Salt Water In Bilge

[RON SCHERER]

I have emptied and cleaned the bilge out 2 times on our 87 cat. With the bilge totally dry now I have watched water slowly crepe back in. Is this normal???? Yes it is salt water. Thanks to all of you who have ans. my questions as of late.

[Ted Pounds]

No, it's not normal.  Where's it coming from?  Have you checked the packing gland? Is it just seeping up from the bottom of the bilge?  How fast is it coming in?  You'll need to do a little sleuthing before we can help you.  Gook luck!

[Ron Hill]

Ron : We need some more info to help you.
The C34 has 4 bilge compartments; one fwd of the mast and three  aft of the mast.  With #1 being fwd and #4 being most aft; which one is filling with salt water first?  

[RON SCHERER]

Ron--thanks for getting bk. to me. I think the water is coming in from 4. I would know for sure but the boat is 6 hrs. away. From every thing Ive been able to find on this subject I feel its probably the p. gland. When we go to the boat over the Holidays what would you recommend I do to correct the problem? Can this be fixed with the boat in the water? Hopefully I can tighten things down and that will cure the problem. Living in Phoenix and having the boat in San Diego is a hassle when things like this come up and especially when Im dealing with water coming in. Thanks Ron

[Ron Hill]

Ron : Your guess on the packing gland is probably correct.  You need to repack that gland with "GORE" drippless packing tel.#(410)392-3200. You'll want 3/16" size.
I've installed new packing with the boat in the water and there's a writeup in the Mainsheet Tech notes on how to do that.  Not as scary as it sounds.
Let me know if you need more info.  

[RON SCHERER]

Ron, thanks for your help on this. I see w. marine offers a dripless packing kit. If this is my problem I have a w. m. 5 min. from the boat. You mentioned Gore. We are going to the boat next Thurs. A.M. Probably would not be enough time to order Gore in by then with the Holidays etc. Do I need to do anything about the water when I change the packing? Thanks again Ron S.

[Stu Jackson]

Ron

Start here:  http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq-stuffing-box.html

Since I wrote that, e-marine came up with the gore material.

[Ron Hill]

Ron : As I said "use the Gore".  I've used both the Gore and the stuff that West is selling.  I don't think that you'll be able to do the repacking in the water with the West mold able - anyway I wouldn't try to do it in the water with that stuff.  It takes a bunch of "molding" to get it in place.
Order the Gore and live with what you've got until it comes. BTW the Gore packing is only about $10-15.  
In the meantime carefully tighten up your old packing to where you only get a drop or two every minute - with the shaft turning.   [/b]

[RON SCHERER]

Thank you fellows very much for the help and suggestions. I will follow your advice and let you know how everything turns out. Happy Holidays to you and your families. Ron S.