Radar Arch Drain

[Russell Clifton]

They were there when we bought the boat.

 

[Miz Trom]

We, as the OP has experienced, had brown water weeping from drain holes whenever it rained.


Anyway, after the arch was unbolted from the hull, it took four strong backs to get it off the boat. It was completely waterlogged and useless.


The cause was equipment mounted on the top of the arch. Getting it dried was going to be impossible. We replaced it with a pipe arch made by Atlantic Towers (NJ) constructed to the same dimensions as the original. It can be lowered by one person with another person pulling the pins on the base.


We had the same brown water weeping from drain holes on the underside of the boat deck. After removing all of the old bolts and screws from old equipment mounts and filling them, we no longer have brown water when it rains.

Ducati:


I made breakfast in between starting and finishing my post and did not see CatalinaJack's post before I posted.


Ducati, I am concerned that your arch is waterlogged, as described by Catalina.


It's not maneuverability I would be concerned about, it's top-heaviness.


I understand completely your frame of mind that it's "only a $57,000 boat." But she's such a beauty of a $57,000 boat!


I reckon that once you get a few nautical miles under your belt and fall in love with her, you will discover abilities you never thought you possessed. And you will purchase some tools, and perhaps even figure out how to unbolt that arch yourself.


I had an older Stamas that I dinged badly once while getting her on the trailer by myself. Thereafter I earnestly watched several Youtube videos, bought the supplies, and did a heck of a fiberglass and gelcoat repair. Repairs are easy when they are a labor of love.


Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley

 

[magna 6882]

It looks to me like it is a hinged arch so i would think there would be separation between the upper and lower section of the arch. Not sure if that cap is a drain or was some other function. Those caps are used also for running a wire or tube out of the fiberglass making a cleaner job. I think i would lower the arch and look things over.

 

[Ducatihottie]

There's good and bad news.

The good news: The drain is below the arch as the arch swings open and its dry. So the bottom half where the drain is must have a leak. It also looks like there's some Fiberglass repair.

So it's the bottom part that's wet and not the whole arch. I assume the electrical wires run through this?

Bad news? The bottom part of my arch is wet.

 

[magna 6882]

it sounds like you just need to re-set and seal the lower half of the hinge. I would think a simple job for some white 4200 . Shoot some pictures of the hinge when open. You can then asses removing the lower bracket,see whats its based in.If fiberglass just reseal and your done. If it were an after thought you may find wood used as a space. if so remove the wood and glass it in then seal and remount the hinge plate.

 

[Ducatihottie]

Mrs. Trombley and Magna: With help, I was thinking of removing the arch completely as you day and digging deeper. Since it's made to hinge, will the electrical cables to my arch lights and radar be long enough if I take it off?

I still haven't looked up the drain with my new borescope yet, (Amazon is late delivering it).

I'm just thrilled my arch isn't filled with water!

Question

Why does my arch have a boatload of screws in that enclosed area way above my drain? What's behind that panel and why isn't it completely sealed up?

And yes, I'll clean up the stain soon.

 

[magna 6882]

I think if it were me i would just monitor the situation as i learned more about the boat. Its been this way for some time so a little more wont mater. Sometimes one gets focused on one thing and misses others like a magic trick. While a little mystery theirs a simple answer .

 

[Ducatihottie]

Agree, but during the survey while at full speed, the water shifted and poured out the drain towards my aft all the way down to my teak flooring.

It took a while to scrub and get the stain out. Yesterday I bought a rust remover.

I'm not to worried about it now, but it would suck if that happens regularly. At least now I'll put towels down.

THANKS. The more I learn, the less I freak. You should have seen me yesterday trying to learn how to flush my pump toilet. The more I flushed, the more it filled with water. I freaked. Then I watched a few YouTube videos, learned about the off water switch and how to pump. And all's well. The pump is actually a neat contraption, (I thought it just pumped water into the tank).


Youtube "How does the pump on a jabsco manual toilet work".

Now that's cool.

 

[adornato]

any self respecting owner or former owner of a Taiwan trawler would recognize the brown effluent from your vent as what is called "tobacco juice"...it is the product of a leak somewhere upstream that has caused wood to rot. usually plywood.
I would find the leak, plug it, then put in another vent and hook up a wet/dry vac and let it run for a couple of weeks to blow through and try to dry out the interior. the radar arch will probably last longer as it is with a little rot in it than most of us will last.

 

[Kenthefenceguy]

For what it’s worth
I’m, a retired fencing contractor from dry Arizona. When we occasionally removed wrought iron fences near swimming pools made with hollow tubing the posts sometimes were full of water. The posts were capped and had no obvious holes or bad welds. The only thing I could think of Was condensation build up over the years. Maybe that is where the water comes from. In any case a drain seems like a good thing just in case.

 

[Parro]

Arch leaks

Firstly, how big is this problem for you?
It can be fixed but....
It will be expensive to pay someone to do.
It will be frustrating to do it yourself.

You have dozens of potential leak points with all the attachments. The Bimini frames, the radar, and all of those canvas attachment points.
Every single one or all of them could be the culprit.
The other problem will be knowing if you have fixed the problem.
In my view the most likely is the canvas attachments, it’s unlikely there is any sealant used initially.
Looking at the photos I would estimate this is 2 days work for a competent person.

If it was my boat I would remove and reseal the canvas fittings then remove the clamshell drain and install a plug so it is completely sealed. Periodically unscrew the plug and see how much water comes out.

Just a few suggestions without seeing it.

 

[Ducatihottie]

I believe the top half is dry, it's below the hinges that's wet.

Can I just wrap the whole bottom half with Something like the stuff foot casts ate made of but Fiberglass? Is there such a thing?

Brian

 

[Ducatihottie]

The leak is below the hinges.

Remember how foot casts were made? Is there anything I can just wrap around it but made with Fiberglass that will dry?

 

[magna 6882]

At some point i would lay the arch back and take a look. If there are only screws connecting the lower half on the hinge i would remove the screws, clean the surface with ether bond spray and reset the hinge and screws with white 3M 4200. There may be an opening in the hinge for wires to go to the arch. Those will need to be sealed with something like Dicor.
I would not think any fiberglass work. Most likely rain water shedding down the arch and getting in the hinge or wire chase.
Its just maintenance and will be a done deal once completed. Also a good idea to mask around the lower to isolate the work area to just the hinge plate.

 

[Ducatihottie]

Thanks

 

[OldDan1943]

They do make plastic inspection ports with screw in covers. These are also used to pull wires.
Also you can install a louvered vent to get air flow and assist in drying out the area.

 

[Ducatihottie]

I like the vent idea

 

[Jacques]

Do not block this hole which exists on many trawler arches.
It is intended: 1: for aeration of the spinning to prevent mold and 2: can also be used as a passage for the spinning of a new accessory.
(Excuse my english)

Jacques (Trawler Cote-de-Nuits)