Classic AquaSport

Aquasport Mechanicals - things that need a wrench, screwdriver or multimeter => Plumbing => Topic started by: Glock Diver on November 14, 2010, 10:02:31 PM

Title: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 14, 2010, 10:02:31 PM
Following a thread on another forum about a boat rebuild, I started thinking about areas on my boat that I consider "wasted space"...   :?:  So, what areas on your boat have you found to be wasted space?  And even better, what did you do to take advantage of the space?

I've got 3:
1. the area below my deck (accessed through the Haitian hatch fwd of my console seat).  LOTS of space in there, and I haven't found anything to do with it.  Only thought is to install a fresh water tank/pump.

2. the space under my leaning post.  My solution was to install a hinge in the seat to make it a flip-down, and then I used mesh webbing to make a basket of sorts to hold my crap.  And then under the seat, I have finally found a cooler that fits just perfectly.  :cheers:  Took me like 3 cooler purchases to finally find it.  And then I added some straps to keep the cooler in place.

To prevent the "worthless without Pics" icon... Here's my little DIY creation for the leaning post:
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/IMG00232.jpg)

3. The space between my 2 forward fish boxes.  There's a small hatch already on the deck of my casting platform, but I think there's ample space for a hatch right here:
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/Fwdhatches.jpg)
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 18, 2010, 10:14:05 PM
Seriously?  :roll:  Nobody else has found wasted space on their boats!?
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 19, 2010, 02:15:26 PM
Glockster,
IMHO my 225 has plenty of storage,I like to take most of my stuff out of the boat so as to keep it and the storage areas clean.It is hard enough to explain where stuff is to my crew,"in that triangle shaped hatch on the left,no your other left,not the one in the middle,left,hold the wheel,I'll get it".
That area under the casting deck would be great for a tackle drawer unit,and on mine the fresh water tank and pump is in the hatch in front of the console,its nice to be able to rinse off with fresh water after diving.
Pete :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 19, 2010, 04:27:04 PM
Quote from: "pete"
It is hard enough to explain where stuff is to my crew,"in that triange shaped hatch on the left,no your other left,not the one in the middle,left,hold the wheel,I'll get it".


 :lol: Ain't that the truth.  How many times have I said that to my passengers/crew?

Did your 225 come with the freshwater system?   I'm guessing it's a Tournament Edition?
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 19, 2010, 04:43:00 PM
yes it came with the fresh water system,yes to the TM also

(http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/Pete1681/freshwatersys003.jpg)

(http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/Pete1681/freshwatersys004.jpg)

(http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/Pete1681/freshwatersys001.jpg)

(http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/Pete1681/DSC_0020.jpg)

 :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 20, 2010, 03:25:39 PM
Very tempting project.  How good is the water pressure on your fresh water hose, Pete?


Looking down in my Haitian hatch today, I noticed my fiberglass sub floor is cracked, but they may just be surface cracks.  :scratch:  Think this is anything to worry about?

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/fiberglasscracks.jpg)
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: gran398 on November 20, 2010, 09:05:11 PM
Just stress cracks from running IMO....guess you could throw on a layer or two for preservation's sake.

Betcha SB could advise re the initial lay-up schedule on that part.
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 20, 2010, 09:25:16 PM
thats just the paint they use cracking,some of mine is too,clean it up and paint over it.
The pressure on mine is ok,as much as you would expect for a hand held shower,not like a washdown pump,but the slower flow makes the 8 gals of fresh water last longer.I have never had a fresh water system on a boat,don't know if I ever will have a boat with out one, before,its real nice to be able to rinse off yourself on a hot summer day.also great for rinsing the gear.I use it on my u/w camera,reels and I really like to get all my trolling lures rinsed off and put away,1 less thing to clean at home.
try it.you'll like it!
Pete :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 20, 2010, 09:41:27 PM
Mike,
It's a sub-floor, glassed to the sides of the stringers, the cracking is in the painted on gelcoat, nothing to worry about.

On an Osprey, the pump is mounted on the starboard stringer, the feed line to the transom shower runs through a notch in the port stringer aft down the port side to the transom walkthrough.  Trust me, it's not hard to feed the line back there, done it a bunch of times on boats that had the freshwater option added after they were build.  To get the 10 gallon tank in the Haitian hatch, remove the hatch in the sole, it will fit.  The pump and electrical is the fun part...
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 20, 2010, 10:38:34 PM
thanks Bob ,knew you'd chime in,one of the reason I bought my 225 was all of the nice little extras that were not included on similar class/size/price boats.the freshwater system,the saltwater wash down/baitwell system,the spreader lights,t top with hard top and e box,and the euro transom and dive ladder,always hated climbing in over the motor and cables,also the high freeboard makes it a very safe boat,I have never taken any water in over the transom,even in rough seas,it is a very well designed boat,after doing alot of boat shopping in that class of boat the only thing that came close was the pro-line
24 but the 225 just had more options and features.Glock if you decide to go ahead with the fresh water system I'll get you more pics if you need them :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 20, 2010, 11:41:58 PM
Pete,
Do you like that Flojet pump, or would you get a different pump if you were to install a system?  I think your label says 3.8 GPM?

Bob, I'm sure you're right about the relative ease of feeding the hose down to the transom, but if it got hairy, I could always put the fresh water hose a little closer to the tank/pump!
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 20, 2010, 11:50:00 PM
thats the one that came with the boat,it has never given me any problems.like I said not alot of pressure but enough to rinse you off.you also could just run the hose into the cc an attach the shower to the console.there is a mount that holds the shower nozzle,kind of like a kitchen sink sprayer
some thing like this..... :salut:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=10629 (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=14781&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10111&subdeptNum=10628&classNum=10629)
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 21, 2010, 12:03:10 AM
Guys, Shur-Flo Pro-blaster 4.5.  It does just fine as a fresh-water pump, regardless of claims that it is a washdown pump only.  And the guy who reps Shur-flo, Wayne Deloach, was the QC Manager at WC/AS when I was there...and we worked with each other back then!  Big time small world...
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 21, 2010, 12:05:19 AM
:idea: Like you said, 8 or 10 gallons isn't a whole lot, and you wouldn't want a pump thats too powerful, otherwise your fresh water would be gone pretty quick.

UNLESS, you installed 2 tanks down there?   :idea:  There looks to be alot of room down there, do you think there would be room for 2 tanks?  Hmmm.... Just thinking with my fingers here, but I'm sure there's a way to use 1 filling hose, 1 pump, 2 tanks, and 1 wash-down hose.  

Or am I just nuts?  (its late, been drinking...)
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 21, 2010, 02:13:22 AM
Quote from: "Glock Diver"
:idea: Like you said, 8 or 10 gallons isn't a whole lot, and you wouldn't want a pump thats too powerful, otherwise your fresh water would be gone pretty quick.

UNLESS, you installed 2 tanks down there?   :idea:  There looks to be alot of room down there, do you think there would be room for 2 tanks?  Hmmm.... Just thinking with my fingers here, but I'm sure there's a way to use 1 filling hose, 1 pump, 2 tanks, and 1 wash-down hose.  

Or am I just nuts?  (its late, been drinking...)

Easily done, just install a Tee fitting between the tanks.  We did twin 40 gallon tanks at Stamas the same way... :thumleft:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 21, 2010, 07:37:11 PM
Guess I would need 2 T-fittings, configured like this?  I think my crude diagram is self-explanatory, but the T-fittings are in BLUE.  Were they 8-gal tanks or 10-gal?  Going to surf eBay and see what I can find.

Let me know if I've engineered this correctly.


(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/Watersystem-1.jpg)


If I had this water system this afternoon out in the Gulf, I coulda washed down the deck after this little guy paid us a visit!

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/bonnetheadshark.jpg)
About a 2.5' bonnethead shark.  :thumright:  Good thing we threw him back, since the FWC boat paid us a visit about an hour later!  :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 23, 2010, 08:10:33 AM
Well, somehow pete's reply got erased, but I understand that the hose gauge needs to be larger for the input, and smaller for the output.

Other than that, does this setup look right?  Should I be looking for 8-gal or 10-gal tanks?
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 23, 2010, 08:47:26 AM
8 or 10 gallon tanks will work, whatever is the biggest size you can fit through the access hatch.  If you remove the hatch, that will give you about 1 1/2" more room to get a tank in.

To plumb the system the way builders do it, tee off the 1 1/2" fill hose with an 1 1/2"-1 1/2"-1 1/2" tee to the fill necks on each tank.  You also want to tee the vents so you have only one vent fitting.  Then use either SeaTek or Whale waterline fittings to tee the feed line to the pump.  What I did was come off each tank with an elbow leading to the tee, then the single line going to the feed side of the pump.  Use a strainer on the pump...

I installed a twin 20-gallon setup on the bigger Stamas' like this...
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 23, 2010, 07:30:54 PM
Ahh, good point.  I forgot the vents.
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 23, 2010, 08:03:57 PM
OK lets try this again,here is a pic of the water fill,there is a pie plate on the back side of it for hookup acsess,,,

(http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/Pete1681/freshwatersys005.jpg)


Seabob,regarding the fishbox problem,how would it work if I just mount the existing pump to the bottom of the box?Plug up the hole and keep all the same plumbing,the only cost would be a pie plate to get to it.Whatchathink? :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 23, 2010, 08:30:56 PM
Pete,
What, you mean fishbox draining issues?  BTW, nice bonnethead.  She would have made good eating... :thumleft:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 23, 2010, 08:34:49 PM
yep the infamous non draining fishbox,just dont want to spend several hundred just to drain a fish box,thought that by just moving the pump to the bottom it would work better. :scratch:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 23, 2010, 10:11:35 PM
Quote from: "pete"
yep the infamous non draining fishbox,just don't want to spend several hundred just to drain a fish box,thought that by just moving the pump to the bottom it would work better. :scratch:

It will... :thumleft:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 23, 2010, 10:21:36 PM
cool,sounds like I have a project!did any of you techs ever suggest that to the design guys?
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: wpt03osprey on November 24, 2010, 04:05:50 PM
Has anyone come up with a good way to lock this compartment, or the front compartments ?

My boat is on a mooring and would like to be able to store some things onboard.

Locking needs to be flush and waterproof ( saltwater ).
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 24, 2010, 04:21:17 PM
something like this?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=11383 (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=112409&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10112&subdeptNum=11319&classNum=11383)
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 24, 2010, 05:53:41 PM
Quote from: "pete"
something like this?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=11383 (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=112409&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10112&subdeptNum=11319&classNum=11383)

Locking hatch pulls, that would do the trick...
Title: Wasted Space... No more!
Post by: Glock Diver on November 28, 2010, 06:22:07 PM
Well, I can sleep easier now that I've transformed some wasted space into usable space, with the addition of a 4-drawer tackle center!  I bought the unit from Bass Pro's website. It was $130, and came with the 4 plano boxes.  It's the mid-sized one, measuring 13"hx17"w, which is the outer dimensions of the lip. It's 9" deep, but I had the room for 3 times that depth.


After some work with the jigsaw:
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/hole.jpg)

And after final installation. Works pretty good!  :thumright:
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z320/MikeVAg33/tackledrawers.jpg)

And now I'm itchy as hell...  :roll:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: pete on November 28, 2010, 08:26:48 PM
wow! that looks like it was made for that space,great job! :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space... No more!
Post by: seabob4 on November 28, 2010, 08:35:29 PM
Quote from: "Glock Diver"
And now I'm itchy as hell...  :roll:

I gotta get out my little violin...

Great job, Mike! :salut:  :salut:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Circle Hooked on November 28, 2010, 08:58:42 PM
Great work Mike. :thumright:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Glock Diver on November 28, 2010, 09:53:01 PM
Thanks fellas!  It was a good morning project, and I like feeling more organized with my junk on the boat.  The downside?  Now I'm contemplating all kinds of other similar projects.

Coaming boxes. Like http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/494.jpg (http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/494.jpg)
A couple of these near the bow seem like a great place to stash dock lines!


Or maybe a speaker box/drink holder combo! Like this:
http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/49230000.jpg (http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/49230000.jpg)


Safety first!  If I ever needed my fire extinguisher, it would probably take me too long, rooting through my glove box, to find it in time!
http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/4985open.jpg (http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/4985open.jpg)


Who couldn't use a little netted cargo space?  :wink:
http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/46400800.jpg (http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/images/46400800.jpg)


Might have to open some pie plates and see how much depth I have below the gunwales...

 :santa:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: seabob4 on November 28, 2010, 10:01:39 PM
Mike, you have plenty of room!  Fill your inwales to your hearts content! :cheers:  :cheers:
Title: Re: Wasted Space
Post by: Circle Hooked on November 28, 2010, 11:29:56 PM
Mike making the boat your own is a good thing,go for it and have fun. :thumright:  

PS you got me itching to do some stuff now.
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