid that support the hull and the cabin sole.

JeffC



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <cyrace at comcast.net>
To: "C320-List" <C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts


> Jeff, help me out.  What are stringers?  I believe you're in Waukegan 
> harbor, right?  We're neighbors, I'm in North Point.
>
> Cy
> Hull #948
>
> --
> Cy Race
> cyrace at comcast.net
> 847/731-1172
>
> -------------- Original message -------------- 
> From: "Jeff Church" <jjemail at comcast.net>
>
>> 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:
>> To: "C320-List"
>> 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
>>
>>