Bow pulpit rewiring and rebedding, 32-3

[peaman]

I have read with interest the various posts about removal of the chain locker and related work, including this one. I was able to remove the chain locker with little effort after removing the many screws, and the drain tube came out without resistance, and no corrosion. I will describe my plan for reinstalling the locker/liner with drain below, but the purpose of this post is to seek advice on rebedding and rewiring the bow pulpit.

The four "feet" on the bow pulpit all showed various degrees of rust streaking around the foot pad at deck level as well as around the tubing at the top of each foot socket, and I would like to minimize that. The separate socket inherently allows water to enter the foot fitting just by draining down along the tubing. And from there, for the most part that water has nowhere to go. In the image below, the base plate of the two aft feet have a center hole, which is used for bow light wiring on the port side. The hole through the deck which is provided for that wiring was entirely plugged by sealant, but on that foot socket ONLY, there is a tiny (3/16") hole at the base of the socket above the mounting plate (see photo). No drain path existed on the starboard side since there is no deck opening or other means of drainage. No other feet have a drain hole or a hole in the deck where the foot is mounted. The two forward feet have no means of drainage at all.


So here are the questions:

Is there any recommended way to seal the top of the foot sockets so they do not allow water to enter?
Given that one foot socket has a 3/32" drain hole, should the other three feet have one as well?

With the bow pulpit removed, this should be a good opportunity to replace the wiring for the bow light...unless that effort is likely to fail. Assuming others have made the effort to remove the original bow light wiring from the pulpit tubing, how well did that work out for you?


Back to the re-install of the liner and drain: my drain is an assembly of the same "Qest" grey plastic tubing used for the fresh water plumbing system. It appears that during the original build, a longer section of tubing was connected to the drain, that tubing was then fed through the hull opening at the bow, and the the tubing was cut flush. While I would rather see a more robust through-hull type fitting, I think the original intention is not a great risk if properly attended to. For re-installation, I intend to run a suitably sized cord through the drain tube, and then through the hull opening. The drain tube will be treated with sealant material, and the liner bed at deck level will be prepared with caulking, and then the liner will be lowered into place, while an assistant on the dock will "steer" the Qest tubing through the hull opening.

I think that procedure stands a good chance of working well, but we will see.

 

[Kenneth K]

Is there any recommended way to seal the top of the foot sockets so they do not allow water to enter?
Given that one foot socket has a 3/32" drain hole, should the other three feet have one as well?

When I reinstalled my bow pulpit years ago, I sealed the aft, port leg (the one with the bow light wiring) with flowable silicone after reinserting the pulpit. It seems to have held up over the years.

The 3/32" drain hole is an interesting idea, but unless you drill every stanchion base (there must be what, 20 of them?) you'll still have some filling with water. These SS tubes are usually pretty difficult to drill, as well. And, I wondered about the possibility of rusty water from the drain holes running all along the deck.

I removed and polished all my stern railing bases last year so I went through this dilemma too. I'll have to remove the stern railing one more time to install solar wiring, so I temporarily have electrical tape wrapped where the rail posts enter the bases.



For the final installation, I figured I'd slather each railing post with clear silicone before inserting it into its base.

 

[bigd14]

I didn’t have any holes drilled in the pulpit feet so I added them and then sealed the hole with sika 291 as I dropped the pulpit into place. Seemed to work fine.

 

[jtsai]

Back to the re-install of the liner and drain: my drain is an assembly of the same "Qest" grey plastic tubing used for the fresh water plumbing system. It appears that during the original build, a longer section of tubing was connected to the drain, that tubing was then fed through the hull opening at the bow, and the the tubing was cut flush. While I would rather see a more robust through-hull type fitting, I think the original intention is not a great risk if properly attended to. For re-installation, I intend to run a suitably sized cord through the drain tube, and then through the hull opening. The drain tube will be treated with sealant material, and the liner bed at deck level will be prepared with caulking, and then the liner will be lowered into place, while an assistant on the dock will "steer" the Qest tubing through the hull opening.

I think that procedure stands a good chance of working well, but we will see.
View attachment 47172

Couldn't tell from your description whether you will be able to apply a generous amount of sealant around the drain tube from inside the boat. You can gain access from the access hole from the V berth. That was the failure point when my drain tube leaked. The sealant at the exit point dried up and developed small crack.



I often wonder why Ericson placed the anchor well drain hole so close to the waterline and at the V of the bow. Most boat's drain hole is several inches above the waterline and at the side of the boat. Some are sheltered by a clamshell.

 

[peaman]

For re-installation, I intend to run a suitably sized cord through the drain tube, and then through the hull opening. The drain tube will be treated with sealant material, and the liner bed at deck level will be prepared with caulking, and then the liner will be lowered into place, while an assistant on the dock will "steer" the Qest tubing through the hull opening.

I think that procedure stands a good chance of working well, but we will see.

The re-install went well. Removal was motivated by water having leaked into a forward stowage bin under the V berth, That water came from leaks at deck level around the chain locker liner, and then down along the forward face of the bulkhead just aft of the chain locker. With the chain locker liner removed, I liberally caulked the junction of the forward bulkhead with the hull liner at the forward end of the V berth, and then I applied an oil based paint to the forward face of the plywood bulkhead to seal against possible future leaks. While the chain locker was out, I took the opportunity to re-bed the bow cleats and hatch hinges. The chain locker liner was previously installed with #10 sheet metal screws through the 3/16" (or so) thickness of the deck flange and locker liner flange, and some were stripped out. So I decided to add some backing material using 1"x1" teak under the deck flange, and held in place by a couple of #8 flathead screws through that flange. Once that was fitted, I tested the concept of guiding the original Qest drain tubing back into the hole at the bow, and it was successful. I was able to see the end of the Qest tube nearly flush with the hull opening.

For final installation, genuine Bed-It butyl tape was applied in two layers along the top of the deck flange. Then, with the guide-rope running through the drain tube and also through the hull opening (see photos), I applied a liberal blob of Life Caulk around the interior side of the hull opening, and also around the bottom inch of the Qest drain tube (the hull thickness, or at least the length of the hull opening was measured and found to be 5/8" to 11/16"). An assistant lowered the chain locker liner into place, while I laid on the dock keeping tension on the. guide rope until I could see the end of the drain tube at the hull opening. By tensioning the guide rope, I could see the drain tube flex slightly, and a bit of caulking was pushed out, so I have good confidence that the drain is well sealed at the hull opening. Pulling the guide rope through the drain tube cleared it of any excess caulking, and a bucket of water into the chain locker proved the drain was working as it should.

 

[Kenneth K]

Great work! That project is still on my to do list.

 

[bigd14]

By tensioning the guide rope, I could see the drain tube flex slightly, and a bit of caulking was pushed out, so I have good confidence that the drain is well sealed at the hull opening. Pulling the guide rope through the drain tube cleared it of any excess caulking, and a bucket of water into the chain locker proved the drain was working as it should.

Clever! Well done.

 

[nquigley]

The re-install went well. Removal was motivated by water having leaked into a forward stowage bin under the V berth, That water came from leaks at deck level around the chain locker liner, and then down along the forward face of the bulkhead just aft of the chain locker. With the chain locker liner removed, I liberally caulked the junction of the forward bulkhead with the hull liner at the forward end of the V berth, and then I applied an oil based paint to the forward face of the plywood bulkhead to seal against possible future leaks. While the chain locker was out, I took the opportunity to re-bed the bow cleats and hatch hinges. The chain locker liner was previously installed with #10 sheet metal screws through the 3/16" (or so) thickness of the deck flange and locker liner flange, and some were stripped out. So I decided to add some backing material using 1"x1" teak under the deck flange, and held in place by a couple of #8 flathead screws through that flange. Once that was fitted, I tested the concept of guiding the original Qest drain tubing back into the hole at the bow, and it was successful. I was able to see the end of the Qest tube nearly flush with the hull opening.

For final installation, genuine Bed-It butyl tape was applied in two layers along the top of the deck flange. Then, with the guide-rope running through the drain tube and also through the hull opening (see photos), I applied a liberal blob of Life Caulk around the interior side of the hull opening, and also around the bottom inch of the Qest drain tube (the hull thickness, or at least the length of the hull opening was measured and found to be 5/8" to 11/16"). An assistant lowered the chain locker liner into place, while I laid on the dock keeping tension on the. guide rope until I could see the end of the drain tube at the hull opening. By tensioning the guide rope, I could see the drain tube flex slightly, and a bit of caulking was pushed out, so I have good confidence that the drain is well sealed at the hull opening. Pulling the guide rope through the drain tube cleared it of any excess caulking, and a bucket of water into the chain locker proved the drain was working as it should.

View attachment 47314 View attachment 47315 View attachment 47316

Nice!
What is the white triangle at the bottom of the bulkhead?

 

[peaman]

What is the white triangle at the bottom of the bulkhead?

In the middle picture you can see the plywood bulkhead painted off-white, and below that is the forward end of the fiberglass hull liner. The liner is formed with a ridge, perhaps 1x1 to act as a stop for the bulkhead. I liberally caulked the top of that ridge to prevent water from draining between the liner and the bulkhead: that's where water was able to get on top of the liner at my V berth, and then into the forward storage locker.

Also seen in that picture is 1-1/2" to 2" of unpainted tabbing joining the plywood bulkhead to the hull. The liner below has flanges, but is not tabbed. Finally, the tiny triangle that the guide rope passes through is a mass of caulking from the original build.

 

[nquigley]

I'm very familiar with that big pit. I removed my anchor well liner and reinforced the bulkhead - tabbing it to the hull and making the new anchor well a water-tight compartment ... except for the OEM drain hole. It now cannot drain into the main bilges. It was part of a bigger project to add a removable inner forestay, an electric windlass and a wash-down pump. I made a few posts in this thread about my project: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/thread...-for-ericson-32-iii-master-thread.3464/page-4