New Catalina 22 Owner Questions

[FLJim]

Hello fellow C22 owners! I picked up a 1978 a few weeks ago and have been slowly getting it sorted out. This is my first sailboat and I have been doing a lot of research and love all of the discussions here and resources available for the C22. However, there are a few questions I have that I have not found an answer to and thought I'd bring them here.

1. Why is there no drain holes between the cabin sole and the bilge? Water sits in the pans in the main area and under the table. Has anyone drilled a small hole to allow water to flow into the bilge? Is there a reason to NOT do this?
2. The bilge layout, because of the keel locker, doesn't allow water to flow to where a bilge pump is installed under the aft seat of the dinette. Has anyone found a way to move that water to a common area? This may not be a big deal as I fix a couple minor leaks that allow outside water into that area, but curious about managing small amounts of water in the bilge.
3. I've seen people use storage bins with lids in the different storage/bilge access areas. Does anyone have recommendations on which size, type, brand of bins to use for this? I'm looking to store spare parts, tools, etc. on the boat while it is stored.
4. How do you keep your paperwork on the boat? Registration, etc. I'm thinking about a water tight case, like a pelican.

Appreciate any replies and insight!

 

[danooxnard]

My Cat22 has no bilge pump, but I cannot see may reason not to make holes so things will drain to the low point that is hopefully near the bilge pump. I have never had water in my boat after sailing it is a pretty dry boat.

I keep my registration in a quart size ziplock bag with a small notebook I use as a log. I log trip info and engine run times etc.
I don't like storage bins because they take up space and many times are just filled with air.
Dano

 

[ShawnL]

I got some plastic ammo cans from Harbor Freight. Small enough to tuck into storage lockers, etc. Used to use a rubber made type tote, but it took up a lot of room. The ammo cans have seals on them, so I can keep tools in one, spare lights, etc. in another, etc.

I laminated my registration, etc. so it's fairly waterproof now.

I did put in an automatic bilge pump between the volcano area and aft dinette seat. It's not perfect, since there really isn't a bilge area, but I'm on a mooring all summer, so it makes me feel better. Used a 50W solar panel that I put up by the bow when we leave the boat. Routed the discharge from the pump through the port locker to the aft of the boat and installed a through-hull above the water line near the motor mount.

 

[FLJim]

Thanks for the feedback and ideas. I'm familiar with the plastic ammo boxes and that's a great idea for organizing smaller parts. Guess I'll see just how much stuff I end up with to decide if I need any larger options.

A prior owner installed a bilge in the same area as yours @ShawnL . My discharge routes through the port locker to a through-hull on the port side above the water line. While I don't plan on mooring it when I'm not onboard, having the auto pump doesn't hurt for overnights!