[C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts

[crashley at gte.net]

I think a layman's term for stringers would be "ribs", if that helps.

CRA
Rosebud #882

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Church" <jjemail at comcast.net>
To: "C320-List" <C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 9:44 AM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Water in Bilge and Keel Bolts


> 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
>>>
>>>
>
>
>