My 1987 Mk II has a very slow water leak, a seep, (a few drops per hour) coming from the bilge floor an inch or so forward of the fwd keel bolt. The structure around the leak spot (looks like 2 or 3 pinhole leaks) seems hard and secure -passes the nail test. The exterior of my hull, last time out of the water two years ago, didn't show any sign of a hull/keel gap. All bolts seem tight. Any thoughts?
Catalina 30 Bilge Leak
- Thread starter FredB
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sounds like the infamous catalina smile to me. i'd haul and fix it. as a matter of fact that's what i did with my '77 the year i bought it. i also put in sister keel bolts just to make things a little more secure. unfortunately i hit a rock this past summer and have to haul and do it all over again! boats...you just gotta love 'em.
It could be the Catalina smile, but I thought that the 87's have a solid fiberglass stub between the keel and the bilge. Unlike the 77, which has a wooden stub sandwiched between the keel and the bilge floor.
Being that it is forward of the foremost keel bolt, is it possible that it's leaking from the mast? Or maybe from the head. Isn't there a drain 'pipe' from the head down into the bilge? Maybe it's rotted away and is finding its own way up.
Water does funny things, it never seems to be coming from where it appears. It always seems to be from a leak 10' away!
Good luck!
Being that it is forward of the foremost keel bolt, is it possible that it's leaking from the mast? Or maybe from the head. Isn't there a drain 'pipe' from the head down into the bilge? Maybe it's rotted away and is finding its own way up.
Water does funny things, it never seems to be coming from where it appears. It always seems to be from a leak 10' away!
Good luck!
Can you tell me what you did to fix your leak? I'm getting about a pint a day into the bilge. It might have been going on for a long time. The "smile fix" outlined on this site seems rather extensive.
if she were my boat i'd call catalina rather than an anonymous forum. one of the very best things about owning a catalina is that the company is there to help when needed.
Fred - it is extensive & the keel issues are a problem in the older boats. Some people have really gone after them & some of us have done some repairs and some preventative work and kept an eye on things. You really can't diagnose much with it in the water. just because there was no crack two years ago 
- doesn't mean there isn't one now. With really zero information, I tend to lean toward the other guess that maybe it is coming from somewhere else in the boat.
I had a pretty big smile & I could run a hacksaw blade between the lead and hull about 6 inches back. I still didn't have any water intruding in the boat. The ONLY place I think it is possible for water to seep in would be thru the keel 'bolts' themselves..the keel is bolted to the boat after hull construction.
My $0.02
- doesn't mean there isn't one now. With really zero information, I tend to lean toward the other guess that maybe it is coming from somewhere else in the boat.I had a pretty big smile & I could run a hacksaw blade between the lead and hull about 6 inches back. I still didn't have any water intruding in the boat. The ONLY place I think it is possible for water to seep in would be thru the keel 'bolts' themselves..the keel is bolted to the boat after hull construction.
My $0.02
OK, thanks everybody. Yesterday I got about ten drops and it wouldn't leak while I was watching. I'll just watch it for awhile and see if I can make it to the next scheduled haul out - next Fall.
Another place to look is aft under the pilot's berth.
Lift up the access board and peek underneath. In my boat there is a 'groove' that runs under the fuel tank towards the shaft-engine-bilge.
Being an older boat, I am sure the groove is full of gunk, dust, junk, screwdrivers, etc. I noticed when I got my boat that this groove was always a bit wet. Water was leaking from a crack in the cockpit floor and also from the stern rails.
Like I said, not always from the water the boat is sitting in...
Lift up the access board and peek underneath. In my boat there is a 'groove' that runs under the fuel tank towards the shaft-engine-bilge.
Being an older boat, I am sure the groove is full of gunk, dust, junk, screwdrivers, etc. I noticed when I got my boat that this groove was always a bit wet. Water was leaking from a crack in the cockpit floor and also from the stern rails.
Like I said, not always from the water the boat is sitting in...
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