How 2 pump out bilge water?

[racer129]

Robert, not tech savvy so a picture of the grate is a no go. It's simply three or four poplar 1x2 boards cross beam and 5  1x2 boards evenly spaced lengthwise in the shape of an "arrow" to fit into the narrow forward area between the bunks. Once built it should be removable to access the bilge area. It should extend far enough under the companionway to support the porta pottie sliding in and out. Bill

[rdwalker]

Thanks, Bill!

By the way, I found that I am getting most of the water out by letting the trailer "kneel": the tongue is almost on the pavement and the boats is leaning forward.
Water is slowly seeping into the forward compartment and I use a shop-vac every few hours to get the accumulation out. By now, the visible top of keel cement is dry - I feel much better.

I appreciate the info on the grate; I'll try to build something like that. Did you finish the poplar with something, or did you leave it raw?
Also, when you cut out the floor cover, did you get it out completely, bunk-to-bunk, or did you just slice an opening?

Regards, Robert.

(CP-16 in Northern NJ)

[racer129]

Robert, After cutting the floor down the center,  lift both pieces up from the center and they should detach from the underside of the bunks. Vacuuming the water from the top front of the keel is just the tip of the iceberg, I'm going to assume the keel is full. Try tipping the boat backwards and let the water accumulate at the rear of the keel. You'll get more water out of the keel/bilge. Poplar is porous so prime and paint. Bill

[rdwalker]

Thanks!  Robert

[Citroen/Dave]

I'm working on many of the same problems on a late 70's C16.  The present owner is not quite ready to sell as he has some other issues on the boat that he will take care of before I purchase it.  In the mean time I get to dream about what I will do to the boat after it it is officially mine.  [See: Taking the brakes off a C16]

The cabin stiffener has turned to rot on the port side.  Brown water leaks out of the liner at several previously used holes that have been sealed at the deck but not underneath. After over three years of outdoor storage on the trailer, a bunch of water entered the boat.  Judging by the stains, the source of much of the water is from under the port wood strip that the acts as the slide for the hatch.

My local West Marine did not have suitable strips to replace the two hatch slide wood pieces so I opted for a temporary repair.  I noticed that a younger C16 in the yard has original appearing wood strips that have small arches, at the deck, between the mounting bolt locations.  These let water escape the wood trim periodically along the run rather than like mine that wants to channel the water all the way to the end of the wood strip where the wood has deteriated the most: my original also gatherers much more water at the leak.  My temporary repair (until I can take the wood off to sand and varnish) is to place rubber "O" rings around each bolt.  These "O" rings are also filled with that mostly good 2400 product so that I can easily remove the whole thing when I can do a proper repair. I need to get the boat through the winter, DRY.  I might also get a chance to sail the boat before winter storage, as is . . .  When I get to do a proper repair, I may very well use rubber "O" ring idea again. 

Shades of Citroen hydraulic repairs . . .

[Citroen/Dave]

I'm dealing with similar problems on a late 70's C16.  I found the biggest source of cabin water of the boat I'm about to purchase is through-the-deck leaks on my port side wood strips that guide the hatch slide, based on the inside stains from the rotted wood stiffener.  This boat has been on a trailer stored outside for three years and had accumulated gallons of water in the keel.  While I get to dream about sailing and dream about modifications [see recent post about "turning the brakes off"], I have the opportunity to tackle vital repairs.

I removed the wood strip and placed rubber "O" rings around each through-the-deck bolt.  I also filled the "O" rings with that pretty good 2400 product so that I can in the future take the wood off again and do a proper repair of sanding and varnishing. A nearby younger boat has arches at the deck between the bolts in the wood strip to facilitate drainage: mine has major wood deterioration at the down hill end of the wood strip.

[rdwalker]

...
Shades of Citroen hydraulic repairs . . .

OK, so when you turn the engine off, does your CP-16 sag to the ground?

;-)    Robert.

[rdwalker]

Tilt the trailer backwards till the stern almost touches the ground and use a wet dry shop vacuum to drain the keel. It's important to leave it this way for a period of time as water will slowly leach out of the concrete. ...

Hi, Bill,

I had some time today and went to town with the boat. It looks like no more sailing this season anyway. The local pond, Greenwood Lake, will be drawn down starting this Tuesday - no more water.

As per your advice, I tilted the boat all the way back. However, I decided to restore it to level right away - even though I blocked it in the back with a plastic box, the bulk of its weight seemed to be supported by the bow hook. It looked like it was going to pull out of fiberglass. I got scared.



Instead, then, I started ripping out the floor cover over the keel. Indeed, it was still quite moist there - and the top layer of cement was very much crumbled.  I hope that allowing the interior to dry over next couple of months will reduce the possibility of water freezing in the keel.



Question: when you were ripping out the floor, what did you do about the support for the cockpit? Did you stop your demolition there, or did you continue all the way to the lazaret?




Thanks, Robert.

[Citroen/Dave]

Sorry for the repeat. I did not realize there was a page 2.  I'm still very new to the post and the C16.  I growing to love them both.

Dave

[racer129]

Robert, Stop at the cockpit support. When you tilt the boat backwards there is a point where the boat will be balanced with no undue stress on the bow eye. These boats have been lifted by the bow eye and the two rear cleats. Chip away at the loose concrete till it is solid. At that point weigh what was removed and replace with fresh concrete or place a heavy deep cycle battery forward of the compression post (Compac 16 like additional weight forward counterbalancing your weight in the rear of the cockpit).

[racer129]

Robert, Make sure the wood block on the inside of the hull behind the bow eye is not rotten. If not put some fender washers under the nuts and tighten them down. Bill

[rdwalker]

Bill, thanks again for your comments.

Funny enough, not seeing your note, I posted a question about replacing the bow-eye U-bolt. Mine seems to remember better times.
If you care to add your $0.02, here is the thread:
http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=4658.0

I appreciate your and everyone else's help here. I'll keep you posted on my progress with getting the wet keel sorted out. By the way, the section I exposed so far is now much drier, all surface moisture is gone. I'll be slicing the rest of the floor cover off sometime this week.

[racer129]

Robert, Good to hear. The bow eye is an easy repair. Call Gerry to send you one . Bed with 5200. The more you work on your boat, the more confidence you'll build, the more attached you become. Bill

[acurtis]

Robert,
I've got a CP-16 in the same shape as yours.  All the comments here have been extremely helpful.  I tilted mine up today, drilled a 1/8" hole in the keel and watched as water dripped out.  I knew this was a project boat, but what I didn't know was how little I know.  This site is just great.
Al Curtis
Winchester, VA