I am torn as to whether or not I should repair the crack in the liner so
the water will stay in the cabin. As it works out, the keel seems to be
able to hold a fair amount of water and the the cabin stays dry except for
the area immediately next to and in front of the CB trunk. Sealing the
crack would consign me to living with the water, although some would
probably get through the place where the wires come out of the front
bulkhead and go up the mast support. I heard that some p-19 s have an
opening just aft of the CB trunk. What if I drilled a hole or two to let
the water head below even more quickly and keep the carpet dry? I would
be interested in hearing where people who have the support tubes put their
bilge pumps and how effective they are.
I have inspected and tested the cockpit drain tubes for leaks and it
passed. I have been out on calm days and not had any water come in so I
am pretty sure that the only water that enters is through the CB. We also
did a topside water tightness check as previously reported. Because we
are often around shallow water, I do not generally latch down the CB. I
have added weather stripping on the top of the CB trunk, but without a
latch it doesn't seem to make a big difference. All I have for a latch
down is a rather thin (3/16 inch) pin which goes through the CB and trunk
in the middle of the board. The hole in the board is large, but those in
the trunk quite small. Does anyone have a recommendation regarding this
setup? I know it would be better to have the CB latched if it looks like
we could get knocked over. I thought about using something like a shear
pin in the latch, but it strikes me that if it is going to break when
hitting a solid obstruction, it might be just as likely to break when the
boat turned over. Opinions?
Eric Zilbert
Davis "not by the sea" California
P19 #621 "Riptide"