Rich36PC

I have one season in the water in my 36PC. How much, if any, water is expected in the lower bilges? At the moment, my boat is up on blocks and is bone dry.

Also can anyone tell me how many batteries the original 89 36PC came with? I discovered a bilge hatch under the middle battery (of three) when I lifted the battery out for service. The hatch was stuck stuck to it. The placement of a battery holder screwed to a hatch top is bad design and I wonder if this was how it was originally done or if it was done by an earlier owner.

Rich S.

Ted G

iTrader: (1)

If that boat has inboards then you should always have some water in the bilge from shaft packing leakage. If you don't already have one, you might want to think about a bilge pump counter or hour meter. Then you can track how often the pump activates. If it starts going on a lot more, it is time to do some packing maintenance. I can't answer your battery question, but it doesn't sound like something a manufacturer would do.

Rich36PC

The water that I have noticed is actually under the salon, what I call the equipment bilge. It has a bilge pump, and a raw water intake for the a/c. It also has the outfeed from the kitchen sink, head shower/sink. I asked Formula a while back for the plumbing spec and it shows the Grey water flowing from the sink directly into the main bilge under the salon. I did not understand the ramifications then, but I think I do now. Some amount of that water is just going to sit there unless there exists a bilge pump which sucks out all the water down to the last 1/32nd of an inch. I don't think this a really great design idea either.

By the way, you are right and I do have to repack both stuffing boxes.

Ted G

iTrader: (1)

It would seem that they should have routed that stuff overboard or into one of those shower sump boxes with it's own pump. I have also found on larger cruisers there is a tendency for water to run forward to the V instead of to the rear like you would find in most smaller boats-this tends to pool water to the front and can cause some funky odors

Rich36PC

You hit the nail(s) right on the head, both of them. I do have a shower sump pump, but it is in the engine compartment and for the grey water to get there, there has to be enough stern tilt for the water to flow there. So there is a shower sump pump but it is not that effective at getting rid of every last ounce. This results in water running forward to the "V" and resulting in funky odors. Thank you for helping me to think this through and understanding that I am not alone and that this is just poor design.

Rich S.