What a great forum and resource of knowledge this site has been. I’ve been reading here the past year and now have a few questions.
I’m getting closer to pulling the trigger on my first sailboat and recently looked at an 88 Cat 30. The boat has had a fresh water life, is in excellent visible condition, is one owner and on the hard. The boat was being offered through a broker; however, since I last looked at her the broker and owner have parted. The owner is now the seller. I understand that it’s for sale because of health issues. What a terrible reason to have to sell. I have not spoke with the owner as the broker/owner change just happened.
While inspecting the exterior I found what looked like a patch gone bad. Its location is about 6" in front of where the prop shaft exits the hull. I poked on it finding it soft and mushy. It was dripping water and a brown residue when I pushed on it. I called the broker’s attention to it and he pushed it enough to break it open. After breaking it open several tablespoons of liquid came out. He then started to rip the patch open more to expose a crack. This was apparently what the patch was covering and it turned out to be weak repair job.
Second, the prop shaft stabilizer arm had the same looking patchwork done where the brace meets the boat. There looked to be cracking in this location, too. My question – is this an area known for cracking? If these were cracks then the end result would be a leak inside?
Upon entering the cabin I had a metal list of things to check. The first thing was to look at the mast compression block. To my surprise when opening the bilge cover I found water mix with fuel very close to the top. Another inch and it’s in the cabin. I then open the engine covers and doors. I found water touching the bottom of the engine. Is the oil pan under if it’s this deep? I got so concerned about the water level and what all was affected that I forgot to take pictures. The broker’s response was that we’ve had a lot of rain and apparently the bilge wasn’t hooked up or battery was dead.
Help me here, what areas drain to the bilge from the outside? I know the mast has some contribution to this but they did have a good bead of caulk around the mast base. I then lifted the aft floor bilge cover and of course the prop shaft was under water. Now I’m thinking the water that was dripping from the patchwork outside is the water from inside? Brown residue the fuel?
I realize the bilge is there to take on water but how much is okay?
If it’s touching the engine that’s of course too much, so what are the consequences of having the engine sit in water for an unknown length of time?
Will having this water sit there for a matter of weeks or more create other problems beyond the engine? I’m not that familiar with marine engines and what they can take under these conditions.
I know the survey will be a future step and I want to convey legitimate concerns before this step with the owner as to justify my offer when that time comes.
I know the bilge was drained the next day by the marina and the owner is having the marina give her an estimate to repair the cracks.
If she’s to truly have the boat checked out the engine needs to be given some run time too? Where would the fuel enter the bilge water? Could water enter fuel components being this deep? Or the opposite, is the bottom part of the hull and components designed to handle such events even for a length of time. The reason I’m saying length of time is that all the water came in over time of course. The length of time is my issue. Since the boat wasn’t checked over the winter enough to catch this just how long can water sit before big damage happens?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts, questions and answers.
Howeman
I’m getting closer to pulling the trigger on my first sailboat and recently looked at an 88 Cat 30. The boat has had a fresh water life, is in excellent visible condition, is one owner and on the hard. The boat was being offered through a broker; however, since I last looked at her the broker and owner have parted. The owner is now the seller. I understand that it’s for sale because of health issues. What a terrible reason to have to sell. I have not spoke with the owner as the broker/owner change just happened.
While inspecting the exterior I found what looked like a patch gone bad. Its location is about 6" in front of where the prop shaft exits the hull. I poked on it finding it soft and mushy. It was dripping water and a brown residue when I pushed on it. I called the broker’s attention to it and he pushed it enough to break it open. After breaking it open several tablespoons of liquid came out. He then started to rip the patch open more to expose a crack. This was apparently what the patch was covering and it turned out to be weak repair job.
Second, the prop shaft stabilizer arm had the same looking patchwork done where the brace meets the boat. There looked to be cracking in this location, too. My question – is this an area known for cracking? If these were cracks then the end result would be a leak inside?
Upon entering the cabin I had a metal list of things to check. The first thing was to look at the mast compression block. To my surprise when opening the bilge cover I found water mix with fuel very close to the top. Another inch and it’s in the cabin. I then open the engine covers and doors. I found water touching the bottom of the engine. Is the oil pan under if it’s this deep? I got so concerned about the water level and what all was affected that I forgot to take pictures. The broker’s response was that we’ve had a lot of rain and apparently the bilge wasn’t hooked up or battery was dead.
Help me here, what areas drain to the bilge from the outside? I know the mast has some contribution to this but they did have a good bead of caulk around the mast base. I then lifted the aft floor bilge cover and of course the prop shaft was under water. Now I’m thinking the water that was dripping from the patchwork outside is the water from inside? Brown residue the fuel?
I realize the bilge is there to take on water but how much is okay?
If it’s touching the engine that’s of course too much, so what are the consequences of having the engine sit in water for an unknown length of time?
Will having this water sit there for a matter of weeks or more create other problems beyond the engine? I’m not that familiar with marine engines and what they can take under these conditions.
I know the survey will be a future step and I want to convey legitimate concerns before this step with the owner as to justify my offer when that time comes.
I know the bilge was drained the next day by the marina and the owner is having the marina give her an estimate to repair the cracks.
If she’s to truly have the boat checked out the engine needs to be given some run time too? Where would the fuel enter the bilge water? Could water enter fuel components being this deep? Or the opposite, is the bottom part of the hull and components designed to handle such events even for a length of time. The reason I’m saying length of time is that all the water came in over time of course. The length of time is my issue. Since the boat wasn’t checked over the winter enough to catch this just how long can water sit before big damage happens?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts, questions and answers.
Howeman
