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blockquote, div.yahoo_quoted { margin-left: 0 !important; border-left:1px #715FFA solid !important; padding-left:1ex !important; background-color:white !important; } Bel Canto,,Hull 99, 1980, 10 years cruising Nova Scotia,now back in Chesapeake and for sale.Captain became old.Well equipped for cruising and livaboard
(The boat…not the Captain)I love the pit. Iwould not fill it. I was able to actually stand in it with my
feet on the keel. I drilled through from outside and installed a garboard plug
for draining the bilge when on the hard.
There is a vertical 1 1/2 inch plastic pipe mounted on a stand and sitting
vertically in the deepest sump. About 3 feet high) It supports a bilge pump,
float switches for the bilge pump and another for the bilge full alarm. The
whole apparatus lifts out so you can attend all the wires etc on your lap.
I bet your PO glassed in that tank and deprived you of access. I wonder if you
could cut that loose and start over in the design of your holding tanks etc.
Jon , 424 hull99________________________________
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My winch guy said the plastic ring was decorative only and could be left off ( I am talking about a full circumference ring, red, about an eighth of an inch near the bottom of the chrome drum). Mine have been off for four years.
Jon
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I had the same problem with my boat (hull 100). The ceiling fixture had no voltage. Turned out on tracing back that that light was wired to the breaker for running lights. Effect was you would only be able to turn on that light at night. I was so glad to figure it out before I tore apart the ceiling. I assumed it was some FO’s idea but maybe the factory did it.
Jon
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For those who carry a small 110 generator ( like a Honda) consider a 110 volt submersible septic pump for emergencies.
Put a 15-20′ 2″ exhaust flexpipe on it and stow it for emergencies.
Huge capacity ( 7800 gal/hr) (=ten bilgepumps) and less than $300
This will move some bilgewaterFor example:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200352038_200352038
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I love the deep bilge and wouldnt fill it in for the world! I put a brass garboard plug at the lowest spot and when on the hard in the winter leave the plug out and any rain that gets in drains out. The freshwater tanks are opened and all the water just drains out rather than have to be pumped. A pedestal sits down on the floor of the bilge and holds the bilge pump and alarm switches and all lifts out so that repairs are done comfortably sitting on a chair. Its easy to clean all the bilge with a hose and brush and the garboard plug out. If you use a shopvac at the end you are clean as a whistle.
I’ve had boats with shallow bilges. If you pop off a engine cooling hose, spill a quart of oil, take a knockdown and ship a real load of water youve got big trouble and even if all goes well you end up on your knees with a sponge.I’d really think twice before calling the readymix truck.
Jon
Bel Canto (#99)<.. snip>
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My bilge pump (3700) (and two float switches- a convenient place to store the spare)) sits on a firm plastic sheet ( like a modern breadboard) about 1/4 thick and about 8*12 inches. What is slick is a vertically mounted piece of 2 inch pvc pipe that rises up to just beneath the cabin sole. Mounted to it is a “high water alarm switch about a foot above the bilge and an electrical terminal block near the top where all the electrical connections are made.
A wooden block secures the top of the pole with a single bolt.With this single bolt removed the entire bilge pump apparatus is easily lifted out of the bilge and set on the cabin sole for easy maintenance, replacement or repair. This removal also lets me climb down into the bilge to gain access to the shower bilge pump, the refrig system etc.
The vertical pole is secured to the plastic foot with ss screws and plumbing hardware.
The whole apparatus, when out, looks not unlike an upright Hoover vacuum cleaner
This system was installed by a prior owner or shop- its really convenient and ingenious.
I would send a pic but I am on the Chesapeake and Bel Canto is in Nova Scotia again.Jon
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Hi Tor
I have Bel Canto, a 424 ketch, hull 99 -1980, with a Cape Horn windvane. I like it- the design is good the materials strong, the company ( the owner designer) very helpful. But I have not had much chance to use it. I have sailed with Aries and Monitor windvanes on other boats and this seems certainly comparable, perhaps superior in strength and simplicity.
We are sailing now in Nova Scotia again ( just sailed over from Maine) and plan on putting the Cape Horn to some tests. I’ll let you knowJon
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If yours is like mine (#99), The foot switch is for pumping fresh water from the tanks to the faucets in the event of an electric or pump failure- Some valve changing ( gate valve under sink) is required.
But, to pump the refrig/ice box out one uses the hand pump on the sink ( that pumps sea water ordinarily for rinsing dishes) after throwing a valve on the after wall of the undersink space ( toward the center of the boat) Sometimes that hand pump is hard to prime and you have to open it, stretch the rubber plunger and put grease or vaseline on it.) I had a Pearson 35 for 20+ years and it had the same system as the 424 so it may well be the same on yours.
Jon
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Yes, much more. After I lift out the apparatus I described, I can actually get down into the bilge (5’10” 200 pounds)
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I see your concern re the water and the plywood- it apparently isn’t a prob- marine plywood well painted- its more than ten years old and shows no sogginess. One bolt, about three inches long, 3/8″ diam holds the entire thing in place (near the top of the pipe). I’m sure it wouldn’t go anywhere if the boat rolled over- I place a towel on the sole, undo the bolt and lift ( with one hand), the entire apparatus out ( must stop half way and disconnect the 1 1/2″ exhaust hose). I set the apparatus on the towel and can check voltages, repair pump etc.
The whole apparatus is about the size and shape of an upright vacuum cleaner.
The shower sump is way aft of this- just forward of the v-drive
Jon
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My 424 has a delightful bilge pump invention from a former owner.
The bilge pump was screwed to a piece of plywood that rested on the floor of the bilge ( a float switch was screwed to the same piece of plywood, adjacent). A plumbing flange held a piece of plastic pipe (one and a half inch) which rose vertically to within a few inches of the cabin sole. On this vertical pipe was clamped an electrical bus (near the top) for quick disconnect of all the wires for the sump and the switch and the bilge alarm. The bilge high water alarm was clamped to the vertical pipe about two feet above the bilge floor. There is a single bolt that secures the entire apparatus to a shelf forward (that supports a holding tank)
The beauty is that you can lift the entire apparatus out ( disconnect the exhaust hose after lifting the apparatus a couple of feet vertically). So all repairs, wiring cleaning etc happens comfortably up inside the boat. (no standing on your head)
I can’t send pictures because I am in Maryland and the boat is in Maine.
Also, the removal of the pump and associated stuff lets you get to the bottom of the bilge ( where I installed a garboard drain (essential if you ever winter over in a freezing climate))
BTW, for what its worth, I would never ever fill up the bilge.
Jon
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I was able to remove the hose from the shower drain fitting by lying on my back, head aft,reaching laterally to starboard through the hatch, and using the braille method with a nut driver (rather than a screwdriver) to remove the hose clamp. I left the old hose in place(multiple electrical ties almost impossible to reach) and ran a new hose to the shower sump (which is forward of the V-drive)
Good thing -because several small screws had been trapped in the drain and in conjunction with hair had essentially blocked the drain>
Jon
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