E32-3 Anchor locker drain.

[SurfingGuru]

Hello All, I'm the new owner of an E32-3 out here in sunny Honolulu. I have been restoring this boat since I purchased it last summer. A few months ago I replaced the chainplate due to a fracture in the original one. In doing the repair the anchor locker was removed and reinstalled. Fast forward to yesterday, I was motor-sailing 4 hours to get the boat pulled onto the hard to complete a number of outstanding maintenance issues below the waterline. About one hour into the transit we noticed the bilge filling with water. We made it to the dry dock just fine. We couldn't find the source of the incoming water. Thinking back I remember them reinstalling the anchor locker and don't remember them messing around with the hose. I'm wondering if the drain tube was never reattached? Does anyone have any advice as to how to reinstall the tube? Seems like a passthrough at the drain location is just asking for problems. HAs anyone considered adding a bilge pump dedicated to the anchor locker?

 

[jtsai]

Are you 100% certain water in the bilge is salty ocean water introduced during the 4 hr. transit, not rain water?

 

[Loren Beach]

Hello All, I'm the new owner of an E32-3 out here in sunny Honolulu. I have been restoring this boat since I purchased it last summer. A few months ago I replaced the chainplate due to a fracture in the original one. In doing the repair the anchor locker was removed and reinstalled. Fast forward to yesterday, I was motor-sailing 4 hours to get the boat pulled onto the hard to complete a number of outstanding maintenance issues below the waterline. About one hour into the transit we noticed the bilge filling with water. We made it to the dry dock just fine. We couldn't find the source of the incoming water. Thinking back I remember them reinstalling the anchor locker and don't remember them messing around with the hose. I'm wondering if the drain tube was never reattached? Does anyone have any advice as to how to reinstall the tube? Seems like a passthrough at the drain location is just asking for problems. HAs anyone considered adding a bilge pump dedicated to the anchor locker?

I watched a friend re-attach that locker drain hose. He removed the anchor locker tub - it needed to be re-sealed around the flange anyhow.
That hose, on his E-32-3, had to be poked back thru the hole in the bow as the tub was lowered into position, Tricky. He put a lot of sealant around the hose and the tight opening and the hose was "glued into place". No leaks after that. Also, done while afloat, and he not lose any tools!

That little hose opening is very near the waterline, so any chop would indeed allow a steady stream of water thru. That said, your factory electric bilge pump uses a 3/4" hose and should keep up with it.
Of course you also have the manual cockpit hand pump, and that monster will move a lot of water quickly.... with steady effort from your strong arm - powered by adrenalin.

Anyhow, back to my friend's project, We talked about adding some access ports in that tub on each side to provide access to the fastenings for the pulpit and any adjacent hardware and to cut off and move up the bottom section a ways to allow access to that 'hidden' drain exit in the bow, He was not comfortable with the glass and saw work involved and decided not to,
By the time he wrangled that hose finally into place, he was more convinced that in the future those changes should really be done.

That anchor locker tub is really deep, and keeps the weight and volume of the line and chain lower down, but I wish they had made that tub a little shorter/smaller and left room to replace that drain hose.
(By comparison the anchor locker tub in our model is much much shallower, and forward inside access is easy -- as 'easy' as anything is inside the ends of the boat.)

 

[SurfingGuru]

Are you 100% certain water in the bilge is salty ocean water introduced during the 4 hr. transit, not rain water?

Yeah, it was a fairly constant influx of salt water keeping the pumps busy. Weather was dry, 18-25 kt winds and 5ft seas.

 

[SurfingGuru]

I watched a friend re-attach that locker drain hose. He removed the anchor locker tub - it needed to be re-sealed around the flange anyhow.
That hose, on his E-32-3, had to be poked back thru the hole in the bow as the tub was lowered into position, Tricky. He put a lot of sealant around the hose and the tight opening and the hose was "glued into place". No leaks after that. Also, done while afloat, and he not lose any tools!

That little hose opening is very near the waterline, so any chop would indeed allow a steady stream of water thru. That said, your factory electric bilge pump uses a 3/4" hose and should keep up with it.
Of course you also have the manual cockpit hand pump, and that monster will move a lot of water quickly.... with steady effort from your strong arm - powered by adrenalin.

Anyhow, back to my friend's project, We talked about adding some access ports in that tub on each side to provide access to the fastenings for the pulpit and any adjacent hardware and to cut off and move up the bottom section a ways to allow access to that 'hidden' drain exit in the bow, He was not comfortable with the glass and saw work involved and decided not to,
By the time he wrangled that hose finally into place, he was more convinced that in the future those changes should really be done.

That anchor locker tub is really deep, and keeps the weight and volume of the line and chain lower down, but I wish they had made that tub a little smaller and left room to replace that drain hose.
(By comparison the anchor locker tub in our model is much much shallower, and forward inside access is easy -- as 'easy' as anything is inside the ends of the boat.)

Yeah I'm thinking we have to add access ports. Maybe easier said than done.

 

[Loren Beach]

Yeah I'm thinking we have to add access ports. Maybe easier said than done.

That anchor well drain in our boat has a short (about 3") piece of quarter inch copper tubing glassed into the bow, and then the hose from the well is clamped onto it. Good design, IMO.

If your well tub is water tight at the top, you can probably add an opening on each side with a 4" hole saw -- or whatever hole fits the access plate that you choose. Just be sure the centering drill bit in the saw is short and will not accidentally drill thru the side of the hull.
At least then you could reach fastenings and wiring bits. I am not remembering that the bottom of the tub has enough flat space for a screw-out plate, which would solve the access problem pretty well.

 

[Loren Beach]

Yeah, it was a fairly constant influx of salt water keeping the pumps busy. Weather was dry, 18-25 kt winds and 5ft seas.

I have spent a full day and night running down the WA coast in exactly those wind/sea conditions. Big Fun, but probably a lot warmer where you sail!

 

[goldenstate]

Seems like the rudder post or the prop shaft packing gland could be other sources if the water appeared after motor-sailing.

 

[jtsai]

Just wondering if anyone has actually cut an access hole in the anchor well as suggested in post #6 in order to reach the 3" tubing connects from bottom of anchor well to the drain hole. Mine needs attention.

 

[Christian Williams]

Another alternative might be installing an access port into the V-berth panel. That panel comes off on the E38 (shelves have to come off first), but I don't recall if it does on the 32-3. Have to compute first if that would give useful access to the drain tube.



(I added that 10-cent shelf, which earned its keep as a good place to store awkwardly large life jackets)

 

[SurfingGuru]

I ended up using the technique suggested by Loren in #3. I attached a long tube to the anchor locker drain and passed it through the copper tube at the bottom. The tube was a fairly tight compression fit but we also sealed it very well. No leaks yet (he says crossing his fingers). One useful tip was to pass a smaller guide tube up from the outside of the hull which was small enough to fit inside the final tube. Once the final tube was installed we just cut off and pulled through the guide tube.

Christian, there is no forward access to the locker on my 1988 E32-3 that I've seen. There really should be. It is on my list of never ending todo's to add one. I'm a decent amateur woodworker so that's not very difficult. I would just hate to have a situation where I need quick access to the hull and can't reach it.

 

[nquigley]

Just wondering if anyone has actually cut an access hole in the anchor well as suggested in post #6 in order to reach the 3" tubing connects from bottom of anchor well to the drain hole. Mine needs attention.

It's not possible to access that drainage hose from the bulkhead in the forepeak.
This becomes apparent when one removes the whole anchor well 'shell'. There's a gap of about 8" between the bottom of that shell and the hull.
It's best to remove that shell altogether, and use plywood and fiberglass glass cloth to make that bulkhead a watertight barrier between the anchor well and the bilge. You only need a few cups of filler (I used thickened epoxy) to bring the bottom of the new well up high enough for it to let water drain out of the existing hole.

 

[jtsai]

I ended up using the technique suggested by Loren in #3. I attached a long tube to the anchor locker drain and passed it through the copper tube at the bottom. The tube was a fairly tight compression fit but we also sealed it very well. No leaks yet (he says crossing his fingers). One useful tip was to pass a smaller guide tube up from the outside of the hull which was small enough to fit inside the final tube. Once the final tube was installed we just cut off and pulled through the guide tube.

Christian, there is no forward access to the locker on my 1988 E32-3 that I've seen. There really should be. It is on my list of never ending todo's to add one. I'm a decent amateur woodworker so that's not very difficult. I would just hate to have a situation where I need quick access to the hull and can't reach it.

Was this done without removing the anchor well? If so, don't you end up with smaller diameter drain hole? Thanks.

 

[jtsai]

My 1990 32-3 has a 4" diameter access hole above the v berth water tank. I was able to confirm there was indeed moisture tricking down toward the bilge, barely able to reach the middle of the tube, but unable to reach either end of the tube. If this cannot be repaired by applying sealant from outside the hull, I may enlarge the access, remove excessive fiberglass from the anchor well that gave me bloody knuckle and hopefully gain access to both ends of the tube for proper repairs.

 

[Christian Williams]

SurfingGuru, I'm wondering if you bought Eric Gold's boat, Liliana. Can't be too many 32-3s in Honolulu.

 

[jtsai]

Another alternative might be installing an access port into the V-berth panel. That panel comes off on the E38 (shelves have to come off first), but I don't recall if it does on the 32-3. Have to compute first if that would give useful access to the drain tube.

View attachment 38419

(I added that 10-cent shelf, which earned its keep as a good place to store awkwardly large life jackets)

Christian, does the E38 anchor drain have the identical design as E32, via a 3" tube that drains from anchor well to outside? Did you have a backup plan during the two Hawaii trips if this difficult to reach tube is compromised allowing uninterrupted flow of sea water into a non-water tight compartment? I understand the hole is small by design for the bilge pumps to keep up.

Just wondering if my anchor well has to come out in order to address this pesky leak, I might redesign with a water-tight apartment, raise the overboard drain and get rid the 3" drain tube, and install windlass. Big project.

 

[Christian Williams]

Nquigley reports in Post #12 that access from the forepeak doesn't work on the 32-3 because the anchor rode pan is in the way (if I understand him right).

Here's a photo of the E38 drain, which is a hose rather than a copper tube (which I had on the 32-3).

I've never worried about water ingress. I figure if the tube comes off I'd stop the boat and stick my chewing gum in the exterior hole.

2022 update: In fact I had a copper tube nipple for the hose, and it broke offshore, sending torrents of sea water in. So much for "never worried" -- although It's true that the emergency answer is just to plug the hole in the stem and carry on, although that's easier to do at a dock.

 

[nquigley]

These pics will help show the area under the 32-3's anchor well tub ...
1 bottom part of the tub remaining; 2 bottom part and hose removed (white dust ring shows relationship to first pic); 3 my drain hose was a short piece of gray PEX tubing; 4 gap under forward bulkhead; 5 my finished anchor well (see small amount of filler needed at bottom to let all water drain out of bow drain hole - no hose); 6 bonus pic: I installed a bilge access port in the forward-most storage bin in the forepeak - found a big plastic bag of ss screws under there ;-) It's 20+" from that bilge area to the gap under the bulkhead - no way to reach all the way to the drain hose connection under the tub.
Enjoy the pics (I didn't enjoy this project very much ...)

 

[jtsai]

Nquigley, with a cell phone and friend squirting water from outside, I was able to capture the leak. You can see day light in the attached picture, a small crack where the tube exit the hull. It would be an easy fix if I can get to it. However, the cone shaped structure prevents access unless it is cut. Feeling around and drew some blood, the structure is hollow, a scoop shaped shell and is not part of anchor well liner. I did not see this structure in your 32-3. Thought?

 

[Christian Williams]

You can probably fill that hole from the outside. I'd press in some caulk. Or if you prefer, epoxy, since the hose could always be drilled out later if necessary.

If the hose is actually loose in the opening, pull it out half an inch with pliers, butter with epoxy, let it set, cut off the excess hose with a knife.