Two or three times this season I have found considerable water (a gallon or two) in the small storage area under the dining seat cushion on the port side between the holding tank section and the bulkhead just aft of the head.
I don't think it is from rain water leaks. All other storage areas seem dry. I think it is from one of two sources -- either the head sink or the bilge.
I don't always remember to close the head drain valve and when I'm heeled to port and taking waves on the bow, I know I have filled the head sink from the bow waves, filling and overfilling the sink which could possibly then drain or leak to the compartment?
Or, possibly, when heeled to port is it possible that the bilge water gets high enough to fill this storage area?
I'd be interested if anyone else has had this happen and if your have solved the problem. It is a nice area to store gear and I'd like to use if I knew it would stay dry.
For now, I will always close head sink and manually switch bilge pump on to get as much water out before sailing.
Thanks for any help here sailors.
Ken Enstrom
2004 C-36 MKII #2199
Tall Rig, Wing Keel, M-35B
S/V Valkyrie - Sail Great Lakes
Are you describing the storage area beneath the forward seat of the U-shaped dinette??? Am I understanding this correctly?
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
I have found some fluid here (just a little as in a cup). This would be port side compartment just aft of the head bulkhead and there is no way it came from the bilge.
My guess is that it some how ran down the hoses but not sure how that could happen.
Jim
S/V Illusion
2000 Catalina 36 MKII
Clearwater, Florida
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2000 C36 MKII 1825
If you were getting a little water in there, not a lot, I would be checking very carefully for a leak at the center chainplate or at the stanchion where the vent tube attaches. The center chainplate leak can be very hard to see because it usually seems to run down behind the big SS bar. Look for dampness at or around the bottom of the bulkhead, signs of water damage on the bulkhead. The water can move laterally either way once it gets to the bottom of the SS bar.
Leaks at either of those places can put water in there and both of them can become pretty serious issues if not addressed quickly. I know this because our boat had leaks at both those places when we got it, and on both port and starboard sides.
Can you describe the liquid more fully?
On my boat, if the holding tank is completely full (viz., such that liquid shoots out the stanchion vent) sometimes wastewater will accumulate in the compartment you mention. I haven't identified the source of the leak into this compartment, though... Just doing a good job of keeping my holding tank less than full.
David
s/v Portmanteau
Hull #2133 -- 2003 MKII
Seattle, WA
I believe that mine came from "reverse flushing" the vent with a powerful blast of fresh water. Which seemed to really work BTW.
2000 C36 MKII 1825
I have the same problem when sailing hard on the port tack. In my case, the water comes up from the bilge. I have a small hole in the fiberglass about 2 inches up on the aft side of the locker that lets the water in while heeled and then holds the water in when the boat levels out. (This is a very small hole and it took careful looking to find it). I guess that I could plug this hole, but I pump the bilge dry and close the sink valves and this fixes it too.
Kevin Schempf
"Windfall" #1918
2000 C-36 Mk II TR/WK
Traverse City, Michigan
If we leave the through hull for the head sink drain open on a hard starboard tack, sea water backs up into the head sink and overflows. It will migrate through the head cabinet behind the toilet into that compartment and further, sometimes soaking the bottom cushions on the port settee. It's happened enough that we almost always (!) remember to close that seacock when we expect to be sailing heeled over to port. With the seacock closed, no problem.
Dave C
"Corvus"
Mk II #2116
Thanks for all the advice and input. For now, I am going to assume that the water did come from me forgetting to close the head sink drain, and probably I over flowed the head sink when leaning hard to port and that then caused water to run to the head storage cabinet area and eventually it drained to the storage area just aft of the bulkhead.
Next season I will ALWAYS close the head sink valve prior to hoisting sails and see if I ever notice it again.
Nice to be able to get input from other C36 sailors.
Ken
Ken Enstrom
2004 C-36 MKII #2199
Tall Rig, Wing Keel, M-35B
S/V Valkyrie - Sail Great Lakes
I have been out with the boat a few times well heeled to port and several good rain storms. I'm pretty well convinced that my water problem was the resul of not closing the head sink valve. When sailing through waves on the port side when the head sink drain through hole valve is not closed, the sind likely overfilled and the water ends up draining to the dining seating storage space just aft of the head bulkhead.
I just have to make sure I close that valve even if it starts out as a pretty slow sailing day.
Thanks for the comments.
Ken Enstrom
2004 C-36 MKII #2199
Tall Rig, Wing Keel, M-35B
S/V Valkyrie - Sail Great Lakes
I'm kind of surprised so many people sail with these thru hulls open. We close everything before we set off and we never leave them open when were not on the boat. We also close all hatches. Funny how a nice 10kt wind can turn on you when it gets against a sea... 20 gals of water thru the main hatch beind the mast trained us to keep them suckers closed!
Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Ken, if you have in-mast furling, like I do, I would not rule out the possibility of rain water accumulating there as it used to on my boat. I find that it use to come in from the mechanism that is on the idide of the mast. What I did rectify this problem was to drill two weep holes at the base of the mast to allow the water to drain in the bilge. Ever since I did that I have not had to worry about water in that storage compartment. Just my 2 cents.
Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B