Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III

Hello, I was looking at a Cal 34 MK-III today (which I am considering to buy) and came across two oddities. A) One was the mast had a hole due to corrosion at the base ( just above the deck level) The hole was atleast 4 inches wide and 2 inches tall. See pic attached. I wanted to know, if this is a common electrolytic problem on Cal 34 mk-iii or a special case. Also any ideas on fixing it. ( e.g. welding a aluminum strap, cutting off the corroded part and re-hoisting/retensioning.... any suggestions welcome.) B) Another was, water in the bilge + diesel slick. Is this also a common issue. The engine is original Westerbeke 25 HP. Any help/ suggestions/advice appreciated. Thanks in advance Amit

Sorry for some reason the pic did not attach the first time around. Apologies for resending.

First thought… the corrosion does not look 4” x 2”…. But??? The mast appears deck stepped? If this is true, then the rainwater / seawater collected in the mast has burned a hole in the mast to get out. This is possibly repaired by installing a proper “mouse hole” to allow drainage, and then band the mast base with a sleeve, internal or external. Oily is not proper in the bilge… the source needs to be discovered. All negotiating points when finalizing a boat sale price. dEmO From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 10:30 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III Sorry for some reason the pic did not attach the first time around. Apologies for resending.

Hi Tim, Yes, this is a deck stepped mast. Thanks for your inputs. Regards Amit

I would walk away. But if you have to have it, somebody has had a Cal 34 mast for sale on L.A. Craigslist recently. I'll try to see if it's still around. Greg Beron, Cal 29 Happy Hour > On Sep 23, 2014, at 10:26 PM, es… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > Hello, > > > > I was looking at a Cal 34 MK-III today (which I am considering to buy) and came across two oddities. > > > > A) One was the mast had a hole due to corrosion at the base ( just above the deck level) The hole was atleast 4 inches wide and 2 inches tall. See pic attached. > > > > I wanted to know, if this is a common electrolytic problem on Cal 34 mk-iii or a special case. Also any ideas on fixing it. ( e.g. welding a aluminum strap, cutting off the corroded part and re-hoisting/retensioning.... any suggestions welcome.) > > > > B) Another was, water in the bilge + diesel slick. Is this also a common issue. The engine is original Westerbeke 25 HP. > > > > Any help/ suggestions/advice appreciated. > > > > Thanks in advance > > Amit > > > <mast.jpg>

Hi, All. A couple observations on the mast and engine. I think Timm is right about the inside out corrosion from trapped water. However, if it rotted through at that spot, imagine what the rest of the inside looks like. The mast might be sitting on almost nothing. You should lift the mast if possible and examine the inside (or take the suggestion on buying a mast) A do put in a mouse hole whenever I help someone step the mast on their CAL 25 (also decked stepped like the 34). I once saw a CAL 25 where the DPO (dreaded previous owner) had caulked around the OUTSIDE of the mast base (ostensibly to keep water from leaking out?). We lifted the mast and, based on the rot water mark, there was about 9 inches of water inside. The bottom of the mast was almost totally gone. As far as the slick goes, it could have been a sloppy ol change, or could be much worse. If possible, suck/soak deterge the slick out of the bilge, and run the engine for a while. If the slick reemerges, then you have a drippy engine or filters or something. That would be one old Westerbeke. Best of Luck Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:49 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III First thought… the corrosion does not look 4” x 2”…. But??? The mast appears deck stepped? If this is true, then the rainwater / seawater collected in the mast has burned a hole in the mast to get out. This is possibly repaired by installing a proper “mouse hole” to allow drainage, and then band the mast base with a sleeve, internal or external. Oily is not proper in the bilge… the source needs to be discovered. All negotiating points when finalizing a boat sale price. dEmO

In any case never buy without a survey from the toughest surveyor you can find, unless your eyes are wide open and you are fully knowledgeable > On Sep 24, 2014, at 3:19 AM, 'Husar, Charlie [USA] (ASE)' hu… [at] bah.com [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > Hi, All. A couple observations on the mast and engine. > > > > I think Timm is right about the inside out corrosion from trapped water. However, if it rotted through at that spot, imagine what the rest of the inside looks like. The mast might be sitting on almost nothing. You should lift the mast if possible and examine the inside (or take the suggestion on buying a mast) > > > > A do put in a mouse hole whenever I help someone step the mast on their CAL 25 (also decked stepped like the 34). I once saw a CAL 25 where the DPO (dreaded previous owner) had caulked around the OUTSIDE of the mast base (ostensibly to keep water from leaking out?). We lifted the mast and, based on the rot water mark, there was about 9 inches of water inside. The bottom of the mast was almost totally gone. > > > > As far as the slick goes, it could have been a sloppy ol change, or could be much worse. If possible, suck/soak deterge the slick out of the bilge, and run the engine for a while. If the slick reemerges, then you have a drippy engine or filters or something. That would be one old Westerbeke. > > > > Best of Luck > > Charlie > > > > From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] > Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:49 AM > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Subject: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III > > > > > > > > First thought… the corrosion does not look 4” x 2”…. But??? > > > > The mast appears deck stepped? > > > > If this is true, then the rainwater / seawater collected in the mast has burned a hole in the mast to get out. > > > > This is possibly repaired by installing a proper “mouse hole” to allow drainage, and then band the mast base with a sleeve, internal or external. > > > > Oily is not proper in the bilge… the source needs to be discovered. > > > > All negotiating points when finalizing a boat sale price. > > > > dEmO > >

On 9/24/2014 6:19 AM, 'Husar, Charlie [USA] (ASE)' hu… [at] bah.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: > > > Hi, All. A couple observations on the mast and engine. > > I think Timm is right about the inside out corrosion from trapped > water. However, if it rotted through at that spot, imagine what the > rest of the inside looks like. The mast might be sitting on almost > nothing. You should lift the mast if possible and examine the inside > (or take the suggestion on buying a mast) > If only the base is corroded, would it be feasible to cut off a couple inches and then raise the mast step by an equal amount? It would be easy enough to build one of dense wood or weld one up from aluminum. I am lucky that Cal 20 #1220 lives in fresh water, which is less inclined to turn metals into batteries. Chris Campbell > >

On 9/24/2014 12:54 PM, Timm Lessley ti… [at] gmail.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: > > > In any case never buy without a survey from the toughest surveyor you > can find, unless your eyes are wide open and you are fully knowledgeable Or the price is so modest that you could recover it by selling off hardware and other parts. Chris Campbell >

Yes, the step could be raised without too much effort, but I fear that something else is going on here. Maybe electrolysis? Low voltage leak into the rig? Magic is 35 years old, and she has always lived in salt water. When we rebuilt our rig a couple of years ago, we had no corrosion at the step that is anything like what is shown in the photo. From: "ccampbell cc… [at] lsnm.org [Cal_Boats]" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:22 PM Subject: Re: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III On 9/24/2014 6:19 AM, 'Husar, Charlie [USA] (ASE)' hu… [at] bah.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: Hi, All. A couple observations on the mast and engine. > >I think Timm is right about the inside out corrosion from trapped water. However, if it rotted through at that spot, imagine what the rest of the inside looks like. The mast might be sitting on almost nothing. You should lift the mast if possible and examine the inside (or take the suggestion on buying a mast) If only the base is corroded, would it be feasible to cut off a couple inches and then raise the mast step by an equal amount? It would be easy enough to build one of dense wood or weld one up from aluminum. I am lucky that Cal 20 #1220 lives in fresh water, which is less inclined to turn metals into batteries. Chris Campbell >

Agree, and have enough in reserve to cut apart and haul to a dump. $$$$...??? From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 10:24 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III On 9/24/2014 12:54 PM, Timm Lessley ti… [at] gmail.com <mailto:ti… [at] gmail.com> [Cal_Boats] wrote: In any case never buy without a survey from the toughest surveyor you can find, unless your eyes are wide open and you are fully knowledgeable Or the price is so modest that you could recover it by selling off hardware and other parts. Chris Campbell

I must reply about this Cal 34 This used to be my boat pretty sure It went thru 2 inspections one before I bought it in Long Beach and when I sold it in Channel Islands with both surveyors looking at that area of the mast and they were not worried about it. This boat is probably one of the best keep up 34s around. Yes the engine is old. Have you ever seen a 36 year old car not leak a little oil but never failed us. Remember what just small amount of oil looks like on water. Dave Paulson From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 4:08 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III Agree, and have enough in reserve to cut apart and haul to a dump. $$$$...??? From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 10:24 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [External] RE: [Cal_Boats] Re: Mast & Bilge on 78 Cal 34 MK III On 9/24/2014 12:54 PM, Timm Lessley ti… [at] gmail.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: In any case never buy without a survey from the toughest surveyor you can find, unless your eyes are wide open and you are fully knowledgeable Or the price is so modest that you could recover it by selling off hardware and other parts. Chris Campbell