Cabin/Deck trim drainage

[Waitsfield]

I recently purchased a '87 C30 and have been figuring out a lot of my own questions, but can't figure this one yet:
The two teak trim boards that go from the companionway hatch forward (on the deck) have drain ports near the companionway (which are clear), but nothing at the forward end.
There is usually standing water in the track, and the forward sections of each are notably moist. There is no similar drain in the forward sections (?).
Has anyone had the same problem and, if so, any suggestions? Drilling weep holes in the teak seems like the simple solution but I'm a bit hesitant to start blindly drilling in my 'new' boat!

Thanks for any input.

6/08: I've added two pictures: one at the companionway/hatch, showing the drain port under the teak that allows any water in the track to go out onto the deck. The other is the forward end of the hatch and teak boards, showing the water seeping out. This is where I'd think there should be a way for the water to drain out onto the deck vs soaking into the wood? I don't see any holes that are plugged up. Hopefully this makes helps w/my explanation of the problem. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Wait,

I have a 1980 C30. Your design may be abit different. What will kick-start this thread would be some pictures of what you have.

I have no drain holes on my boat, The water simply drains from the track under the board aft. There are no drain holes. And if having drain holes, where do they drain to?

CR

 

[mortyd]

i have no drain holes in my tracks and it took me some time to realize where cabin water was coming from - residual rain water in the tracks - when i didn't have my dodger and bimini rigged.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Mort,

That's the way water drains, high to low. My track area will have some evidence of water when checking after a rain.

Looking at the pics again, these are not drain holes but, drain access openings. Unless you feel that water is seeping thru to your coring, this is normally not the case unless you lost your wood to deck seal.

Your wood is machined screwed into the decking, if the seal is bad yea, you could be getting water intrusion thru to your coring.

What is moist, the fiberglass or the wood? If the wood, what shape is your varnish in? I have to assume that your wood needs to be re-done & re-sealed. To do this, you first need to drill out your bungs (screw coverings) & remove your wood. Clean, prep, varnish & reseal it.

If not, another option would be what I did. Purchase a manmade material such as "Sensibuilt" (a teak look-alike PVC mat'l.) have it matched cut & install that. No varnishing to do afterwards. If you go this route, make sure you also order the bungs to cover your drill holes.

CR

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Mat,

As a follow up explanation to your questions & my last post, here are a few pics on what I did for core rot & subsequent teak replacement. This should give you a better visual on rot problems & fixits. I didn't know how bad my rot was until I dug into it.

In addition to my glass fix, I have a great workshop in my garage so, I was able to remake all of my decktop wood with a PVC replacement. I don't know how far you wish to take this, but I offer this as an option to your wood. I have always felt that, "Life is too short to have to constantly re-do your teak". Besides, good or bad varnish will not make your boat go faster.

It sounds to me like the further you look on-deck, maybe the more you will see what needs to be done/re-done, thus giving you ideas.

My first 2 pics are of the core rot I had to redo @ my mast base. The second 2 pics are the matched teak replacement pieces I made & changed out.

I always feel that knowledge to others is empowering.

CR

 

[Hayden Watson]

...My first 2 pics are of the core rot I had to redo @ my mast base. The second 2 pics are the matched teak replacement pieces I made & changed out.

I always feel that knowledge to others is empowering.

CR

Captnron;

I am looking at the need to repair deck rot similar to yours. What did you use to replace the non-skid? I have found a site where I can get Flex-o-mold in large sheets to create the factory pattern in new gelcoat and am thinking of that. I can get color matched gelcoat and with a bit of finessing should be able to match it to the rest of the deck.

A word of caution.

I did not know of any deck leaks on my 1988 but noticed rust on the lock washer that is under one of the traveler bolts that come through the headliner.
I removed the bolt in the process of rebedding the traveler and the hole dipped a bit so I stuffed a paper towel into it. In about 30 minutes the towel was saturated so I pulled it out to replace it. When the towel came out a stream of water poured out of the hole. I caught most of it and it almost filled an 8"x8" cake pan! That is over 1/2 gallon of water. I still haven't found the source because one of the bolts in the aluminum plate is stuck. I suspect that the traveler base is hollow and it got filled by the pressure washing I did this spring.

I have purchased a Ryobi pinless moisture meter for $50 from Home Depot and it shows moisture around the traveler on both side and under the mast step.:cussing:

Any suggestions or words of wisdom would be most appreciated.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Hayden,

Sorry for what you have found pal, water-wise. I see you have a '88 C30. I can only reiterate that water damage to the balsa coring seems to be an ongoing battle with boats built in the '80's. Hence the name for mast sag (above deck & below) is called the Catalina Smile. What surprised me was the water in your cabin top around the traveler.

If I were you, I would first talk to a glass man for options on how to proceed. I know what I did, but a good glassman might know of a better approach. For my mast base, I cut out the sagged area saving the deck-top fiberglass piece. I cut out a larger area until I got to dry wood. I did this by drilling small holes into the core until I got to dry wood in my drill bits. I had a good glassman do the mix. The job wasn't that bad, but you will need to drop the mast.

Here are some pics on what yours might look like. For the mast section fix, make sure the glassman makes a mud-mix using Milled Fibers for added strength.

The first pic shows the cubed balsa that comes with a backing sheet that keeps them together & will follow the curve of your cabin top. A glassman will apply the mud first then set the cubes than apply more mix liberally & allow it to soak in for strength. The next pic shows marine plywood sheets cut-to-fit & glassed in on top of the balsa cubes. Another spread of mud covers this & the deck top can be replaced & glassed in at the same time.

This done, now comes a discussion on how to properly seal your mast plate & wiring thru the deck. I'll bet your mast top crane is open at the top allowing rainwater to pour down & sit inside the mast & leak thru either the mast plate and/or the wiring penetrations. This is from a poor design & build by Catalina. There are alot of threads on this problem & fixes.


In both the mast & cabin top areas, you might be able to cut the top layer nonskid so it can be replaced after the coring fix. This is where a good glassman comes into play. It may also come to pass that a Git-rot or other injection solution for your cabin top (1 or both sides of the hatchway) may do the trick without having to cut a section out. I would first take a wet-vac to see how much additional water you can vacuum out first.


I would also call the engineering group at Catalina yachts, Calif. & complain in a nice way of what you have & maybe they can offer solutions. I'm sure over the years, they've heard it before. One thing to remember about your traveler is, all the forces under sail are pulling up & not down. So, something like Git-Rot or similar, may be the way to go. The forces really begin at the cabin headliner.

Let us know if this was helpful pal.

CR

 

[Hayden Watson]

Thanks for the reply.
Here is an update on the repairs to date.
In sounding the deck with a phenolic hammer I did not find any soft spots so I have assumed that the water is recent enough to not have caused rot yet. In talking with Catalina, I found that the deck is constructed with plywood core rather than balsa core. This is a good and bad type of thing. The good part is that it can endure moisture longer before it looses significant strength. The bad is that the water spreads out farther.
With a full FRP headliner, I am unable to repair from the inside without significant ugliness. I do not want to paint the deck to replace the diamond pattern with an exterior repair and I do not think that using the removed section of deck as a patch would be a good idea because you cannot add any reinforcement across the cut.:naughty:
I have opted to go high-tech. From my physics class I learned that the boiling point of water is dependent on pressure. It is about 245º at 15 psi above atmospheric which is why we use a pressure cap on radiators. In a 29.9 in-mercury vacuum, the boiling point is about 21º.
Given this info and the fact that water moves laterally through plywood I figured that if I could pull a deep vacuum on the deck, the water in it would boil into vapor and be sucked out of the deck by the vacuum pump. If water can get in then steam can easily get out. Water removal is why all refrigeration recharges start with evacuation of the system.
I bought an AC vacuum pump from Harbor Freight for $100 which pulls a 29.9" vacuum and connected it to the hole that was leaking. After plugging all of the other mounting holes with screws and butyl tape I was able to pull a deep vacuum on the whole deck.
I have run the system for about 4 hours and the moisture has dropped from 29%-30% down to 20%-22% on my moisture meter.
I will run it for a few more days and then use the vacuum to infuse Git-Rot back into the plywood. Happy, happy, happy. :dance: