Winter Projects?

[djpeewee]

So what's on your list of winter projects?

After spending a year with our 2004 28TE Flush Deck now, we would like to improve a couple of things beyond what was done last year:

1. Additional refrigeration/freezing space.
Has anyone added an additional refrigerator to a 28? We were thinking maybe a Dometic drawer refrigerator under the admiral's chair in the wheel house. There is currently a two drawer cabinet there. The other option we are considering is converting one of the fish boxes to a refrigerator/freezer using one of the modular systems we've see at the boat shows. This would probably work best for the center transom fish box. The large in-floor fish box in the center of the cockpit gets too hot from the engine heat. It would need to be further insulated to work. Plus it works well for a hot tub... don't ask.

2. Additional holding tank space.
We find the holding tank too small at 6 gallons. The wife and I can fill this in about 2-1/2 days if we are really conservative. With our 2 boys on board it's lucky to last a day. Since all of the waters within 100 miles of here are no discharge zones the small tank is a problem. We were thinking of adding a second holding tank somewhere - possibly under the starboard side gunnel with a transfer pump to handle the goods.

I'd like to hear what others are considering for improvements over the winter.

Thanks, Damon.

[Jeremyvmd]

Sounds like you have some good projects for the winter...we have a pile of things to do before launch in the spring, some have been done, some are waiting on time, money, or weather. Some of it is necessary stuff. Some of it I just want to do for peace of mind The short list follows: (X before means it's done)

Redo cold water side of freshwater system
Redo salt washdown
Replace electronics package
X Rerig outriggers
X Replace deck box hinges
Replace impeller
X service motor
Replace shower sump
Replace bilge pumps
Sand hull and apply Poliglow
Wash cushion covers
Replace carpet in cabin
X Replace transom shower
Possibly replace water heater
Replace dead hydro trim tabs with bolt electric cylinders
Fix damage to gelcoat (nice thing about having my nephew and his gf here...she's artistic and can color match)
Replace name on hull
Install swim platform (looking like this might not get done this year)
X Replace tach
X Replace trim tab switches
X Add support to deck boxes (foam self stick insulation)
X replace vhf
Replace stereo
X Replace dead rudder position sensor


Im sure im missing something. If I think of it I'll edit the post. But that's what I got so far...

[DesertAlbin736]

First of all, boats don't get laid up for the winter in these parts (Arizona). This is the beginning of our active boating season. We've had a bit of a cold snap the last few days where it only reached the 60s, but by this weekend we'll be back up near or above 80, our normal for early November, and by later next week (11/10-11/14) slip a little bit down to the mid 70s, clear skies and sunshine every day.

But as far as projects go, I would also like to install a larger holding tank, as we have the same problem with our Albin 25 which has a 9 gallon tank. Only about 6 or so gallons of that tank are actually usable since even the best pumpout leaves at least an inch or two of liquid in the bottom and the inlet from the toilet at the top of the tank prevents using the top couple inches. So as it is, it's only good enough for 2 people for a weekend.

This past summer we met another Albin 25 owner on the Erie Canal in NY who had upgraded his tank. He did that by relocating his battery bank to make room for a larger tank. On the Albin 25 the holding tank is located outboard of the driver's seat and battery bank on the starboard side next to the engine and just aft of the forward cabin bulkhead. There is room enough in a storage bin under the starboard bench seat just behind the driver's seat and the access opening is large enough to drop Group 27 batteries through. Relocating the batteries there would free up enough room for a 15 or 20 gallon holding tank. But it's by no means a cheap project. Tanks run in the $200 to $300+ range.

[kerrye]

Somewhat outside the box but I have some thoughts about additional waste tankage. We have a porta-potti in our F-24 Corsair and I like it. I like it for a number of reasons but one is that trailerable boats sometimes end up at boat ramps without pump outs but with waste still in the tank. The port-potti can be removed and emptied anywhere, especially at RV dump stations which are often readily available on the drive home. So instead of adding a larger tank, my thought is to add a second tank into which the waste can be pumped but which is removeable like the tank on a porta potti for dumping. Anybody done this? One way to do this I suppose would be to replace the standard marine toiled with a porta-potti to gain the tankage of the porta potti but then connect the porta potti tank to the existing tank so that waste could be transferred either way between them. Anyone done that? There are a couple of advantages to port-pottis I think. One is that they don't involve a pump but more importantly they can be used without adding water so tankage isn't wasted (pun intended) on unnecessary water.

[jleonard]

Right now my current project is modifying/rebuilding the anchor rode "locker".
The shelf if it were has water soaked core (plywood) and it is delaminated. PLUS it is not deep enough for the all chain rode to pile correctly.
So I have cut out the chain half of the shelf and will finish grinding it out this weekend.
Then I have to rebuild it deeper on the chain side (port) and repair the starboard side as that is were I store the secondary mostly line rode.
The locker side of the V berth bulkhead is plywood, so that will have to be glassed up to be water resistant.
If the weather stays warm I'll be able to finish it this fall...but likely it will have to be finished in the spring.
Of course to accommodate this work, I have the pulpit removed, and the windlass is at home on my workbench to be "gone thru" and painted(again).
Oh and then there's the center front window frame that separated.....

[RobS]

...Oh and then there's the center front window frame that separated.....

What were you out jumping waves again at 7 knots!

When you're done with the repair/rebuild I recommend lining the anchor locker with Dri Dek, it facilitates great drainage. On my 28 I did the floor and up the sides too since it was wide and shallow. I don't have a picture from the 28 but on my 36 CC I just did this one square at the base of the locker since it's a more narrow and deep (NICE) locker.

[jleonard]

Thanks Rob great idea

[DesertAlbin736]

Kerrye: Our boat's previous owners found a solution to that no-pumpouts-at-the ramp problem. Our marine head tank is plumbed to a 3 way Y valve that can drain the tank overboard when outside the 3 mile limit. Of course in most situations like near shore coastal cruising or lake boating that's not an option. So what our previous owners did was make up a drain pipe contraption out of PVC pipe and elbows with a length of pool backwash hose (the kind that's blue vinyl & folds flat) at one end and the other end that fits the through hull opening which is accessible when the boat is on the trailer. The sections between elbows are not glued together and the whole contraption can be broken down into short sections that will fit in a small gym bag. That way the tank can be drained directly to an RV dump station or a jerry can or bucket can to be poured down a toilet or porta potty dump station.

Of course that doesn't do much good while you're on the water doing an extended cruise. We had a heck of a time finding pump outs while up in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, as Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island and Ladysmith Harbour on Vancouver Island were about the only places in the area where we could find pump outs, and they weren't free.

jleonard: Previous owners of our Albin 25 built a plywood tray glassed over to hold the chain and rope rode up in the forepeak. The rode is fed through oval shaped hawse pipe deck openings. The tray has a drain line that goes down into the bilge. What I do when anchoring is to always flake the wet chain and rode on deck to let it dry (and if possible when at a marina to hose the mud off) after pulling up the anchor before I stow it in the chain locker. I don't have a windlass that would feed the rode directly below, only a manual sailboat winch to help pull up the rode, since being a small boat our main anchor is a 22 lb Bruce with 26 feet of 3/8th inch chain.

[kerrye]

How does the drain system connect to the thru hull? I'd thought about something like that but figured it would need a fairly secure connection to the thru hull to avoid unpleasant leakage. Do you have an electric pump which pumps out the tank thru the hull or is it manual?