Tomcat owners: winter projects

M

matt_unique

New member
I hate to even say it, but our cruising weekends are numbered here in the Northeast. We still have several adventures planned but I began compiling a list of projects I would like to complete on Napoleon while she's on the hard this winter. (I'm not referring to the regular winter/spring maintenance and prep).

Here's my list so far:

1.) Overdrill/undercut/epoxy paste/etc. all around light mount in roof (ala Bob's advice posted some weeks ago).
2.) Overdrill/undercut/epoxy paste/etc. where the bilge pumps screw into the hull at the bottom of each sponson. Not sure how easy this will be just yet...as Charlie often points out we need monkey arms so we'll see...it is an area I would like to seal up properly though.


What do you guys have planned? I have a feeling I will be adding several of your items to my list...

Thanks!
 
Good luck with the work in the bottom of the sponson.
I've got one of the 24's, and had to reattach the wires to the bilge pump and switch in the starboard side recently.
It was a one handed operation.

The factory, or whoever rigged it originally, didn't tie the wires up after making connections, and I didn't notice it because it was out of sight....and sitting in the water when there was water in the bilge.
They used regular crimp connectors and no shrink or sealer, and I had to redo all of the connections.
I used regular crimp connectors, and then filled the ends with 4200 to seal them against the elements. It was slow going.

Gordon
 
Hi Gordon,
Yeah the aft bilge area makes for challenging projects. Some have added access ports in the aft portion of the fish boxes to make it easier. So far I've had to install/wire my In-Hull depth sounder as well replace/rewire a bilge pump. I definitely learned to wear a thick long sleeve shirt to prevent scrapes in my armpits (not kidding).

I will need to get down in there to size up how difficult or whether it's even possible to do the work I want to do. I'm sure they screwed the bilge pump housings right into the cored hull without any proper sealing and of course there is always a little water in there.
 
I don't know about you guys, but I'm generally way off when it comes to estimating the time and effort required for a boat project (he he). Something that I tell my wife will take 2 hours...will most certainly take 5 hours...etc.

With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the bilge pump project was a snap! It is a fun reach as we know, but the pumps come out easy (just depress tabs on both sides with one hand) and then you have just two screws in each bilge pump case that need to be removed. I will summarize my process and what I found:

1.) Snap bilge pumps out of holders
2.) Remove 2 screws at the base of each holder
3.) Wet dry vac area
4.) Use drill with 5/16 bit to overdrill the holes. Be careful not to use too much pressure. I found only white material (i.e. no evidence of balsa) and no evidence of moisture damage. It appeared to be a layer of matte, then once through the matte the bit will sink down maybe 1/4" until it hits the next layer of matte. I assume the white material between the layers of matte was epoxy resin. I inspected it closely...and poked around in the holes and could not find any evidence of moisture damage or soft material.
5.) Wet dry vac area again
6.) Inspected the holes as closely as I could with a bright flashlight...no evidence of trouble.
7.) Mix up some thickened epoxy paste (i.e. with colloidal silica), use some tooth picks to fill the hole, then reinsert the pump holder and screws while it cures. There will be no load on the screws so it's OK to put the screws in while it's curing.

I was not able to complete the last step because it was in the afternoon and temps were dropping to the 20's last night. As soon as I have a decent day of temps >40 for most of the day I will finish the last step.

I feared the worst since the factory just screwed the pump holders right into the floor without proper sealing and there will always be a little water around the bilge pumps. My screws all had some white goop of some kind on them, perhaps bostic or other caulking. In either case, I could not find any evidence of damage and it was a pretty quick process.



Once out I used the wet dry vac to make sure all the antifreeze was removed. I then used my drill with a 5/16 bit to overdrill the holes. I was concerned I would drill and discover wet balsa. To my surprise - I could find no balsa core and it was not wet. Also, the factory limited the penetration depth of the screws. (As you can imagine - you need to be careful you don't drill all the way through your hull!)
 
Matt, you may recall that at least the starboard sponson bilge pump area was left uncored so that a thru the hull sounder could shoot through there. Maybe it was a little larger than we thought and maybe they did both sides...

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":fxtvm6hk said:
Matt, you may recall that at least the starboard sponson bilge pump area was left uncored so that a thru the hull sounder could shoot through there. Maybe it was a little larger than we thought and maybe they did both sides...

Charlie
Click to expand...

Maybe you're right Charlie. I know we have an area without coring (I installed my In-hull transducer there) but I did not expect the solid portion to extend to the area around the bilge pumps as well.
 
Back
Top