New Legend 35.5 Owner With Questions...

[Alacrity]

Hi. I recently purchased a 1994 Legend 35.5 and I have a few questions for the group.

1) Water is leaking in at our mast base. Have any of you fixed this on your boats? If so, how did you stop the water?

2) Have any of you installed a shower sump system? Our shower currently drains into the open bilge….

3) Where was the LNG tank installed by the factory? It looks like it might have been in the port settee originally. Ours is in the aft port cockpit locker. Our refrigeration compressor is in the port settee where I think the LNG tank may have originally been.

Thanks to the helpful information on this site, I have already replaced the holding tank. I'll post pictures and materials in a separate thread.


Alacrity
Long Beach, CA

 

[Hugh4753]

Congratulations, I've got the exact same boat, you'll love it. I sometimes have water leaking down the mast, not always but occasionally. I originally thought it was coming in at the mast step and recaulked around that, without removing the mast, helped some but not a complete fix as I still had some on occasion. I just started leaving a pan on the table to catch the water when I wasn't aboard and haven't worried about it and can't see that the little bit of water can hurt anything. It acutally hasn't been a problem for the last year or so, don't know why!

I haven't done the sump pump for the shower but the wife just started using the shower this year so I'm considering doing that myself. Friend with a '91 uses his all the time and just uses a wet dry vac to dry the bilge when he leaves the boat and doesn't have any problem with it.

I'm pretty sure my LNG tank has always been installed in the aft port cockpit locker too. On the friend with the '91's boat it was under the port settee before he converted to propane, but no evidence that mine was ever there. My refrigeration unit is under the sink.

I just installed a reverse cycle a/c in mine so I can spend more time aboard in the hot and humid summers we have here and it's wonderful.

Bottom line is it's a great boat, very seaworthy and it sails great. Hunter really got it right, I've heard a lot of folks say they should have never stopped production.

Hugh
SV La Bourgogne

 

[richk]

check the top of the compression post

In a real gully washer water can escape the mast/compression post through a hole in the compression post inside the cabin. This hole is a pass-through for in-mast wiring. You can access it by removing the coverplate (sometimes two piece item). You can plug the void between the wires and hole boundary with a compound like mortite http://vodpod.com/watch/1634082-mortite-caulking-cord

 

[walmsleyc]

I have an older Legend 35 and have dealt with problem of mast base leaks. If the mast steps are similar, then this idea my work for you. Some starting observations:

- My mast step casting has a drain hole that faces forward. This needs to be kept
clean regularly (I use a zip tie and poke out the junk that accumulates)
- The center of the step casting is open to the fiberglass deck, and the deck has
a hole for all the wiring to go down below, through the compression post.

It's pretty clear that water that gets down the inside of the mast will find it easier to drain down the wiring hole than out along the step casting drain hole. With the mast down (spring job), I cleaned the fiberglass/gelcoat around the wiring hole carefully, remove old caulking, etc. I found some PVC pipe (any plastic pipe should be fine) that has an inside diameter that matches the wiring hole through the deck. and cut a length of about 1"-1.5". Sanded the edges smooth on what would be the top side (to avoid wire chafe).

I then slid the wiring through the small section of pipe, and glued it to the deck, perfectly centered on the wiring hole with 4200 (or something similar).

This creates a situation where the water can fill up in the casting base up to 1.5" before it will drain down below. That should allow the water to either drain out the casting drain hole, or somewhere else before going down below. Now, water running down the wiring, can still find it's way below, so drip loops are an important idea as well.

Regarding your other points, I have not change the show drain arrangement (into the bilge). I also converted from CNG to LPG. For my year the CNG tank was factory installed behind the stove, partly in the hanging locker in the aft cabin.

Chris

 

[Alan]

The original CNG tank was installed under the port settee forward of the ice box. If you have propane for fuel it must be in a sealed locker in the cockpit. propane cannot be stored in the main cabin. It is a heavier than air gas (unlike CNG) and will collect in the bilge if it leaks out.
I left my shower drain to the bilge. The soap, shampoo and body wash make for a clean smell in the bilge. Also does a good job of cleaning the bilge. A wet vac makes quick work of removing anything that collects there. Just remember to block the float switch while showering.
The removable cover at the top of the compression post will give access to the tube carrying the mast wiring. This tube needs to be sealed up to prevent water entering the roof cavity. Insert the nozzle of a tube of silicone and fill the area. That will stop the leak.

 

[BLIGHT]

As for the shower sump pump what I did was to use a Jabsco Par Max 3 pump which I mounted under the port settee on the back wall. I found that the shower drain was connected to hose that drains into the bilge. From that hose I adapted down to connect to an inline filter to keep the hair out of the pump, from the filter I installed a check valve to keep the water from back flowing into the shower drain. The overboard port for the pump is located on the port side and was a spare overboard port that was not used. For my installation I installed a switch in the head area to control the pump so that it would not run unnecessarily. So far for 3 seasons it has been working great but, you do need to clean the filter several times a season. Now if I can only find a way to replace the hose from the shower drain to the bilge it would be even better.

Bob

 

[Alacrity]

Thanks For All Responses

Thank you for your replies.

I'll look closer at the mast water problem. The water is entering at the mast and draining between the deck and liner. It is exiting on the starboard side at the lowest point of the liner. The problem caused the settee to hold moisture over time. I've cleaned the damage and need to prevent it from recurring.

My stove does not use propane. The LNG tank is in the port aft cockpit locker. It appears that a space was originally designed into the port settee as Alan stated. Thanks for the heads up about the dangers of propane in an unsealed locker. I was already aware of this and I do not have propane. If anyone is using propane, be aware that none of the lockers on the 35.5 are sealed from the cabin....

 

[Guest]

Mast step leak

The mast step on our boat had been leaking for awhile when we took possession of Belle-Vie in 2002. The PO had tried to fix the leak with Silicone II without success. In order to make a permanent repair required that we drop the mast. I did the repair myself and it has remained dry ever since. Check out the Boat Info tab above under Hunter Owner Modifications, 42 and Mast step Leak. It will not leak if done properly.

Terry Cox

 

[Guest]

LNG

I'm pretty sure you have CNG on board your boat. In order to liquify CNG into LNG requires that the gas be cooled to around -250 degrees F. Our boat came equipped with CNG and I always carry a spare tank on our extended two month cruises. One tank (2,500 pounds) usually lasts us a full season. Great stuff.

Terry Cox

 

[Alacrity]

CNG

Terry,

You are correct. I have CNG not LNG. My mistake.

 

[Jim Haynie]

I did not respond before because I did not know anything about LNG, but i do know a few things about CNG and Propane. A CNG tank inside is fine, but propane should be outside and vented in such a way that the heavier than air gas can leave the boat by settling as through an above waterline hole that leaves from the very bottom of its locker. Otherwise, it can get trapped and become an extreme explosion hazard. Thus, folks who have become annoyed at the difficulty of getting CNG tanks re-filled and desire the convenience of swapping propane bottles at any local 7-11 or gas station MUST move their tanks outside to the rear lockers and provide proper venting. Lots of folks have done this and so, with a little searching, you can find used extra CNG tanks farily cheaply and always carry a spare fully ready to go. CNG is lighter than air and most boats have plenty of escape routes for leaked gas to leave through ventilation openings and all of the myriad places water can find to come in during a big rainstorm.

 

[Richard S]

Re: New Legend 35.5 Owner With Mast Leak...

I'm with Walmsleyc, don't silicone the wire-access thru-deck hole shut, unless you never plan to take your mast down. My PO shot the hole with Urethane Foam, and it still would leak. Several years ago, I took walmsleyc's idea one step further (when the mast was down for the winter) and placed a 1-1/2" 90-deg elbow on top of the "stand pipe" I installed above deck level. This added another inch (approx) of security against water buildup within the mast, but, more importantly, made it easier to create a "drip loop" above deck level. I felt that most of my water problem was a result of driven rain coming through the sheave holes for the halyards, transfering from halyards to wiring, and following the wiring back into the cabin top. (I had previously plugged the drain holes at the mast base plate, and that did not help.) No matter where the water was coming from, after installing standpipe with elbow (and drip loop) I have seen nary a drop of water (in the mast area) for the past few years since doing "upgrade".
My 1993 35.5 (built Fall of 1992) has CNG tank under port settee. (I can get a spare tank, with padding, in settee.) By 1994 35.5's, Hunter had transistioned to Propane. I was going to put a Propane Locker in the port transom locker (as did Hunter), but didn't want to give up the storage space and/or spot for second pair of 6v golf cart batteries. Now I'm glad I didn't and am rooting for T. Boone Pickens to bring back CNG! It is much safer.
Sorry for rambling. This is my first post. We've owned "Lake Affect" since October 2002.

Richard Strohkirch
Duncan Bay Boat Club
Cheboygan, MI (northern Lake Huron)