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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Bulkhead Damage and Moisture

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dacc
1st Mate

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USA
40 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/31/2010 : 22:41:05

Hello All,

My boat came with some glass chipped away from the base of the bulkhead as pictured. She was surveyed on the hard, and so the exposed wood was dry. The surveyor tapped the wood a bunch and was satisfied from what he heard that it was sound.

He recommended I saturate the wood with epoxy and wrap it with some cloth. I didn't get around to it before we put back in, and now water seems to be wicking into it from somewhere.

Basically I dry out the compartment with a space heater, and then open it back up in a week or so to find the exposed wood wet and a couple tiny puddles of water elsewhere in the compartment. I'm pretty sure the thru-hull isn't leaking, and the way the water saturates the wood it almost seems like it's getting wicked up from somewhere.

Does the surveyor's repair advice sound reasonable? Is it possible that the bulkhead is wicking moisture up from some internally inaccessible crack in the hull or something? Other than this my bilge stays dry.

I'm worried about glassing it in if there's just going to be more moisture and the possibility of rot(?) I don't see streaks or anything coming from the thru-hull, but I guess I'll put down a rag to triple check that it's not coming from there.

Hopefully not a serious problem!

Thanks for any insights.

Cheers,

- Daniel

P.S. I think my boat may have undergone some repair involving the keel trunk at some point. Does anyone else's compartment have the uneven glass you see in the upper right corner of mine as pictured?

"Windhorse" 1978 Catalina 25
Std Rig, Swing Keel, Pop Top

Edited by - dacc on 10/31/2010 22:44:56

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2010 : 06:53:06

Hi Daniel... Are we looking at the bottom of the "compression post" that supports the mast-step (via the post on your port cabin bulkhead)? What keel do you have? (Sounds like a swing.) I'll suggest putting the year, keel and rig in a "Signature" in your Profile (above-right)--it sometimes helps with issues like this.

There are lots of ways water can get into places like this--more often it's rainwater. Can you correlate weather to the leakage? These "repairs" could be for damage at the forward end of the trunk from the keel falling due to a cable break or even riding over an object that momentarily lifts the keel and then lets it drop. Are there signs of glass work there?

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 11/01/2010 06:58:07

Mark Maxwell
Captain

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USA
329 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2010 : 10:00:10

It looks to me that the area to the right is where the pivot pin hanger is bolted to the hull. I think that there is a stainless plate in there that the bolts screw into. I don't see the reason for the ply wood that is there. Is it glassed in? Catalina would have atleast painted it? If the glass work has been repaired it looks to be older. It could have even been done at the factory. The wood exposed to the left side looks like the compression post extension piece that is glassed in to the hull. On a swinger it also acts as a forward stop or rest for the keel. If the hull has been damaged from the keel hitting this area too hard, it will need to be repaired from the outside. The only way to get to this area well is to remove the keel. How did the forward area of the keel truck look from the outside?

Edited by - Mark Maxwell on 11/04/2010 10:05:47

dacc
1st Mate

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USA
40 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2012 : 23:03:56

Hey Guys,

Phew, been a while since I've looked at this problem.

Mark: Yes, that plywood is glassed in. I always assumed it was some kind of containment for a holding tank which used to be there. I bet you're right about the stainless plate. When I got the boat it was on the hard for a while, and the yard completely removed the keel and attachments. They restored the keel, and reattached it with new hardware from CD. Also got bottom paint as part of all this. I'm assuming they would have noticed any damage around there -- the keel was on when the survey was done, so he couldn't really see in there.

Stinkpotter: The blob of material in the right side of the picture seems to be from a repair, but I can't tell without comparison to make. I'm hoping the water is coming in through the forward bilge -- leeching through or around the outside of the compression post. But then, I'm not sure where the forward bilge water is coming from! It's not a lot, maybe a liter a month or so -- hard to say without any good access to that area.

I made another thread about the forward bilge theory.

http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25061

Thanks!

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.