I am very very new to sailing, just got a catalina 27. I am in the process of cleaning it up, fixing it up, no where close to taking it out on the water....here is my question (and I apologize for my ignorance), when talking about the bilge, what exactly are we talking about? Is it just the small space under the long wood cover on my cabin floor? Or does it mean that part, but also the entire underneath of the boat (or what I understand to be the hull)? Hopefully that question makes sense.
Novice sailor/boat owner....lots of questions....
- Thread starter RyanH
- Start date
The bilge is the lowest inner part, or bottom point, on a boat, and is designed to collect excess water. ... the bilge pump system is designed to remove relatively small amounts of water and usually are not large enough to keep up with a major intrusion of water from hull damage. Hopefully you have an automatic bilge pump.
On a Catalina 27, the bilge is the cavity under the floor board. Lowest point in the boat. Any water that enters the boat will end up here... so that is where you place the electric submersible bilge pump (if you have one) and you should also see the hose that will lead up to the manual pump that can be operated from the cockpit.
When checking the bilge.... which you should do regularly.... take a close look at the "keel bolts"... older boats will undoubtedly be corroded.. if you can clean them up and then coat them with tef gel or similar then do it. You can also check the base of the mast's compression post. The old C 27 had a piece of marine plywood that covered the floor of the bilge that the base sat on... It is possible this layer can get water damaged and a common retrofit is to remove and replace and treat with resin before covering with an epoxy overcoat.... It's a real job, btw.. that's why many owner's don't do it.
FYI the hull of a boat is composed of the bottom, keel to water line... and the topsides.. waterline to deck. When fiberglass boats are built... the hull is formed in a mold, flipped over where workers install bulkheads (walls) and most of the systems. The deck is created in a separate mold and at the proper time the two are "married"... creating the very important "hull/deck" seam or joint. You might want to do a little research on this yourself.
Finally, Cat 27's, early in their production run were found to have insufficient backing under the forward and aft lower shrouds.... so the factory designed a retrofit kit to solve the problem. If you see no huge aluminum backing plates under the deck (you can easily see them while inside the cabin or head) then you can purchase this kit from the factory or from CatalinaDirect.com which is an aftermarket dealer specializing in Catalina parts.
Good luck, have fun.
When checking the bilge.... which you should do regularly.... take a close look at the "keel bolts"... older boats will undoubtedly be corroded.. if you can clean them up and then coat them with tef gel or similar then do it. You can also check the base of the mast's compression post. The old C 27 had a piece of marine plywood that covered the floor of the bilge that the base sat on... It is possible this layer can get water damaged and a common retrofit is to remove and replace and treat with resin before covering with an epoxy overcoat.... It's a real job, btw.. that's why many owner's don't do it.
FYI the hull of a boat is composed of the bottom, keel to water line... and the topsides.. waterline to deck. When fiberglass boats are built... the hull is formed in a mold, flipped over where workers install bulkheads (walls) and most of the systems. The deck is created in a separate mold and at the proper time the two are "married"... creating the very important "hull/deck" seam or joint. You might want to do a little research on this yourself.
Finally, Cat 27's, early in their production run were found to have insufficient backing under the forward and aft lower shrouds.... so the factory designed a retrofit kit to solve the problem. If you see no huge aluminum backing plates under the deck (you can easily see them while inside the cabin or head) then you can purchase this kit from the factory or from CatalinaDirect.com which is an aftermarket dealer specializing in Catalina parts.
Good luck, have fun.
Yes, the bilge is a small section of the hull at its lowest point intended to collect water that may get into the hull. Where does that water come from? Sea spray, rain leaks, fresh water tank plumbing leaks, galley spills, wash down water, wet swim trunks, etc. Besides the bilge which is visible there are likely some gallons of water trapped in the hull stringers below the sole. Boat motion or heeling may release some of that water into the bilge, The small electric bilge pump is a convenience item rather than a safety item. It is just an easy way of discharging overboard that incidental water found in the bilge rather than having to scoop it up manually. An automatic bilge pump or one with a float switch is one that will discharge water without supervision or interaction. A lot of boats came with manual switches back in the 80's and that is fine too. Flip the switch when you first come aboard and a few times a day while underway. It is not the function of the bilge pump to prevent flooding damage. In order to keep the boat dry any leaks must be found and corrected, Thru-hull valves must be inspected regularly as well as all the hoses and clamps. Most bilge pumps range from 500 GPH (gallons per hour) to 1,000 GPH. Logic follows that the smaller boats should have the larger pumps as they will fill up faster. These pumps are "bench rated" by the manufacturer with no loads. In real life conditions a bilge pump output averages just about 30% of its rated capacity; the rest is taken up by heat, electrical inefficiencies and the load of pushing water to and up the discharge port overboard. A good 500GPH pump may only discharge 150GPH on a good day. Hope this info serves as a starting point to bilge info and management.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,846
Welcome @RyanH to the SBO forum. I see already you have discovered the friendly talent sharing that makes this site great.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you envision your sailing. Also don’t be shy. Share a picture of your boat and how you two became a team.
Enjoy, a first boat is a great experience.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you envision your sailing. Also don’t be shy. Share a picture of your boat and how you two became a team.
Enjoy, a first boat is a great experience.
Welcome to our crew, Ryan. There are a lot of talented and highly experienced sailors to help you here on SBO. I'm sure you will soon become one of the same. You've made the "technically idiotic" choice to own a sailboat, but we here all know that is not really the truth. Owning a sailboat takes vision and intelligence beyond that of the average person, and joining SBO demonstrates your wisdom far beyond that of the average sailor, so congratulations. I'm glad to be able to welcome you aboard and I'm looking forward to following your adventures in sailing.
Again, welcome, it's good to have you aboard.
-Will (Dragonfly)
You have recieved, already, some great definitions and advice above. There isn't much I can add to what has already been written. However, sailors like to muddy the waters a little, at times. You may find yourself in conversation with others sailors who make reference to the bilge when they mean the bottom of the boat. There are bilge keel boats that have twin foils on ether side of the "keel line". Bilge can sometimes mean anywhere between the chine (the transition from bottom to topsides) and the keel line (centerline). So, technically speaking, the bilge is that lowest internal space against the bottom of the hull where water can collect, but in common or casual sailor parlance, it can be the bottom of the boat, in general.
Again, welcome, it's good to have you aboard.
-Will (Dragonfly)
Am new to boat ownership also. And even though I've been sailing and chartering for decades, I learn from these posts (especially information unique to Catalina's), and greatly appreciate the responses and people who contribute. Thanks!
Mike
Mike
Thank you Jacktar - I didn't know there was a specific forum for Catalina 30. Thanks for pointing that out.
