TC255 Electrical Diagram

[Captains Cat]

I winterized Captain's Cat today but when I went to pump the starboard bilge (after adding a gallon of RV antifreeze) the bilge pump wouldn't work. Checked every fuse I could find, I know they're connected directly to the batteries and there are several 10/15 amp fuzes in the battery compartment, found one blown but it didn't do the trick.

In the TC255 owners manual there is a reference to Appendix C, the Electical Diagram, but it says to go to the C-Dory Factory site and, wouldn't you know it, it's either not there or I can't find it. There is a picture of the breaker panel under the helm that has two bilge pump breakers at the bottom, didn't check those because the manual was here in the shop, and I was down on the boat....

Anyone have a wiring diagram for the TC? Or do you know if those bottom breakers are for the bilge pumps? It won't come on in the automatic OR manual mode. The port one works as intended, I put a gallon in each bilge and the port one came on in the automatic mode and pumped till it was almost dry and shut off. Nothing on the starboard side happened although there's plenty of antifreeze in there.

I drained the water tank, opened the drain on the water heater, added two gals of RV antifreeze to the water tank and ran the cold water in the sink, the shower and flushed the toilet until pink came out. Did the same with the hot water side. Dumped about a half gallon of antifreeze into the shower drain, heard the shower drain pump come on so I think the water system is OK. I put about a half gallon in each fish box and ran the macerators until they almost emptied.

BTW, the boat will spend the next few months on the lift, out of the water and under roof. It gets below freezing here some nights, sometimes as low as 15degrees or so but not often.

Thanks for any assistance anyone might give...

Charlie

[garyk]

Charlie,
We have a 255 also. Having lived in Alaska most of my life, I have some knowledge of winterizing. The procedure you used sounds fine. Think like "water", where ever it gets trapped it will freeze. About the bilge pump. My first thought would be to check power at the pump. I've had to replace the starboard pump. The pump is held at the base. To detach the pump, there are two "clips", one on each side ( the long side) of the pump , these are plastic releases that are molded into the base unit. The pump comes out easy once the clips are released .
I have no idea where they are fused. I would check ALL the circuit breakers as our macerator pump is labeled incorrectly. Reset All the breakers after checking for power at the pump.
Good luck, Gary

[Doryman]

Captain David of the USCGAux did a vessel inspection of the Lori Ann at the Anacortes CBGT (thanks, David!) In the process we found that the port bilge pump was not working and that there was about 4" of water in the bilge. We could reset the breaker (by the helm) and run the pump briefly before it would cause the breaker to reset again. So, two questions:

1. Any ideas & suggestions on how to proceed from here? Roger on Dreamer mentioned the access ports he installed in his fishboxes to facilitate access. But Gary implies that it is easy to release the clips (presumably through the factory access plate.)

2. I would like to start carrying a backup bilge pump that I can plug into a 12v outlet or clip to battery terminals and empty out the bilges manually. Any suggestions for make & model of a good one? Ditto for a manual one.

Thanks,
Warren

[matt_unique]

I recently replaced my starboard bilge pump.

You can press plastic tabs on both sides of the bilge unit close to the bottom and unsnap it. You should then have sufficient wire to actually pull the pump out of the factory access hole to work on it. I forget the socket size but use a ratchet with socket to loosen the hose clamp on the water hose. Snapping the unit back in takes some effort; be careful to tighten the hose clamp with the pump in an approximate position to how she will sit. This will make it much easier when you go to put it back in.

The problem could be the pump itself or of course some short in the wiring. Good luck and let us know what you find.

[Alyssa Jean]

Warren, If you can get the pump out there is a small mesh screen at the bottom intake. I was thinking that that might be completely plugged. Take a wet and dry vac and pull out the water that is in there to make it easier. You might find a picture of the pump so you can see where the two tabs are to release the pump from the holding base.

[thataway]

As for a manual pump, there are long tube hand pumps--about 36 to 48" long. We carry one as an ice chest pump and back up for bilge pumps.
Usually the hose clamps are 1/4" or 5/16"--most the latter. It is easier to tighten the hose clamps with a socket than a slotted screw driver.

Check for corrosion in the wiring at the connectors.

[Captains Cat]

I have pulled and replaced a bilge pump on Captain's Cat. To do so, you need extreme dexterity or a rented monkey with 3' arms and willing to work for bananas. It works but is hard....

If you've got 4" of water, the pump should have come on automatically. Check the screen and the fuse coming directly off of one of the batteries...

Charlie

[Doryman]

What kind of pump is factory installed? I need to go look at a picture and/or installation sheet to get an idea of what I am dealing with here. I am not sure where the screen or the clips are.

I may have to have someone do it for me -- I tried getting my hands down into the box that the sink drains into under the galley cabinet and I was just too big and inflexible. Long term, a mod like Roger's is probably in the cards for me.

Warren

[Captains Cat]

Warren, if they're like mine, they are RULE 1150s. In order to remove them, you've got to lay down on the cockpit deck, put your arm/shoulder into the hatch and reach down all the way with one arm. To remove it, you grasp the pump around the middle - it's oblong and squeeze to release a clip on each side (it snaps back in). Mine had enough wire on it to bring it back up to the cockpit deck then.

Charlie

[Captains Cat]

Warren, if they're like mine, they are RULE 1150s. In order to remove them, you've got to lay down on the cockpit deck, put your arm/shoulder into the hatch and reach down all the way with one arm. To remove it, you grasp the pump around the middle - it's oblong and squeeze to release a clip on each side (it snaps back in). Mine had enough wire on it to bring it back up to the cockpit deck then.

Charlie

[matt_unique]

Ha ha - yeah it does take some creative reaching to get to the bilge pump. I too like the idea of the access port in the fish box but so far I have been able to reach them. You have to lay down and bury your arm right to your armpit/grab the pump by feel.

I have the Rule-Mate 1100 automatic bilge pumps in Napoleon. It looks exactly like this except that it's an 1100gph pump.

When you remove the pump you will see the screen; imagine a mesh screen that would cover 1/4 of a golf ball.

[Bad Boy]

Has anyone noticed the bilge pump strainer is screwed to the floor (may or may not have sealant)? This is another penetration that would allow water to seep into the core for a future nightmare. This would definitely be an area that epoxy should be filled into an oversized hole and re-drilled to secure the bottom strainer.

George

[matt_unique]

[Captains Cat]

And how would one get to this area to do that? You can barely lay your hand, arm at full extension, on the pump. To do any substantive work in that area would take a trained monkey and I'm fresh out of them!

Charlie

[matt_unique]