[C320-list] Weeping Keel Bolt

[P.F. Ross]

Tom,

I, too, have wondered about water collecting in my bilge around keel
bolts.  Like Dave, my boat is much older than yours and has the "shallow
bilge" so water leak paths are probably different between your boat and
mine.

One thing I have done to "test" this water source is to wet the very tip of
my finger in the water and taste it on the tip of my tongue (and I know I
am not the only one who has done this).  Salty = bad news.  So far, I am
ok, both with not tasting salt and still being alive.  Also, prob not a
good idea if you suspect a holding tank leak.

Not sure where you are, but obviously would not work if you were in fresh
water.  Good luck!

Frank Ross
Beta Wave #206



On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 5:34 PM Dave Hupe <hoopdtwo at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I doubt a keel bolt is leaking unless your keel to hull joint is severely
> bad.  My boat is 1994, much older than yours.  I have had similar concerns
> in the past when I detected seepage that appeared to be a leaking bolt.
> Instead there was seepage from elsewhere that migrated into/below the
> structural grid toward such a low spot and only looked like a leaking bolt
> on first reaction.  One source of water was my shaft packing gland after I
> had replaced it and not tightened it much at first.  More recently, I had a
> leaking original water hose within the structural grid that went from my
> galley area to the head sink.
> Dave Hype
> 1994 C320 (#32)
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>
>   On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 4:30 PM, RONALD HODEL<ronandgail2 at me.com>
> wrote:   I have no idea having not had that experience but, golly, I would
> have thought the marina staff commissioning the boat would have said
> something right away.
>
> Ron Hodel
> #1070 Lokomaikai
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On May 25, 2021, at 1:24 PM, Tom Grass <tgrass462 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Our bilge pump has been running quite regularly (every 10 minutes or
> so, 6
> > seconds each time) ever since launch two weeks ago.  We assumed we might
> > have an internal water leak from one of our two water tanks.
> >
> > We just learned that during commissioning the marina staff noticed a keel
> > bolt which was apparently allowing water to “weep” into the bilge.  We do
> > not know the details of this condition, for example does the boat have to
> > be pulled to fix?
> >
> > Have any of you had similar experiences?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Tom & Tracy Grass
> > S/V Bucket List
> > 2008 Catalina 320 MK II
> > # 1135
>
>