Two questions by a new owner: 1. handling 2. bilging?

G

granitecarver

New member
Hello All:

(1985 22' Angler)

1. My C-Dory will do anything but track straight ahead--one has to handle the helm every moment or it will fall off course and run away. I take it this is the effect of a flat bottom i.e, no 'V' which I'm accustomed to. Has anyone ever made a modification of some kind that makes these things track straighter? I love the boat except for this annoying and worrisome characteristic.

2. How do you bilge out the cockpit? There is a shallow depression adjacent to the transom drain-plugs but it's not deep enough to get a bilge-pump base submerged. What do others do about this?

Kind regards to all,

George

e-mail: granitecarver@gmail.com
 
That boat should track dead straight at any amount of speed high enough to overcome the wind and current. From just over troll speed on up. If it always steers to the same direction, I am betting that you need to adjust the skeg (they call it a Trim Tab) that is right behind the propeller. I just adjusted mine the other day. My book (Honda) says "If less effort is required to make left turns: Loosen the trim tab tightening bolt and turn the rear of the trim tab toward the left. Tighten the bolt securely." It is just the opposite if "less effort is required to make right turns".

The guy down here with the older Angler (Raven) has a manually switched bilge pump sitting on the floor to the right of the cabin door in the cockpit. The hose is draped over into the splashwell. He rarely uses it, though. A bucket and sponge is his preferred method. What can I say? That is just the way he is. Now old Red Fox dug a hole in the back of his cockpit floor for a bilge pump. Unless your boat is loaded heavy aft, it is going to sit slightly bow down at rest, so most of the accumulated water will be to the front of the cockpit.

Hey - nice hearing from you again. How you liking that boat? You got the trim tabs working good for you (the ones you put on, not the one on the motor)?

Edit: Oops. I posted this before I saw your next message about the worthless trim tabs. I'll go read that and maybe argue with you about it a little.
 
I have a 1985 Angler and it tracks very well, must be your motor. Mine sits on a trailer all the time with a cockpit cover, no need for a pump.
Jack on C-Otter
 
Yeah me too... I don't have much trouble with tracking... wonder what yer steering is ? I have hydraulic :!: maybe this helps me.

On the 85s: I do a couple things for gettin most the water out. I made a depresion in the cockpit for the bilges (fiberglass work) and I have a good quality manual siphon pump (looks like a stick) I think they are popular for inflatables. It will siphon almost all water out because it does not have a long hose to drain all the water back into where it is being pumped-out from when bilges shut off.

Can post pic if yudlike :!: :idea: :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

:smile Greg
 
I use a standard Rule automatic bilge pump in my 22', attached with wire ties to my raw water intake for the washdown in that little indent next to the drain plug. It works fine but will not start sucking until about 2" of water has accumulated around it. You can prompt this by trimming up from a start which causes all that water to pool in the aft bilge and then switching the pump to "manual".

Oh yeah, I have floor boards too, so the 2' of accumulated water is no problem.
 
I do as Falco does but my CD has only one drain hole with a depression and it is in the middle. I installed a Rule 2000 pump in each rear corner with the float switch in the middle depression. The float switch rarely turns the pumps on as I do it manually after washing down the "fish goo". When not fishing my boat sets on the trailer with the plug out.

I had a 1st on my CD the other day after 23 years of fishing from it. My plug is put in from the outside so water pressure helps hold it in.
My wife and I were anchored up in 200' of water about 10 miles offshore halibut fishing. We had just put lines down when a bunch of flotsam came by the boat. One branch came under the boat (we could hear it bumping along the bottom) and came up between the tramsom and the motor. I reached over the transom and gave the stick a pull. It would not come out. I gave it a harder pull and it came out. I turned to pick up my rod and my wife says, "what is that swooshing sound?" Me being half deaf said" what swooshing sound?"
And she yelled "there is water coming in the boat". The damn stick hooked my plug handle and pulled that sucker right out. So I jerked the fuel tanks out and stuck my finger in the hole. Wife turned on the bilge pumps to eliminate the water. After a little scrambling she found the extra plug. Now I am half laying on the bottom in the water soaking wet getting ready to put the extra plug in from the inside. but.........I could not pull my finger out of the hole. It was stuck. After a few minutes of relaxing and working it around the finger pulled out. I inserted the plug in from the inside, put the tanks back, pumped the bilge again and continued fishing.

To top it off the fishing was crappy.

There is always something!!!!!!!!!

As far as handling............I found that if you keep the motor trim up a little(bow up) it keeps the boat tracking much better than trying to force the bow down into the sea. There is a fine point where the up down trim is in "the sweet spot" which gives a good ride and keeps it on course.
 
Reminds me of the little Dutch boy who saved the town by sticking his finger in the hole in the dyke. Maybe he wasn't such a hero - maybe his finger was just stuck! Had a similar experience with a piece of driftwood pulling the plug loose my first season on the Otter. Since then, the plug always goes in from inside the cockpit. It's good to learn from your own mistakes, but even better to learn from those of others -- that's why this site is such a tremendous asset.
Best regards,
 
Jack, that story is priceless! No advice for you, because it sounds like your crisis management skills are in top form.

We have discussed the inside/outside location of the plug a few times in the past. I have to wonder about the common belief that external water pressure will help hold the plug in. It's only 7 or 8 inches down in the water, and the area of it is less than 1 square inch. I think you have to go 28 inches or so deep in the water to get 1 PSI of additional pressure. To picture it, drop the plug into a 16oz beer glass full to the top. That's how much pressure is on the plug in the water. Well, maybe a little more, because water is heavier than beer (we'll have to check with Pat & David about that one). The point is, after you drink the beer, it doesn't really matter what side the plug is on. DoD will no doubt do the calculations for us (please), but in reality there is probably more force trying to pull the plug out when underway than there is pushing it in.

Thanks for sharing the tale, and I am sorry the fishing was lousy.
 
Being an engineer myself I should have thought about the small head on a 3/4" dia. opening and the resultant insignificant pressure exerted on it. But I am a RETIRED engineer with my head apparently you know where on this one.
I will first say that the plug will be put in from the inside from now on. I will also try the T handle kind. It is difficult for this old 2 metal knees and 2 metal hips guy to get down on the deck and reach in between the fuel tanks (I have two 12 gal side by side under the motor well) and insert the plug. But I wil do it from now on, yes I will.

Thanks for the replies..............Jack
 
When I was growing up my dad used to moor our 17 Crestliner during the summer. After a rain we would take the boat out and he would have me pull the plug while he was on plane. When the water was done draining we put the plug in. He figured it was easier and more fun than manually pumping out the fuel. Just don't try it if you can't get the boat on plane! :roll:
 
gljjr":1aqq2lwb said:
He figured it was easier and more fun than manually pumping out the fuel.
Click to expand...

It rained gas up there??

In most of the in/out discussions, one of the favorite reasons for the in crowd was the ability to drain the cockpit while underway after a washdown.

We did a highly scientific poll on the question a while back, and the popular choice was inside by 2 to 1. Here is the poll thread, which includes a link to another discussion of it.
 
Good catch sir! That's what happens on just a few hours sleep for a few days.... Sigh. Of course I mean water in the bilge. DOH!

On my sled I have to put the plug in from the outside. There is no way to get to the hole on the inside. The good thing is that it is protected from debris by the design of the boat.

I was amazed when I looked for a plug on the 27' only to find it doesn't have one!
 
I have found this discussion sorta funny, considering we here in SW Florida spent most of this past hurricane season adding water to our boats and making sure the plug was in so they would not drain.

The reason ofcourse was to add weight to the boat while on the trailer in order to keep them from blowing away.

As you can tell from my screen name, Boston Whalers are high on my list of perferred boats and now that I have two of them and a 22 C-Dory Angler I find that the plug thingy is more on my mind then in the past.

I use to never worry if I forgot to put the plug in....now with the C-Dory I pay a bit more attention since sinking at the ramp is not high on my "wish to do list".
 
Has anyone ever installed a garboard drain type plug on a CDory? Both of my previous boats had the brass screw in type. And I'm wondering what the advantages/disadvantages to each are. I 've only used the other type on smaller aluminum and fiberglass boats. I can see the type that Cdory currently uses are much easier to put in if you forget to put the plug in,and that the brass screw in type, are less likely to come out when put in right, but other than that I'm not sure. Thanks for any ideas

Sark
 
Back
Top