New Owner of 1983 Irwin 34 Citation

[patagoniadave]

Hi, thanks for the add. My name is David, I am 45 years old, and live in San Carlos Mexico. I am 1.5 years into a 5 year plan to turn my condo into a rental, and cruise full time. To this end, I bought the Irwin to learn to sail with. I have not previous sailing experience. The boats name is Perla. She is anchored in the Bahia outside my balcony. I sleep on her every night, and kayak back and forth to the condo where my office is still set up. I work remotely as a project manager for an Architect in Massachusetts. I have owned the boat for just under a month, and been sailing on her one time. I have a sailing instructor lined up to give me lessons on my boat as soon as his schedule clears. In the mean time I am reading books (ASA course books for now), forums, and talking to anyone who will talk to me. I am taking this time to get to know the boat.

I came to this site on a recommendation from another forum that I find a boat specific forum to ask questions in. I have not researched the questions yet, but wanted to say hello now that I have registered. I'll post the questions I am researching below, but I know how annoying it is to have the new person ask the same tired questions all the time, so please don't feel the need to read further. (can I search specifically in the Irwin sub forum, or does the search feature search the entire site?)

If you did, and want to point me to past threads to read on, or want to share input on the questions, thank you very much for your time.

1. I want to start a.... maintenance schedule? Things I should be doing daily, weekly, monthly and annually. It would be amazing if someone already has one and would be willing to share.

2. An item that came up during my boat inspection, is the standing water in the bilge, that the bilge pump does not remove. The inspector was worried about the keel nuts and bolts being exposed to water constantly, and the risk of rot. I asked the seller, he shrugged and said it's always been that way. It seems to me that it was engineered that way. Should I find a better bilge pump that will lower the water level more? ( I hit the manual pump button every day). Should I be treating the bolts regularly with a product to protect from rot? These seems hard, but not impossible at constant anchor.

3. This is the question I posted on another forum that drove me to come find this one. Please excuse the weak humor attempts, I was exhausted from lack of sleep:

"My boat has developed a fun new noise (or I am newly experiencing the conditions that cause it). The conditions are very specific:

There has to be no wind, on a relatively calm night. Whatever forces point my boat perpendicular to the mouth of the Bahia as if I was sailing beam reach to it. Then the Sea of Cortez sends in about 6 little swells through to mouth of the bay, they have to hit perfectly straight on the beam, causing the boat to rock side to side 30 degrees or so. Doesn't work if the boat is off angle a bit.

When all of these conditions are met, the bulkhead that abuts the lower mast portion (or maybe it is the mast itself), make an interesting sound.

It sounds like Ghost Rider is doing a bad job of sneaking his bike on deck with a rusty come along. Couple of test ratchets at the first swell to see if I am paying attention (I am), then 3 quick ratchets as the boat leans in one direction, 3 quick more on the return lean. Repeat about 6 times, then pause until I almost fall asleep again. Repeat. All night. Really loud, about 3 feet from my head.

I'm scared to find out what I did to piss off Ghost Rider.

The port standing rigging that goes from the mast head to the end of the spreader is a little loose, I know because I went out at midnight and stared at it as the boat rocked back and forth. I am wondering if this is allowing just a tiny bit more of flex in the mast beam to beam than normal, and putting tension on the bulkhead wall were it connects to the lower mast. Some nail is stretching in and out of a hole, or maybe it is something on the mast connection.

I don't know enough to be worried or complacent, so I am going to just be anxious until the rigger comes."

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I would suggest you pose one question at a time. You'll be more likely to receive answers than one large inquisition .

Should I find a better bilge pump that will lower the water level more? ( I hit the manual pump button every day).

Find out where the water is coming from and stop it at the source. One source might be an excessively leaking shaft gland. Try to build a dam which will catch the small leakage from the gland and keep it out of the bilge.

 

[patagoniadave]

I would suggest you pose one question at a time. You'll be more likely to receive answers than one large inquisition .



Find out where the water is coming from and stop it at the source. One source might be an excessively leaking shaft gland. Try to build a dam which will catch the small leakage from the gland and keep it out of the bilge.

I am assuming it's the shaft. Both the inspector and the owner assured me it was not excessive. When you say build a dam, I'm assuming I'd put the second bilge pump there? I like that idea, thank you.

I posted all the questions, because I read in another thread someone suggesting that. I also assumed I'd find the answers by reading through past threads, which is why I prefaced before writing. I skimmed through every thread in the Irwin site, and didn't see any answers, so I figured I'd loop back around and ask the individual questions. Thank you for taking the time to read and reply.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new boat!

Your ghost rider sound seems like it could possibly be the gooseneck where the boom joins the mast. You could try rigging a temporary “preventer” type of setup one night, holding the boom in place, to see if that solves the problem.

I don’t think it’s uncommon to have a small amount of water in the bilge. Pumps can’t remove the very last bit. If the stuffing box is dripping when the engine is not running you could try tightening it a bit.

Maintenance schedules are not very boat specific - they tend to be pretty consistent and based more on things like engine make/model and whatever other systems the boat is equipped with. I have a schedule I follow but it revolves pretty heavily around an annual haul-out and winter on land, so probably not too applicable to Mexico.

 

[patagoniadave]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new boat!

Your ghost rider sound seems like it could possibly be the gooseneck where the boom joins the mast. You could try rigging a temporary “preventer” type of setup one night, holding the boom in place, to see if that solves the problem.

I don’t think it’s uncommon to have a small amount of water in the bilge. Pumps can’t remove the very last bit. If the stuffing box is dripping when the engine is not running you could try tightening it a bit.

Maintenance schedules are not very boat specific - they tend to be pretty consistent and based more on things like engine make/model and whatever other systems the boat is equipped with. I have a schedule I follow but it revolves pretty heavily around an annual haul-out and winter on land, so probably not too applicable to Mexico.

Thank you! It's been such a fun adventure! And this is just the pre dawn beginning.

Yeah, I expect water in the low bilge. It doesn't build up, because the bilge pump always sucks air almost immediately when I turn it on, it just seems like a weird spot to terminate the bolts. Then again, the boat is.... over 30 years old and that is probably the original hardware. I'm possibly going to pull it out for hurricane season, or at least park in the marina. I'll dry the bilge and paint them with whatever the most people tell me to use. Finding consensus in sailing advice is hard!

Hmm, I didn't even think of the boom, I was so focused on the mast and the compression thing under it. Mostly because the sound seemed to be coming from inside the bulkhead, but I also know that sounds can travel strangely. When it wakes me up at midnight tonight, I'll crawl out and experiment.

Good point on the maintenance schedule. I won't be wintering, but will deal with excessive sun and heat issues. I just wasn't sure if the Irwin had any unique quirks I needed to know about.

Thank you so much for the reply and advice! I'm trying to cram a lifetime of knowledge into the next 3.5 years. It's been fun so far.

 

[patagoniadave]

Going to try and upload a short "video" of the noise. It was dark, so will in effect just be sound.

Meet Google Drive – One place for all your files

 

[Davidasailor26]

I'll dry the bilge and paint them with whatever the most people tell me to use.

If the bolts are stainless I probably wouldn’t paint them. I’d be afraid of the paint blocking oxygen away from the stainless. Oxygen deprivation of stainless could allow its passivation to break down and increase corrosion. I presume there is no rust staining around the bolts as-is?

 

[patagoniadave]

If the bolts are stainless I probably wouldn’t paint them. I’d be afraid of the paint blocking oxygen away from the stainless. Oxygen deprivation of stainless could allow its passivation to break down and increase corrosion. I presume there is no rust staining around the bolts as-is?

There is no rust corrosion. I was in there yesterday trying to see the base of the mast compression post, but it is blocked by a keel rib. I'm not sure I could get to it if needed repairs without cutting the floor up. Going to try and find a fiber optic cable camera to snake in there.

It looked like there was something on the nuts, paint or maybe some other treatment. I wasn't really paying attention. Maybe I'll dry the bilge with a sponge tomorrow and take a closer look.

 

[patagoniadave]

Going to try and upload a short "video" of the noise. It was dark, so will in effect just be sound.

Meet Google Drive – One place for all your files

That "meet Google drive..." Is a link to the video. Sorry about the promotion, it's my first time trying that. If the link works for others, the pause between the noises is the boat rocking one way, then the other. Like something is living one way 3 clicks, then back 3 more.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Try to build a dam which will catch the small leakage from the gland and keep it out of the bilge.

My idea is that the leakage from the gland should be so minuscule that you could mop it out of the dam every so often in pursuit of a dry bilge. The area under my gland is deep enough that IF my gland leaked, a fair amount of water could be stored before it overflowed.

 

[patagoniadave]

My idea is that the leakage from the gland should be so minuscule that you could mop it out of the dam every so often in pursuit of a dry bilge. The area under my gland is deep enough that IF my gland leaked, a fair amount of water could be stored before it overflowed.

I'll look into that tomorrow when fiddling with the bilge. Thanks for the idea, I don't think I would have come to it on my own.

 

[DArcy]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of people with other boats chiming in because a lot of things you're asking about are not necessarily boat specific and we will often check the "What's new" button that lists all forum new posts.

It can be interesting learning the quirks of a new-to-you boat. The ghost rider sounds are a little hard to grasp. Do you have a fixed keel or centerboard? A centerboard might make sounds if it shifts with the rolling. The first thing I though of however is loose halyards, either inside or outside the mast. They can make quite a racket when the boat rolls if not tightened up. If your mast has wires not run in a conduit that can be another source of noise.

Try putting your ear against the mast and then the bulkhead to see if you can hear the noise through them, might give you an indication of the source.

Standing rigging should not be loose at anchor, everything should be snug. Ask the rigger to walk you through how to adjust it, although he will probably use a tension gauge.

 

[patagoniadave]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of people with other boats chiming in because a lot of things you're asking about are not necessarily boat specific and we will often check the "What's new" button that lists all forum new posts.

It can be interesting learning the quirks of a new-to-you boat. The ghost rider sounds are a little hard to grasp. Do you have a fixed keel or centerboard? A centerboard might make sounds if it shifts with the rolling. The first thing I though of however is loose halyards, either inside or outside the mast. They can make quite a racket when the boat rolls if not tightened up. If your mast has wires not run in a conduit that can be another source of noise.

Try putting your ear against the mast and then the bulkhead to see if you can hear the noise through them, might give you an indication of the source.

Standing rigging should not be loose at anchor, everything should be snug. Ask the rigger to walk you through how to adjust it, although he will probably use a tension gauge.

Thank you for the welcome! I need to zoom out and follow the "new posts" it's my favorite thing to do on the cruisers forum I follow. I learn a lot just by reading the threads.

Interior halyards were definitely slapping, although that was partly because someone told me to loosen tension on the jib. I tightened them right up after the first hour of listening. There are wires slapping in there if I put my ear on it, but they are relatively quiet. I can't hear them from the v birth.

Fixed keel

I tried posting a link to a video of the sound. Not sure if it's working for others, and I have to click the play button twice. It's very loud, but only in the cabin. The head specifically.

 

[DArcy]

The video link says I need to request access, which I did not do. Can you change the access on the video to allow anyone to view it?

 

[patagoniadave]

The video link says I need to request access, which I did not do. Can you change the access on the video to allow anyone to view it?

Ok, I think I just did that. Thanks!

 

[DArcy]

That would certainly keep you awake, sort of a slow but loud creaking.
When does your rigger arrive? Play the sound for them to get an opinion. Also may be worth asking the previous owner if they know what it is.

 

[patagoniadave]

That would certainly keep you awake, sort of a slow but loud creaking.
When does your rigger arrive? Play the sound for them to get an opinion. Also may be worth asking the previous owner if they know what it is.

Well, it is Mexico. He will be here "Manana", which loosely translates around here to "not today". I did send him that clip in a whatsapp message, he did not reply.

Luckily, there was a little breeze last night, and no rollers, so there was no sound.... until the mosquitos found my boat.

After listening to the noise over and over and over, this is what I am picturing. A connection plate similar to the one I found that holds the bulkhead to the fiberglass, but somewhere in the bulkhead wall. The nuts have loosened ever so slightly. The force of the mast during a severe beam to beam rock (it does not make the noise if the swells are smaller and the roll is less pronounced), is causing the bolts to move in the slop of the holes in the plate, and the nuts dragging on the plate is the sound I am hearing.

I just remembered that I have a telescoping mirror in my home inspection kit, so I am going to bring that to the boat and see if I can see up the bottom of the bulkhead from the bilge.

 

[patagoniadave]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new boat!

Your ghost rider sound seems like it could possibly be the gooseneck where the boom joins the mast. You could try rigging a temporary “preventer” type of setup one night, holding the boom in place, to see if that solves the problem.

I don’t think it’s uncommon to have a small amount of water in the bilge. Pumps can’t remove the very last bit. If the stuffing box is dripping when the engine is not running you could try tightening it a bit.

Maintenance schedules are not very boat specific - they tend to be pretty consistent and based more on things like engine make/model and whatever other systems the boat is equipped with. I have a schedule I follow but it revolves pretty heavily around an annual haul-out and winter on land, so probably not too applicable to Mexico.

Just as a follow up; I was opening the hatch today. Looked up, a couple of snaps on the sail cover had come loose. I was looking directly at the bolt that connects the boom to the mast. The head if the bolt had clearly slid as far as the pin in the other side would allow. There was room for 2 or three extra washer shims. I am almost positive this bolt sliding back and forth is causing the noise, but can't confirm until the conditions are right again.

I found an Irwin Facebook group, a couple people have the same boat as me. One claimed that the keel bolts will not rot as long as they are always under water. I need to confirm the science in that. Another uses a pump called "bilge be dry" or something like that, which pulls all the water and has backflow preventers.