Draining Water from Forward Cabin Bilge

[Mark]

I have a C30, 1987 Mark II. Hull 4761. There appears to be no weep hole to drain bilge water from the forward bilge under the v-berth. I am think of creating a small hole near the floor of the head into the forward bilge to drain most of the water into the floor of the head from where it will go into the main bilge. Before I do that, does anyone have any advice?My telephone number during the day is 216-685-6118.

 

[Allen Schweitzer]

Before you do...

Mark,Before you do, let me offer a suggestion: If it happens when on the hard, make sure it also happens while she's afloat.I *think* mine does it only when it's hauled, but when I launch the problem goes away. Just a thought. Also, I wouldn't recommend drilling in that area. You won't want a wet head floor, there's a lot of stress there from the forward chainplate, and it could hurt resale.Here's a possible suggestion: Add epoxy to increase the height in the forward bilge floor. This will deny the water a place to collect & it will have to flow aft via under the head's floor or under the starboard locker ultimately to the bilge.Anyone think this is a good or a bad idea? If my problem still happens when I launch, I was thinking of taking that approach.Allen Schweitzers/v FalstaffC-30 Hull# 632

 

[Richard]

weep hole

Mark,I have #4803 I thought about drilling a hole for almost the same situation. I used to get a small amount of accumulation aft of the forward water tank (where the liner floor meets the center of the boat) I decided to find the source of the leak before drilling a hole. Mine turned out to be a leaky forward hatch. My advice is don't drill any hole unless absolutely necessary, find and fix the source of the problem first. It could be a leaky hatch, the hull to deck joint, leaky stantion base, etc...

 

[Wendell]

Find the source

Only time we've had water in this area is from healing under sail with a full water tank. Water spilled from the vent hole. I added a piece of nalgene tubing extending the height of the vent opening above the healing height of the tank outlet.To address condensation in general, we run a compressor based dehumidifier large enough to dry 1,000 sq ft of midwest basement.

 

[Mike]

Same Problem

I had the same problem. It was leaking in at the stanchions. I just leave a towel in that area. Change it when it is damp and work on the leaks

 

[Tom]

Water in fwd bilge

I get water in this area if I accidentally overfill the bow water tank. The tank's inspection/clean-out plate was loose and water seeps out and onto the bilge area when the tank is filled. Tightening the plate helps. Some people use teflon tape on the threads to help seal the screw-in plate, others make a gasket out of a single thickness of plastic from a zip-lock bag. And avoid overfilling the tank.You might want to fix your leak before considering drilling holes; drilling would be a band-aid approach to a real fix. Also, you want to avoid water getting into the area under the compression post; there's a wood support block there. It seems that water in that area could lead to a worse problem (rotted wood block "supporting" the mast) than what you might have now.