I personally ignore it on my boat. My reasoning is that it doesn't damage anything or degrade components in any way, and since there is a drain hole in the mast, I always just assumed it was something to be accepted with this design. I sponge the bilge dry every once and a while, and that seems to be sufficient. Trying to stop the mast from leaking always seemed like a lot of time and effort spent for very little in return. My 2 cents!

Rich:
I am like you. I do not like water in the bilge. I use it for storage of a lot of items that can get wet if it ever got that much water in it. I had many others tell me that it came in at the top of the mast from holes at the top.

Well last winter I had the mast down for maintenance and I seen no way that water would enter the mast at the top. The exit/entry areas where the halyards are are at are covered.

I keep hearing that owners that have done the spartite has had the leaks stop. I have used modeling clay in the sail track and that did help some to slow the water egress from coming in.

I was on the Catalina 34 web site earlier and here is a link to some info that might help us in the quest for a dry bilge. After seeing the idea with the line used as a packing with silicone made me think of maybe using spray foam along with the mast wedges. This is thought and I may end up doing that in the spring to try it. Here is the link to the 34 site.

Randy

[url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4654.0.html[/url]

We bought our 36 from Lake Ray Roberts Texas in 2006 and it had a ton of dirt dobers inside it along with wasp nest. We put Spartite in when we put the mast back in when we got her home here in N.E. Oklahoma. We still get water in the bilge but we figure it comes in were the halyards enter the mast. We also get dirt/sand at the bottom of the mast so we figure the rain helps clean out the mess still in there and what ever is fresh from the dobers here.;)

Rich,

I have the same problem. My biggest concern is what happens when that water freezes while the boat is on land and all systems are winterized. I tried putting a gallon of the pink stuff in there which works for a time. But if water continues to come in the antifreeze will eventually not be enough. I found myself going down a couple of weeks ago with a portable generator and shop vac. I removed almost 5 gallons (1gallon pick stuff, 4 gallons of water) from the bildge.

Has anyone ever had a situation where water in the bilge overflowed over the floor boards and into the cabin while the boat is on land?

Stone 21, During Winter I have to visit my boat once a month to keep the water inflow from the mast under control. Last season I removed 7.5 gallons at the end of December, 7 gallons in January, 7 gallons in February and 7 gallons in april. 4.5 inches of ice/water in my bilge is worth 7 gallons. Another 3 inches I am over the stringers so if you do nothing all winter, your cabin sole is flooded. My neighbor who also has a C36 and stores with mast up removes his flooring each fall and does not remove the inflow till April.
My mast is down this winter, so I have a dry bilge for the first time in 6 winters.

Jack F Stewart
1993 C36 #1233 "Windancer"
Port Clinton, OH

Jack,

Thanks for the feedback. This is our first winter with the C36. I had no idea that the bilge would accumulate this much water over the winter. I don't mind going to the boat every couple of weeks to stay on top of it. Our last boat was a ketch with two keel stepped masts, and we never got water in the bilge.

Rich

I have the same problem and it drives me crazy.

While not the issue you have raised I have found the main cause, in my case, is water overflow from the water tanks.
While this point has been discussed numerous times, I confirmed that when refilling using a strong water flow from a dock hose, the flexible plasic tanks deform. This breaks the integrity of the O-ring on the circular inspection plate and allows water to pour into the bilge.
The problem is due to the fact that the breather tube becomes immersed in water as the tank expands and can't cope with the amount of high pressure incoming water to exit when the tank has filled.

Thus the this plastic tank expands and the seal leaks.

I have cured it by being patient and running the filling hose at a slow trickle.

I am afraid it didn't stop the water from the mast but it was a start.

You don't say if you have an in-mast furler, but I do and have a tremendous problem with water entering the mast through the slot for the sail. It is a really ridiculous design, anyway in my mast, not to have it sealed off below the furler. I recently had to remove the furler for servicing, and while it was out I put a piece of foam in just below the furler, laid a piece of plastic cut to fit on top of that - all at a slight angle to one side. I sealed it all off and drilled a small weep hole just above this. I can't see how water will get down the mast now.

John,

I do in fact have an in mast furler. I figure water in bilge is a compromise for this convenience. Gives me an excuse for visiting the boat every 3-5 weeks over the winter. I generally like to go after major winds to check on the cover. You wouldn't believe some of the damage I've seen to boats due to worn/ripped flapping covers, and this was back in mid December over here in Maryland.

Peter, as for weeping water tank access ports, if you search the old bulletin board you may find additional information. There is an easy fix for this issue.

Sometime when the tanks are less than full and you're not planning a voyage within a couple weeks (drying time), apply a small bead (about 1/8 inch diameter) of 3M 5200 around the threads of the tank access caps...as if it were a gooey white O-ring. Then screw the caps on. Placard the access ports so that no-one disturbs them thereafter.

Because the tanks are plastic, the 5200 will not adhere "permanently" as you might expect on a less-sticky surface. If ever necessary, the 5200 bead will readily break to allow access. This has been a fix on my boat that has kept the problem under control for years now. Yes, the tanks will "bulge" outward when full, and if the aft cabin floorboards aren't screwed down (which on my boat they aren't...can't remember why not), they will raise up. So after I fill, I run the excess water into the galley sink until the aft tank tops have receded to the level I want. When that is done, I select the bow tank to use first. I always run the bow tank dry before using one of the aft tanks, as I carry 100 ft of chain and the boat (probably any boat) will benefit from the additional forward bouyancy.

As I said, it is a pretty easy fix to just remove the furler and cram a piece of foam or styrofoam down in there, caulk it and drill a weep hole. I was not only getting rain water in the bilge but if I went out in any sort of rough seas the sea water ran down there. I figure that at some point it would be a safety hazard among other things. Now, I wonder why I waited so long to do this fix.

Went down today to pump out the bilge and it was frozen solid due to the extreme temp. we had this past week. About 5 inches thick. I though about loosening it up with some hot water and/or hair dryer.

Any idea if I'll have any damage to the keel bolts, pumps, hoses, fiberglass, etc.

Stone 21, I doubt you will have any problems with this ice in the bildge since there is plenty of room for expansion upward. I always put a gallon of -50 RV pink stuff in the bilge after I remove the build-up of ice/water from the bilge during my monthly winter visits to the boat. You will find the lower part of the ice with the pink stuff mainly slush. As additional water enters from the mast it will freeze solid on top of the slush. I have in the past gone thru this procedure three times each winter.
This winter my mast is pulled so my bilge remains dry, or I will find out this Wednesday when I make the 2 1/2 drive to Port Clinton.
Next season I plan on rigging my 500 GPH automatic bilge pump that normally pumps to a thru-hull in the stern and connect it to a short line to the macerator thru-hull, which normally has a plug. I will wire this pump with a 12v timer and home heat/ac thermostat and my spare gp24 windlass battery so once each day if the ambient temperature is above 45F, the pump is activated. This way, when temperatures are freezing and the bilge has ice, the pump is inactive (I hope). I will reduce the fuse in the pump from 2.5A to 1.5A just in case the pump sees ice.

Jack F Stewart
1993 C36 #1233 "Windancer"
Port Clinton, OH

Jack, is there any chance you can take some close up pictures of the top of your mast? Side shots and ones at the track side, I had quite a few but mine are gone on a laptop that was stolen.
Randy

Randy, Sure, will take same this Wednesday and e-mail them to you

Jack