[C320-list] Water collecting under the holding tank /// Consider Isolating the bilge water or drill additional holes to allow the water to enter the bilge from under the liner

[Kirk McCullough]

Rick

Do you have any pics of the cuts you made in the cabin sole? This is the one
area I haven't been able to look into? Your description  is good, but a pic
or two would help me understand how u did it. Did you cut out another lift
out piece, like the bilge pump cover?

Kirk
#124

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Rick Sulewski
Sent: 21 October 2009 19:39
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Water collecting under the holding tank ///
Consider Isolating the bilge water or drill additional holes to allow the
water to enter the bilge from under the liner

Warren & Patty,

Here are some additional notes to consider when deciding how to eliminate
the water trapped under the liner on early hull# 320s with a shallow bilge:

If you own an older 320 (earlier hulls below #295) check out the old 320
website technical info for shallow bilge boats. There should be a diagram
there indicating how to drill the necessary holes to allow water to drain
from under the liner to the bilge.

Here is an alternative approach that I used to solve the problem without
drilling additional holes (but I do accept a small degree of risk). My
strategy was to eliminate the water from flowing throughout the entire
length of the shallow bilge by installing test tube rubber stoppers sealed
with silicon chalk in each bilge compartment. That way the only bilge water
that is allowed to flow from the packing gland ends up at the bilge pump and
therefore, no bilge water flows under the cabin sole along the entire length
of the of all other bilge compartments. (If the boat has that much water
running into the cabin, I will have more problems to worry about than how
long the batteries will run the bilge pump!)

I also used a generous amount of silicon chalk to seal off all wire runs
under the liner that are observed under the port and starboard settees.

It was helpful to use Teflon coated packing gland material lubricated with
additional Teflon packing lubricant that permits me to tighten the packing
gland nut to the point where there is little of no water entering the bilge
after the packing gland material swells. I do have a stainless shaft that
also helps in this situation but they method also worked for me with the
bronze shaft for 7 years without scoring the bronze shaft before we wrapped
a stray dock line around the prop...another story there. I also open up the
packing gland to add Teflon lubricant before launch each season and
re-tighten the packing nut and add a ring of material every 4-5 years.

I do check each section of the bilge each month to monitor if there is any
leakage coming from the keel bolts or from the transducers located ahead of
the keel. After 15 seasons I have not had any water from those sources.

Just to be sure that there is no water under the liner, I also cut the cabin
sole section just aft of the bilge pump section to permit access to the
liner inspection port located under the most aft section of the cabin sole.
By cutting the sole section aft of the bilge pump section I now can remove
the cabin sole that covers the inspection port to the hull under the liner.
An inspection port is already designed into the liner to observe any water
below the liner, but the cabin sole covers up that inspection port.  It was
only necessary to make a 4-5 inch cut on each half of the aft cabin sole
(just aft of that first bilge section) along a line running perpendicular to
the stringer that served to separate the bilge section where the bilge pump
is located.

After 15 years I have had no problems with water under the liner while
sailing under severe heel.  Before I made the modifications, I had
experienced similar problems as you described.

Rick
My-Ria Hull #277




-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jane & Ken
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:35 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Water collecting under the holding tank



--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com> wrote:


From: Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com>
Subject: [C320-list] Water collecting under the holding tank
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 5:39 PM


I think I found how the water is getting into the battery compartment and
under the holding tank. I still don't know the original source of this
water.

I had occasion today to look under the aft battery. This is where the cables
from the engine and panel exit the conduit that carries them through the
stringer. Under the conduit is an opening through the liner to the space
between the hull and liner. It appears to be a failure to fully bond the
liner to the hull below the cable conduit. This explains why the water
appears after a serious heel on a port tack. It gushes up from below and
settles under the holding tank where there is no exit when on an even keel. 

I think it is important to fix this condition as I surely do not want
battery acid from a blown battery finding its way into the space between the
liner and hull. I'll try and take some pictures next time I'm on the boat. 

I'll probably pull the battery sometime this Winter and remove the battery
shelf to assess the situation. Hopefully, I take more pictures and report on
the repair.

I hasten to add that this only applies to the early models before the bonded
sub-structure. From the history list on our web site these boats may be only
the ones with Perkins engines. Maybe some early Westerbekes. 

Thanks to those of you who replied to my original inquiry. Just knowing
there are other with the same/similar problem is comforting and helpful in
keeping an open mind.

Warren & Pattie Updike
Catalina 320, #62, "Warr De Mar"
Middle River, Chesapeake Bay