Tomcat 255 "Fish Box" dimensions...

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VibrantDory

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Does anyone know the dimensions on the in-deck fish boxes. I know their brochure says they are 4' long but how wide and deep are they and are they level front to back or is there a significant slope involved?

Vibrant Dory :)
 
Not at the boat right now but 4' long is about right. I'd guess 12" wide and deep as well. Level is in the eye of the beholder. There is a deeper pocket at the stern where the outlet for the macerator pump hooks up to and they will drain completely when at rest with this pump. If it rains, they leak and will fill up unless you do some things as others have done.

They will also fill up through a leaky check valve when running if you have an older TC that has the overboard for the macerator pumps at the waterline.

Charlie
 
So each one would hold approximately a 28 gallon fuel take if it were custom fitted to the box... An extra 56 gallons might be nice on the Great Loop :)

Vibrant Dory
 
I suppose it would if you have worked out the volume. I'd think 150 gallons would be sufficient though, over 200 gallons would be a little bit of overkill IMHO for any trip except over a very long stretch of water.

Charlie
 
At 6 lbs/gallon, that would be an extra 336 lbs at the stern when the tanks are full. Add the weight of the tanks, and it would be like carrying two extra people on the boat.

With the standard tanks, even a fully loaded Tomcat has a range of 240 miles with a 10% reserve (at 1.8 miles/gallon). Are there stretches on the Great Loop with more than 200 miles between gas availability?

The problem with the Tomcat tanks is not the size, it's the VERY inaccurate gauges. A well-calibrated fuel-flow system will probably do more for peace of mind than extra tanks.
 
But, if the fishboxes leak as mine do, they're full or at least partially full anyway. If mine still do after moving the overboards up about 15", I plan to put a small hole in the bottom at the stern, let them drain into the bilges and let the bilge pumps take care of the problem...
 
On the Mississippi there is a stretch between fuel stops that is close to 400 miles according to what I've been reading. C-Dory says the Tomcat will go roughly 319 miles (90%) at 31 MPH so that extra 56 gallons could come in handy. Another thought though was to use them for water since the standard 30 gallons won't last long between two people living aboard...

Vibrant Dory
 
I've wondered if a fuel bladder would work for temporary long-distance capacity? I have seen them advertised in various boating magazines.

Warren
 
Doryman":zu2wm12i said:
I've wondered if a fuel bladder would work for temporary long-distance capacity? I have seen them advertised in various boating magazines.

Warren
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Don't see why not if you could find them in the right shape (for the fishboxes). You could put a regular OB hose and engine coupling on it and use them first, then tuck the hose/coupling back into the fish box.

P.S. If that 400miles is down river, you could pull a Huck Finn and drift part of the way!

Charlie
 
VibrantDory":1voo4yf5 said:
On the Mississippi there is a stretch between fuel stops that is close to 400 miles according to what I've been reading. C-Dory says the Tomcat will go roughly 319 miles (90%) at 31 MPH so that extra 56 gallons could come in handy. Another thought though was to use them for water since the standard 30 gallons won't last long between two people living aboard...

Vibrant Dory
Click to expand...

Most people who do the loop avoid the Mississippi- they use the Ten-Tom (Tennessee-Tombigbee) waterway instead. From what I have read, it has less commercial traffic and is prettier. I don't know about the fuel situation on the Ten-Tom.

About the Tomcat going 319 miles + 32 miles on one fuel load at 31 mph- I wish mine would. I have Suzuki 150s. With full water and fuel, and with all the luxuries of life on board, that would be an extremely optimistic estimate. What do the rest of you Tomcat drivers think?
 
Captains Cat":pdr15xzk said:
But, if the fishboxes leak as mine do, they're full or at least partially full anyway ..
Click to expand...

The Tomcat is a very fine boat
In fact, there's nothing nicer afloat
But I'd like to put a pox
On that d__m fish box
Or fill it with gas for the four-stroke... :D
 
It was this thread that led to contact between myself and YACD and that ultimately led to my purchase of the Tomcat. Now that I actually have a Tomcat, I can appreciate the complaints about the fish boxes. The problem is pretty simple and I think it can be fairly easily solved. The lids for the fish boxes extend over a small channel that runs all the way around the boxes. This aspect of the design is common to some I have seen on other boats only the channel on the Tomcat is probably not deep or wide enough in its design. On other boats with similar boxes or lids, the channels are typically a little wider and deeper. Then either one end of the the channel is extend on top of the deck to make a "rain gutter" that runs back to the scuppers OR a drain is installed in the channel that feeds to an above water through hull. When this is done properly, no gaskets are needed on the lids. On the larger Skagit Orca's there's a couple of similar lids that lead to large spaces below the deck. Those lids are set up with channels that are routed to the scuppers. The boxes below stay dry. This summer, I'm planning to first try installing drains in the channels and getting rid of the gasket. If that doesn't work, I'll likely cut out the channels and glass in wider/deeper ones. I'm thinking I might be able to do that by making a cut down the center of the channel to remove a "window frame" like piece (the inside edge of the channel). Then I can cut that down to make a frame that's about 2-4" shorter in both dimensions and glass it back in to create a channel that's 1-2" wider. I'll also make it about 1" deeper with a taper in depth to make it deeper at the rear. The motivation here is to make sure that the bottom of the channel is always lower than the highest part of the upper edge regardless of the boat's angle in the water. Then a drain in the rear of the channel will route water out to an above water through hull.
 
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