Our new to us 1986 Ericson 32 had a fair amount of rain water coming down the mast this past season.
I am concerned about what will happen over the winter as a result of water in the bilge when we head south from Maine this winter even though we will use a winter cover inherited from the prior owner. The badly discolored floorboards suggest that this has been a problem in the past.
I would like to drill a garboard drain hole into the port corner of the bilge in the second compartment aft of the mast where the regular bilge pump is located, which from the diagrams suggest that a 45 degree angle on the hole would exit through the lead keel. I would tap in threads for a 1/2" silicon bronze bolt with a hex head from Hamilton Marine, countersunk a bit into the keel.
One issue is that the mast water seems to drain into the non-TAFG portions of the bilge. When I pour the pink antifreeze into the mast drain hole (there is a teak dam around the mast which directs water into a drain hole just forward of the mast) it does not show up in the bilge compartments built into the TAFG, and hence is would not seem to be likely to drain out.
Your thoughts or advice?
I am concerned about what will happen over the winter as a result of water in the bilge when we head south from Maine this winter even though we will use a winter cover inherited from the prior owner. The badly discolored floorboards suggest that this has been a problem in the past.
I would like to drill a garboard drain hole into the port corner of the bilge in the second compartment aft of the mast where the regular bilge pump is located, which from the diagrams suggest that a 45 degree angle on the hole would exit through the lead keel. I would tap in threads for a 1/2" silicon bronze bolt with a hex head from Hamilton Marine, countersunk a bit into the keel.
One issue is that the mast water seems to drain into the non-TAFG portions of the bilge. When I pour the pink antifreeze into the mast drain hole (there is a teak dam around the mast which directs water into a drain hole just forward of the mast) it does not show up in the bilge compartments built into the TAFG, and hence is would not seem to be likely to drain out.
Your thoughts or advice?