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| The chain locker drain platform and the hose, ready for installation |
Having constructed the drain platform for the chain locker and having installed the cleats that would support it, I now needed to install the platform itself. This task would involve the routing of a drain hose through several bulkheads so that any water from the chain locker would ultimately make its way to the main bilge in the galley area of the boat. The steps I took to complete this task on
Oystercatcher, my Ericson 25, are the subject of this posting.
As I said in my previous posting, the red line in the diagram below represents the route that the water would need to follow as it made its way from the chain locker to the forward bilge through the bulkheads separating the three lockers underneath the V-berth. Recall that 2500 pounds of lead separated the forward bilge from the main bilge in the galley, and that there was a gap of one or two inches between the lead and the sole of the main salon.
The orange line in the next diagram represents the main bilge and the pumps and hoses that would remove the water from the boat. I would route the clear threaded hose from the chain locker to the forward bilge, over the 2500 pounds of lead to the main bilge and thus the bilge pumps. This is how I would pump any chain locker water out of the boat.
I had earlier completed a lot of work in the V-berth lockers, a considerable portion of which I have documented on this blog. I had installed cleats of Douglas fir for shelves. These shelves would allow me a flat surface on which to stow various items in this space without worrying about these items sitting in water. I had also painted these lockers with Pitthane, a two-part polyurethane paint. Additionally, I had installed a through-hull transducer for the GPS, and I had installed a grounding cable for the forward chainplate.
The bulkheads for these lockers had limber holes that enabled water to drain downward to the forward bilge. They also had holes that I had drilled for the routing of the grounding cable. Now I needed to go back and add some holes for the hose. I used a hole saw for this task. Below we see the bulkhead separating the forward locker from the mid-locker.
Afterward, I turned the drill around and cut a hole through the bulkhead separating the mid-locker from the aft-locker.
Here's a better view, looking aft.
Here's what it looked like in the aft-locker itself.
While I was at it, I decided to add an additional limber hole to this bulkhead between the mid-locker and the aft-locker. My thinking was that in the event that the boat was holed, the water that entered this compartment could make its way more easily to the bilge.
I also went back and added an additional limber hole to the bulkhead between the forward locker and the mid-locker.
Having completed the holes, it was now time for me to route the hose from the main bilge all the way up to the chain locker. To route the hose from the main bilge over the 2500 pounds of lead to the forward bilge I used a stick, to which I had taped the hose. This was a scrap piece of wood that I had ripped off of a board at some point in the past.
I had earlier used this technique in the routing of the grounding cables from the aft chainplates to the grounding bolt in the forward bilge. As I have said before, there was a one or two inch gap between the 2500 pounds of lead and the sole of the main salon.
Below we have a good view of the main bilge and the forward bilge (port side). In the area beneath the sand colored carpet is the 2500 pounds of lead. The centerboard trunk (underneath the mast compression post) separates this port side forward bilge from the starboard side forward bilge, which is inside the head (not pictured). Before I installed this hose, any water that drained downward from the chain locker through the bukheads underneath the V-berth went either into the port or the starboard side forward bilge. The forward end of the centerboard trunk created a fork in the road, so to speak.
I had to remove all of the grounding cables from the grounding bolt in order to route the hose through the port side forward bilge.
I routed the hose beside the black PVC conduit that contained the cable for the transducer.
In the aft-locker underneath the V-berth I routed the hose to the port side of the bronze transducer.
Then I routed the hose through the bulkhead that separated the forward locker from the mid-locker.
From the forward locker I routed the hose up into the chain locker. Fortunately, I had measured this run accurately. I had about six inches of hose to spare.
Now it was time for me to prepare the drain platform for installation. I began by drilling pilot holes through the platform into the mahogany cleats. I would not have been able to accomplish this task without my Milwaukee Tools right angle drill attachment. This tool was indispensable in the refitting of this boat. To see it elsewhere in action, click on Milwaukee Tools in the Labels sidebar,.
After I had drilled the holes, I temporarily installed the screws.
Then I broke out the butyl tape. This was the good stuff that Maine Sail sells on his Compass Marine website. By this point in the refitting of
Oystercatcher I had used four rolls of this tape. Recently, I had ordered two more rolls. These new ones were now packed in boxes with his U Bed It logo for this tape. By the time all was said and done, I would use all of these two rolls. Thus, I used six total rolls in the refitting of this boat. When I started, I had estimated two or three rolls and had ordered four, just so I would have at least one extra for unexpected repairs. I should have known better. It always takes more time and more materials than you expect.
Before I installed the drain platform, I first needed to install the hardware. I began by chamfering each of the holes that I had drilled. This would allow the butyl tape to form a gasket of sorts underneath the hardware. I had learned this technique from Maine Sail's tutorial on deck hardware installation on his Compass Marine website.
Acetone got rid of sawdust and any other impurities that might have been on the surface of the wood.
I applied butyl tape to the underside of the screen and the underside of the flange of the plastic through-hull.
Then I installed the through-hull
On top of this I installed the screen. The butyl tape on the screen was there to protect the wood from water creeping into the screw holes and thus causing rot.
Now I needed to join the hose to the through-hull. This task was a necessary prelude to the installation of the drain platform. Otherwise, it would have been next to impossible for me to do this after the fact.
Before I installed the platform, I applied butyl tape around much of the perimeter.
I also applied butyl tape to the screws. This would keep water out of the wood.
Then, I at last screwed the drain platform into place.
I packed additional butyl tape into any crack that needed it. If I allowed water to seep through the cracks, then all this work on the drain platform would be a complete waste of time.
I also packed butyl tape along the forward edge of the platform, making sure that the hole through which the green grounding cable ran was sealed off.
The only thing left to do now was to cut off the excess hose and secure it in the main bilge. By the time I had taken all the slack out of the hose, I had about two feet to spare.
I used cable ties to secure the hose to one of the bilge hoses, making sure that the end of the hose was as low as possible. This brought this part of the project to completion. Now I could install the anchor and the anchor rode. That is the subject of my next posting.
This ends this posting on how I installed the drain platform and hose in the chain locker of
Oystercatcher, my Ericson 25.
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