first night to sleep on the 27 and other things,..

[scottmellloyditude]

Well, last night my wife and I slept on the boat for the first time.. It was really well except that at 2 am about 25 bass boats all returned to the marina. Seems we went up in the middle of a night fishing tournament.. oh well, the boat only rocked really bad for about 10 minutes..
So this morning we got up and started making the boat and slip ours.. including running shore power through the dock to the boat, setting up the bimini (which might be backwards- anyone know how the poles go on? Bend just above the deck connection to the bow or bend to the stern?) testing mast lighting..(nothing works on the mast) I sure hope the guys who set it up remembered to plug the electrical cords in!! All the while I was out doing that the Admiral was cleaning ... and cleaning.. and cleaning! It sure looks a lot better. However, we had to leave around 1 PM to get to a previous planned activity.
So, what I know for sure.. The keel bolts are leaking a little. Well, more than a little but not a lot. This is what my bilge looks like




Judging from paperwork I found, the PO decided to do this modification






So I sucked all the PVC pipes out with the shop vac this morning before all the cleaning and outside work and when I was ready to leave I looked back in the bilge and found some of the pipes were empty but others had water in them and there was about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the bilge. So, next week I will take the torgue wrench and nut and tighten them down..

Also discovered the head wont draw water in seawater (lake water). Guess the seals need to be replaces so I am ordering the pieces for that this week.

All in all it was a lot of fun.. "found" the mosquito netting that we didn't know we had.. That was GREAT... also found a big piece of fabric that might be a dodger ?? not enough time to figure that one out.

But having coffee this morning sitting in the cockpit made it all worth our while.. Can't wait to get off the dock and on the hook away from all the marina lights.. the stars were amazing last night with the lights.. can't wait to see them in a secluded cove and no lights..

oh yeah. our horseshoe buoy is growing grass or shrubs or some kind of plants through the huge hole in the cover of it.. suggestions on where to get one at a reasonable price???

Thanks for listening..

Scott

 

[Sailm8]

Don't know what kind of head you have but if it's a Jabsco you might want to buy the pump assembly as a complete unit rather than all of the pieces. Not much more money.

 

[scottmellloyditude]

Don't know what kind of head you have but if it's a Jabsco you might want to buy the pump assembly as a complete unit rather than all of the pieces. Not much more money.

It's a Groco HF...

 

[Joetech]

bolts may not be leaking

Check a few things first. The pipes around the bolts could be leaking around where they are 'sealed' to the bottom of the bilge. Properly sealed, the pipes will fill first and overflow into the rest of the bilge. Since you say some had water in the pipes and other didn't I think maybe the water is leaking under the seal and into the pipes.
I have a Cat 27 as well. Do you have an inboard? The shaft seal will leak a little, and should. Do you have an Icebox and with ice in it. It will melt and drains into the bilge.
I would suggest drying the insides of the pipes(shop vac good idea) and dry the bilge out and well. Pour water into the pipes and see if they leak into the bilge. If they do, reseal. See if the bolts fill first. If so they are leaking. Tightening is not the answer. Do and search and see how to fix this. There is a lot of documentation. It will have to be on the hard to do it. In the meantime go sailing. There isn't that much left of the season. Just make sure your auto bilge pump is working properly.

 

[Joe]

Do you have an Icebox and with ice in it. It will melt and drains into the bilge.

That is not true on my C27. It is a dinette interior with a midships galley that runs along the ports side. My ice box has a valve at exit to keep the water from draining... they stay cold longer if you don't let water drain. The icebox drain hose tees into the galley sink drain that connects to a through hull. You must keep the icebox valve closed if you sail with the sink thru hull open... water can siphon in if the boat heels....it's a good idea to keep the sink's thru hull closed except when needed.

 

[scottmellloyditude]

We have the "standard" set up with the galley just port of the companionway. No ice was used this trip. Will be back up this weekend to check some more things out. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Joe]

We have the "standard" set up with the galley just port of the companionway. No ice was used this trip. Will be back up this weekend to check some more things out. Thanks for the replies.

Check your plumbing. There's really no standard set up in older boats... since the factory will make changes during the production run as they discover things that can be improved, and owners are notorious for modifying their boats to suit their needs. Many times the factory will offer a retrofit package.... lower shroud chain plates or stronger spreader brackets, for example.... another is replacing gate valve thru hulls that were installed on older boats. Take a look at you icebox and see how the drain is plumbed.

I completely re designed the MSD plumbing in my boat....much better than the original.

 

[scottmellloyditude]

Thanks Joe.. we haven't used our icebox yet.. don't know if we will.. it sure is a long way back to get in it and it is so deep.. i have seen some post on modifications for it, but as we are weekenders, I don't know how much it is going to get used.
Yes, I am planning on mapping out our boat as, like you mentioned, there is no "standard"...
Still a little perplexed as to why there is no mast lighting...I really hope they didn't forget to plug in the cords when they put up the mast last Friday... Anyway to check that???

Also, Just FYI- I did completely vacuum out the bilge and within a few minutes it was a bit damp and, like I mentioned, within about three hours there was about 1/2 inch water in the bottom.

Ahhh.. the joys of boat ownership!! :dance:

Yes, there will be a stuffing box job soon.

Thanks for all the advice..

 

[njlarry]

Longest tubing generally is aft on a Bimini.
Love the idea of the pvc tubes keeping the bolts dry. Not likely that they are leaking that much. Was there a big crack of the keel stub on the hard. Definitely torque them next time you have her on the hard.

 

[scottmellloyditude]

thanks. yes, there was a catalina smile on the keel, not too bad, but you could see it for sure.

you mentioned torquing them next time on the hard. can i not just torque them through the bilgue while the boat is in the water?

 

[njlarry]

On the hard they are under compression and not tension. I think that would make it easier. There may be other reasons.

 

[reeder]

Congrats on getting the boat wet. Don't you love those go-faster bass boats? At least they are in and out in a hurry. You have an exit block for the halyards at the base of the mast. Depending on how it's wired you might be able to check connections there before heading up the mast. I have a "mast-mate" ladder if you ever need it. See you there soon I hope.

 

[scottmellloyditude]

Thanks. I'll check it Friday. We're going to be up there the whole weekend. If you come up, come say hi.
Cheers

 

[Cats_Paw1]

oh yeah. our horseshoe buoy is growing grass or shrubs or some kind of plants through the huge hole in the cover of it.. suggestions on where to get one at a reasonable price???

I little Scott's Bonus "S" should keep that nice and perky. Why mess with a beautification enhancement?

 

[scottmellloyditude]

Nice!!

 

[ericgfx01]

Hey I just had the fun job of working on my head. It too would not draw water. Mine is a Jabsco Manual pump, after checking a few things (and incorrectly tightening the cover screw order boy did that ever leak!) Around the o-ring plunger, I put a liberal amount of non-petroleum based Marelube which is supposed to not breakdown that one of a kind O-Ring. :cussing:

Good times. While at the West Marine I picked up an extra piece of 1inch tubing so I could drawing from a bucket (to eliminate the possibility of a clogged thru hull inlet) and after a few pumps the head started to draw. Success! And almost no cost! Plus with that bit of tube, I have an emergency extra bilge pump. (If you know, dear god I want to trap myself in the head while she's taking on water...)
That said I would pick up a spare kit, if only to avoid having to go get one later or make 2 trips to the shop.

Congrats on the new boat! Happy sails. Have you added yourself to the C/27 Little Black Book? Trying to connect local C/27 owners. Super secret password is: catalina

 

[scottmellloyditude]

Glad yours is working. I have parts on order so I hope that will be here soon. I'll have to look into that lube stuff.
Yep bum on the little black book but I'm the only one on the lake. Oh well. I'm meeting some others on the lake.