Wasted Space

[Glock Diver]

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.    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:


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:

[Glock Diver]

Seriously?    Nobody else has found wasted space on their boats!?

[pete]

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

[Glock Diver]

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".

  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?

[pete]

yes it came with the fresh water system,yes to the TM also









 

[Glock Diver]

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.    Think this is anything to worry about?

[gran398]

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.

[pete]

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

[seabob4]

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...

[pete]

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

[Glock Diver]

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!

[pete]

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.....
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=10629

[seabob4]

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...

[Glock Diver]

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?    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...)

[seabob4]

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?    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...