Cockpit pockets separating

AaronD

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Aug 10, 2014
723
Catalina 22 9874 Newberg, OR / Olympia, WA
Has anyone else had problems with their cockpit pockets separating and leaking?

I've been slowly hammering out leaks, and tracked the most recent down to the cockpit pockets. It's hard to see the joint from the cockpit, so it wasn't obvious until I pulled the teak trim. Now I see that both have failing repairs from POs with differing taste in sealants, and one has a crack of almost 1/4" :yikes:. The pockets slope down toward the centerline, so any rainwater coming into the pocket opening will eventually drip down into the coffin (port side) or the quarterberth (starboard side). A few minutes searching the web and the SBO archives didn't find me anything relevant, but I'd be surprised if I'm the only one who's seen this.

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The pockets appear to be fabricated separately and glued onto the coaming. I've sanded away the old repair attempts, and my tentative plan is to add 2-3 layers of 9oz fiberglass tape from the underside and fill the crack with thickened epoxy. But I don't want to just cover up a root cause. The sheet winches are mounted to the coaming directly above the pockets (see the picture of the mounting bolts). So I wonder if the separation might be caused by the coamings flexing under sheet tension, which would presumably break my repair pretty quickly. Is there some place I ought to reinforce to prevent this from happening again?
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Are they original? Some owners hack away at structure without any consideration of 'glass integrity.
 

AaronD

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Aug 10, 2014
723
Catalina 22 9874 Newberg, OR / Olympia, WA
Are they original? Some owners hack away at structure without any consideration of 'glass integrity.
So far as I can tell, the pockets and coamings are original. I don't have another C-22 to compare to, but the construction looks consistent with the rest of the cockpit and with all the pictures I've seen online.
 
Apr 11, 2017
571
Catalina C22 Solomon's Island, MD
From the photos, this looks like a slightly different arrangement from my 1987 C22 - but are the pockets physically loose, as in they flex away from the coaming when you push on them?
 
Jul 13, 2015
893
Catalina 22 #2552 2252 Kennewick, WA
I'm jealous-- yours are in far better shape than mine were-- some pics attached, but based on your photos likely cause is the joint flexing over time and the 40 year old layup without the benefit of today's materials. The Coaming Boxes are definitely a bolt on part so to speak-- not a native part of the mold, and as you can see in my example they often get repaired (my PO used god knows what poorly-- I ground it off ...) . My boxes were no where near as form fitting -- but was able to join them back to hull with West Systems with a mix of Colloidal Silica for strength. I made a heavy fillet across the lower portions to make them water tight and did not fuss over the gaps at the high points of the box. Like you I had to modify by Primary Winch backers and cleat backers to clear, but I did that before I re attached the box.

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AaronD

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Aug 10, 2014
723
Catalina 22 9874 Newberg, OR / Olympia, WA
From the photos, this looks like a slightly different arrangement from my 1987 C22 - but are the pockets physically loose, as in they flex away from the coaming when you push on them?
Yes, they flex away if I push on the bottom. The top seems solid, at least per visual inspection.
 

AaronD

.
Aug 10, 2014
723
Catalina 22 9874 Newberg, OR / Olympia, WA
I'm jealous-- yours are in far better shape than mine were-- some pics attached, but based on your photos likely cause is the joint flexing over time and the 40 year old layup without the benefit of today's materials. The Coaming Boxes are definitely a bolt on part so to speak-- not a native part of the mold, and as you can see in my example they often get repaired (my PO used god knows what poorly-- I ground it off ...) . My boxes were no where near as form fitting -- but was able to join them back to hull with West Systems with a mix of Colloidal Silica for strength. I made a heavy fillet across the lower portions to make them water tight and did not fuss over the gaps at the high points of the box. Like you I had to modify by Primary Winch backers and cleat backers to clear, but I did that before I re attached the box.

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Thanks @pclarksurf. Should I be glad to know mine aren't the worst around? :) If you've been happy with your repair, then my plan seems like a reasonable one. Since the tops seem pretty solid, I'm hoping I don't have to remove them completely, like you did. Just sand a little more underneath to give the glass tape a good bond.
 
Jul 13, 2015
893
Catalina 22 #2552 2252 Kennewick, WA
Totally agree-- you could tape it, or even just use a small fillet of epoxy to fill the gap. Either way you'll be leak free and clearly no need to remove them. Mine had all but fallen off and while replacing my primary winches it was actually a good window to have them not there aggravating me until the project was done. And no issues since the repair-- like you and everyone else sheet load duly applied and no worse for wear.
 

AaronD

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Aug 10, 2014
723
Catalina 22 9874 Newberg, OR / Olympia, WA
I promised an update, and then never got around to it. Not a lot to it - a little sanding to rough up the surface, 2-3 layers of glass tape from underneath. and filled with a fillet of epoxy from the top. I'm a little messy when working with glass over my head, but it's still holding nicely after 2 seasons.

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Unfortunately, one problem solved creates another one. But that will get its own thread.
 
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