Catalina 30 Steering radial well question

[DPotter]

So I had to open up the compartment on my 94 Cat 30 where the steering radial lives to adjust the cables. Previous owner had thoughtfully glued the hatch down with some kind of caulk to stop water intrusion.
Once I got it open it appears that there is no drain for that compartment. This explains the caulk since any water that gets into the seam between the cockpit sole and the access hatch is going to end up in that well. This seems like a bad design.

So question(s) : Has anyone added a drain to this area? Found a way to allow the seam between the sole and access plate to drain somewhere? Have a recommendation for a caulk that will allow removal of the hatch for adjustments/inspections/replacement without spending a lot of time with a razor knife?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Calif. Ted]

We opened up that hatch on a friends boat because it had leaked into the aft cabin. My memory is poor but I thought we found a plugged drain tube under and aft the radial. I recall a number of owners trying to seal that hatch with caulks with little success. Perhaps something like butyl which has very little adhesive strength but seals well.

 

[DPotter]

Thank you - I will look into the butyl. I could not find a drain tube anywhere.

 

[Alan Gomes]

We opened up that hatch on a friends boat because it had leaked into the aft cabin. My memory is poor but I thought we found a plugged drain tube under and aft the radial. I recall a number of owners trying to seal that hatch with caulks with little success. Perhaps something like butyl which has very little adhesive strength but seals well.

It has been years since I had my 1987 Catalina 30, but I also recall a drain being there.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

My 94 is sealed with silicone by a PO. Seems to be solid but haven't opened it up to check