[C320-list] New problem......

Sun Nov 29 02:55:37 PST 2015

Diane

I’m not quite sure if I have understood right, but if I have, then we had a similar problem with fluid coming from a crack where the grid matrix that supports the floor, joins the hull, which led us to wonder where the water was getting in to the matrix.

The answer is from a lot of places. As you probably know the drip panel beneath the gearbox and stern-gland is connected by a tube that runs under the engine drip pan, to the bilge. That tube can crack (its quite thin I think) and allow fluid into the space in the floor grid.

Also (depending on the age of your boat) the water pipes from the aft water tank lead through a cut-out and if they leak or water slops over the edge of that cut out, that can also lead into the grid

This document on the website http://www.catalina320.com/filemgmt_data/files/GridLiner.pdf gives some details and although newer models will have holes drilled there will probably still be some residual water inside and if theres a crack where the grid joins the hull it can seep out.

Graeme
#366 Jaskar, 1996

On 28 Nov 2015, at 19:39, Jeff Hare <catalina at thehares.com> wrote:

> Diane, your hull doesn't have a liner and you didn't say specifically where
> the crack is.
> 
> Whatever you do, I'd suggest you don't use silicone ...ever... on fiberglass
> or gelcoat.  It permeates the pores of this material and will prevent you
> from using epoxy or other proper bonding agent in the future without
> grinding out the material where the silicone touched, plus a little to get
> to uncontaminated material.
> 
> The proper solution here is probably to use epoxy to stop the leak. If
> you're sure it's not a structural problem, this is likely what I'd be doing
> on my boat.  
> 
> I'd take a dremel with a sanding/grinding disk and grind away the white
> bilge flowcoat along the length of this crack to get to the fiberglass. Then
> vacuum and wash this area.  Wipe it with a little acetone.  Take lots of
> close-up pictures and be sure they're sharp and focused for reference.  
> 
> Then I'd use a little J-B WaterWeld epoxy putty and put a very thin ribbon
> of this over the crack and press it into crack, lay a 1-1/2" wide strip of
> fiberglass roving over the top, press that onto the J-B weld and let it
> cure.  This should put a halt to the leaking.  Then I'd mix up a little
> batch of epoxy resin and pour it over the fiberglass mat you covered the J-B
> Weld with.  Make sure the fiberglass mat is well saturated with epoxy.  Let
> that cure for a full 24hrs.  If you're a purest, you might give the surface
> a quick sanding to smooth off the new fiberglass.   Buy a quart of White
> BilgeCoat and give the bilge a quick paint.  That's really easy and makes
> everything look brand new.
> 
> Then when the boat is hauled, I'd strip the bottom paint in the area where
> the leak is and look for the exterior part of the crack and assess how much
> of a repair that may need.   Obviously if it's leaking inside, there's a
> crack outside.  My guess is that the seam where the hull and keel meet has
> opened a little bit.  Perhaps because of improperly torqued keel boats,
> improper blocking on stands or maybe too little keel support during trucking
> (if the boat had been trucked long distance).
> 
> I'm guessing there however.
> 
> -Jeff Hare
> #809
> Woodbine II
> Newburyport, MA 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
> Of DianeFlr at aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2015 7:29 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] FW: New problem......
> 
> checked out those possibilities already.
> 
> nearest thru hull is the mascerator & it is dry around that.
> 
> I can SEE the water trickle down from crack
> 
> we own hull #948, year is 2003. We owned her since 2011 & it just began
> leaking since her haul out in June 2015 to get a new bottom job.
> 
> I went to the yard daily to check on things & never saw any  trouble.  She
> has NEVER had a hard grounding or accident of any kind.
> 
> strange mystery.......  will have my diver examine when he arrives  next
> Thursday.
> 
> thanks for writing.  I appreciate your time and thought.
> 
> Captain Diane Fowler,
> CRS, GRI, e-PRO
> Sellstate  Priority Realty network
> 
> Cell: 239-850-4935
> 
> www.CapeCoralhomes.com  
> 
> 
> In a message dated 11/27/2015 11:07:49 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> rsulewski at bex.net writes:
> 
> 
> 
> Diane, 
> 
> It strikes me that it would take a large  amount of water to push up through
> the bilge liner for a small crack to  begin weeping inside my vintage 320
> because there is a hull liner above the  actual hull. Therefore, more
> Information would be helpful; like your hull  year & number, the precise
> location in the bilge area relative to  section of the boat: under engine,
> pump area, keel, or forward of the mast,  etc.. The reason I inquire is
> because when a hull settles after it  on  the hard, it can develop hairline
> stress cracks in the engine bilge pan  area and hairline cracks may also be
> visible when inspecting a hull while  it is resting on its pads. Given the
> thickness of the hull, water seepage  is not likely thru minor stress cracks
> in the hull unless there was major  damage from a severe blow to the hull
> from an underwater strike or a hull  dropped on its cradle, etc. More likely
> there is a breach in the sealant  around a thru-hull or even an instrument
> installed under the waterline.  Also, depending how the hull was placed in
> the slings when it was hauled  out and then blocked, or placed in its
> cradle, minor hairline cracks or  fissures can develop in the gel coat over
> time as the hull flexes, but  water seepage needs to be run down if there is
> a breach in the hull because  overtime water can damage the hull laminate if
> was allowed to work on the  hull laminates & hull resins over time. 
> 
> 
> 
> On my hull with  multiple shallow bilge sections, I would first determine if
> the seepage is  traveling from another bilge compartment or  is the  seepage
> actually  originating from under the bilge/pan liner. Water  could be
> traveling from under the pan/liner from a variety of source points including
> leaking fixed port lights on the hull or even from a fresh water  hose or
> sea cooling system hose, the hot water tank hoses or that tank, or  from the
> fresh water tanks, etc. that may not be observed without checking  to learn
> how much water is under the bilge liner and then track down its  source. A
> simple solution is to seal the crack in the bilge after tracking  down the
> source of the seepage and could involve a generous amount of  sealant like
> caulk or better yet, an epoxy or resin paste that could still  crack again
> when the hull is stressed/flexed during the normal course of a  haul-out and
> storage. 
> 
> Rick
> 
> My-Ria, 95' 320, Hull  #277
> 
> 
> 
> From: C320-list  [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
> Of  Diane
> Sent: Friday, November 27, 2015 9:15 AM
> To:  C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: [C320-list] New  problem......
> 
> 
> 
> I just discovered a tiny crack.    In  my bilge.    Just seeping thru & my
> boat maintenance man has  no idea what to do.  Thru hull for master at pump
> is dry- no seepage  from holding tank...  Can we just silicone caulk this?
> Diver comes  monthly & has not noticed crack.... She was hauled last June
> and bottom  was perfect!!
> 
> 
> 
> Any ideas out there?????
> 
> 
> 
> Captain  Diane Fowler, Sellstate Realty,  cell. 239-850-4935.    Sent  from 
> my
> iPhone
> 
> 