compression block rot

[Steve]

I just had a survey done on a 1988 catalina 30 and I noticed that the floor by the compression post seems to dip down. The surveyor said that it dosen't seem bad, there was no stress cracks on the cabin top or sunken area around the mast. There is also no cracks on the floor or inside on the cabin top by the compression post. My concern is that when I put down the board that covers the bilge there seems to be a dip in that area. Is this situation common or should I not by this boat? Thanks for the help!

 

[Tom Wingo]

Funny You should ask

Just today I was starting the repair on my 1989 C30 compression post keel block. This is a common problem in Catalina 30's. For some reason beyond my grasp, Catalina in all their wisdom chose to use plain old every day wood between the keel and the cabin floor under the compression post. Then to add insult to injury they seal it in with a coat of epoxy san cloth on the forward wall of the bilge. If you have any leakage forward of the bilge that gets beneath the cabin liner the water drains to this keel block and sits there with no place to go. Thus rotting out the keel block. From what I can see it is a fairly straight forward fix. From what I understand the cabin roof is suppose to be able to support the mast. Main need for this block is added support in heavy weather. It doesn’t sound like you have any structural damage yet to this boat. If the head door closes well that is a good sign.  I would get the surveyor to take another look and poke something thru the forward bilge wall to confirm the keel block is missing. Or you can tap on the forward bilge wall with a hammer. If it is solid you will hear it. My surveyor totally missed this on my boat last year. I just picked up on it thru a C30 email list that sailnet runs.  I don’t think it is a reason not to buy the boat if no structural damage was done. Just make the owner fix it before purchase. All in all I really like my C30. For the bucks it is hard to beat. It is a really nice boat over all. In the mid size catalina forum I have a post going on this subject now. One owner has a nice post on how he replaced his block.Good luck Tom Wingo