drain holes to bilge in C-26?
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:48 pm
Does anyone have any drawings or sketches or photos showing the locations of drain holes to the bilge in a C-26?
During a recent 4-day trip in the Apostle Islands, we were taking on at least 2-3 gallons of water every day.
I believe most, if not all, of this water was coming from the top of the tube that surrounds the keel cable. I didn't implement the earlier suggestions to put a cork in the top of this tube, because I discovered my tube already had a plastic fitting with a small (1/4" inside diameter) hole for the cable to pass through. But maybe that's too big and I really do need the cork. I was concerned that if the hole was too small, it might jam on the cable.
Does anyone know whether there were other means of keeping water from spurting out of this tube onto the floor with the original boat design and build? It doesn't seem like the original new boat owners would have tolerated puddles on their floors.
At the beginning of our trip, the electric bilge pump wasn't connected yet, and the manual bilge pump was a bother to access under the stern berth floor, with all our gear piled on top, so we just bailed periodically.
On the first day, we didn't notice any water in the locker under the starboard settee, but we were on a starboard tack all day long. On the second day, after we alternated port and starboard tacks, we noticed a couple gallons of water in the locker under the starboard settee. I couldn't tell for sure where this came from, but believe it came from the puddle on the cabin floor when we heeled over to starboard. We had the toe rails down to the waterline quite a few times, so I suppose it could have also come from a leaky joint between the deck and the hull. But I didn't see anyplace where it was running down from above.
On the second day of the trip, we finally fixed the electric bilge pump and started running that. It helped, but there was still generally a puddle on the cabin floor.
The previous owner installed carpeting on the cabin floor, on the centerboard trunk, and on the lower part of the settees. I suspect this is impeding flow of water into the bilge. But before I tear it all up, I was hoping for some hints on where the drain holes might be.
Ultimately (next spring?) I'll probably replace the carpet on the floor with something that won't soak up water. The carpet may also be covering a crack in the centerboard trunk. I think I remember seeing comments on this potential problem earlier. If there is a crack, it must be up high on the trunk. The carpet doesn't seem to get wet sitting at the dock. Only while sailing. And we were getting a lot more water on the floor with the boat fully loaded with fuel, food, gear, and crew, than we were with it lightly loaded on day trips.
Thanks for any advice or insight you can share.
Craig
During a recent 4-day trip in the Apostle Islands, we were taking on at least 2-3 gallons of water every day.
I believe most, if not all, of this water was coming from the top of the tube that surrounds the keel cable. I didn't implement the earlier suggestions to put a cork in the top of this tube, because I discovered my tube already had a plastic fitting with a small (1/4" inside diameter) hole for the cable to pass through. But maybe that's too big and I really do need the cork. I was concerned that if the hole was too small, it might jam on the cable.
Does anyone know whether there were other means of keeping water from spurting out of this tube onto the floor with the original boat design and build? It doesn't seem like the original new boat owners would have tolerated puddles on their floors.
At the beginning of our trip, the electric bilge pump wasn't connected yet, and the manual bilge pump was a bother to access under the stern berth floor, with all our gear piled on top, so we just bailed periodically.
On the first day, we didn't notice any water in the locker under the starboard settee, but we were on a starboard tack all day long. On the second day, after we alternated port and starboard tacks, we noticed a couple gallons of water in the locker under the starboard settee. I couldn't tell for sure where this came from, but believe it came from the puddle on the cabin floor when we heeled over to starboard. We had the toe rails down to the waterline quite a few times, so I suppose it could have also come from a leaky joint between the deck and the hull. But I didn't see anyplace where it was running down from above.
On the second day of the trip, we finally fixed the electric bilge pump and started running that. It helped, but there was still generally a puddle on the cabin floor.
The previous owner installed carpeting on the cabin floor, on the centerboard trunk, and on the lower part of the settees. I suspect this is impeding flow of water into the bilge. But before I tear it all up, I was hoping for some hints on where the drain holes might be.
Ultimately (next spring?) I'll probably replace the carpet on the floor with something that won't soak up water. The carpet may also be covering a crack in the centerboard trunk. I think I remember seeing comments on this potential problem earlier. If there is a crack, it must be up high on the trunk. The carpet doesn't seem to get wet sitting at the dock. Only while sailing. And we were getting a lot more water on the floor with the boat fully loaded with fuel, food, gear, and crew, than we were with it lightly loaded on day trips.
Thanks for any advice or insight you can share.
Craig