[C38] Bilge Pump and mast leak

[Chuck Finn]

Steve,
I am at a mooring and wave action does leak into the bilge.  Especially 
when the water tank is empty, which is often the case when I moor.
I agree that one of the best/better upgrades was the spartite plug for 
water leakage and structural integrity.

But, here is my problem with the mast leakage resulting in gallons of 
bilge water.  The math does not work.  Even a monsoon rain would not 
result in gallons of water in the bilge.  Imagine you left a hole the 
size of our mast open during a rain and calculate what perhaps a 1/2 
square foot of surface area would allow.  One inch of rain would result 
in maybe 72 cubic inches of rainwater.   That is about a quart of 
water....  (1.3 quarts at most).
If you want to argue that stays, etc. add more surface area, then we 
could maybe account of 3 quarts at the very most.

If you want to see where the water is coming from.  Pump down your bilge 
and towel dry the areas below inlets.  Put some blue contractors chalk 
down between the inlet and the bilge and wait a day.

This is interesting!
Chuck Finn
Mighty Quinn,   #114
Great Lakes





On 11/21/2010 1:57 AM, S Orton wrote:
> Chuck,  I believe the top of the rudder post is above the waterline 
> when the boat is at rest in the slip, so there should be no leakage 
> from the post.  Now under way with a stern wave, that's a different 
> story.  When I return from a sailing trip I dry the bilge with a towel 
> and it will stay reasonable dry (not over a cup, probably from 
> condensation) if it doesn't rain.  With rain the Rule bilge pump like 
> about two gallons for company.  Also for those who don't have a 
> Spartite plug, I would highly recommend the upgrade, not only from a 
> leakage standpoint, but the resin plug is a structural improvement- 
> giving an "even" lateral support to the mast at the mast collar, vs 
> the point contact force using the wood wedges.
>
> Cheers, Steve O (Santa Susanna #304)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:03:08 -0500
> From: charles at finn.ws
> To: listserve at catalina38.org
> Subject: Re: [C38] Bilge Pump and mast leak
>
> While some water can certainly come down the mast, I doubt you are 
> getting gallons.  If you don't have a Spartite plug at the mast/cabin 
> connection however, there will be quite a bit...
> I am willing to bet most of the water is actually coming through the 
> rudder post fitting.  I always have water in the bilge and can 
> actually see a wet path from the rudder post to the bilge.  For years 
> I thought the flow came from the shaft coupling, but I took some blue 
> contractor's chalkline chalk and sprinkled it above the shaft coupling 
> which almost immediately indicated the problem after only a couple of 
> waves....
> Several years ago we had a great discussion about this and someone 
> (Tom T. I think) talked about where we could obtain a boot.
> I of course, did not get one....  Sure would like to hear from someone 
> who has a better memory about this than I do!
>
> All the best,
>
> Chuck Finn
> Mighty Quinn with two bilge pumps and a wet bilge,  #114
> Great Lakes
>
>
> On 11/20/2010 8:23 PM, Larry Malmberg Live wrote:
>
>     Same here and it seems that we always have some water in the
>     bilge.  How about the rest of you guys and gals on here, water
>     consistently in your bilge?
>
>
>
>
>     Best regards,
>
>     Larry Malmberg
>     Team Hassle
>
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     *From:* listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>     <mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>
>     [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] *On Behalf Of *Robert Miller
>     *Sent:* Saturday, November 20, 2010 2:48 PM
>     *To:* 'Catalina 38 Listserve'
>     *Subject:* Re: [C38] mast leak
>
>     I always flick on my bilge pump to the spring loaded manual
>     position whenever I go aboard.  Just to check.  My boat is weird. 
>     When I fill my fresh water tank it vents into the bilge when it is
>     full.  When the bilge pump comes on, I can tell it is full.
>
>     Bob Miller
>
>     “Bolero” #113 at Southwestern YC in San Diego.
>
>     *From:*listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>     <mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>
>     [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] *On Behalf Of *Steven Ribble
>     *Sent:* Saturday, November 20, 2010 1:38 PM
>     *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
>     *Subject:* Re: [C38] mast leak
>
>     Paul, you know about "never" and "always"...  actually there WAS
>     ONE TIME I got on board after being gone for the week
>     (or more) and I found the bilge was dry...but then again it didn't
>     rain during that period.
>
>     I used to have a Lovett 1200 bilge pump and I'd typically found
>     about a gallon in the bilge after being away for a while...now I
>     have a Rule and I usually find about 2-1/2 gallons...guess that's
>     what I get for trying to save $$!  I've done occasional [taste]
>     tests of the water because I was concerned that I had a hull leak
>     but I've never noticed it to be salty (I know, not the smartest
>     test to do)...so I've always assumed it was from the mast.  If you
>     are getting salt water in the bilge you should go on a safari to
>     find its origin because not only is it unhealthy for your keel
>     bolts, you may have big problems if your bilge pump gives out
>     (like mine did - water was just below the salon floor when I
>     discovered it wasn't working).
>
>     Steve
>
>     On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 3:17 PM, PAUL NOTTE <panotte at shaw.ca
>     <mailto:panotte at shaw.ca>> wrote:
>
>     Am I to understand some boats do not  ALWAYS  have water in the
>     bildge? One of my weekly things to do is add fresh water to the
>     bildge  to flush out any sea water is this wrong ?
>
>

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