I have an empty bilge... [Archive]

tolly28

03-25-2008, 07:07 PM

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5181735379940023074"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mvjollymon/R-k438FmGyI/AAAAAAAAA7w/eJnT-GMgbx4/s800/Boat%20project%20006.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject">Boat Project</a></td></tr></table>

This is what the bilge of "Jolly Mon" looks like right now.... She came out of the water late last month with a leaky fuel tank. In order to get the fuel tanks out, the engines had to be pulled. While everthing was out of the way (for the most part) the 38-year-old bilge got a cleaning and paint. I really regret not taking "before" pictures, as the above picture just does not do justice to the dramatic change...

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5181735470134336306"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/mvjollymon/R-k49MFmGzI/AAAAAAAAA74/j-aOu9YHfRM/s800/Boat%20project%20011.jpg" /></a>

The new fuel tanks have arrived and are ready to be installed. They were built by Coastline Equipment in Bellingham.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5181735294040677138"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mvjollymon/R-k4y8FmGxI/AAAAAAAAA7o/_gvCecfMN2U/s800/Boat%20project%20003.jpg" /></a>

As things go back together, she'll be getting dripless seals, new Racor filters, and more wiring and plumbing "cleaned up".

I'm looking forward to getting the project wrapped up and on the water!!:D

SomeSailor

03-25-2008, 07:15 PM

WOW.... That's gonna look sweet!

Good chance to run wires and get everything organized for sure. Good looking project. Getting close to dropping the plants back in?

Go Aweigh2452

03-25-2008, 07:16 PM

Looks brand spanking new...

You going to insulate the other hold while you have room?

Also, I'd run a couple of lines for pulling wire in the future since you have the room now... maybe even a couple of spare wires... labeled of course

tolly28

03-25-2008, 07:25 PM

Hopefully the tanks will be going back in tomorrow. Then after a little TLC on the the engines, they'll be ready to go back in. I'm hoping she'll be done next week (said that last week)...

I had the yard pull the engines and remove the tanks. I was going to pull the tanks myself, but they ended up doing it (turns out it was a real PITA). Once everything was out, I cleaned everything up and painted. I had to take care of a little wet coring in the transom from a leaky bolt (for the zinc plate). Now it's just a matter of putting things back together. I'm going to re-wire my batteries and re-mount my switches to make it neater.

I'm having the yard clean up the engines a little and replace hoses, fuel pumps, water pumps, yada, yada, yada. All the stuff that is difficult/ impossible when they're in the boat. They're also going to get some paint, so they'll look pretty sitting in their newly-painted home.8)

I really wish I had taken pictures of "before"...

tolly28

03-25-2008, 07:32 PM

That other hold you see is actually my propane locker which has a drain and is also vented overboard.

I've thought about running some extra wires, but there is actually a fair amount of room to get around when the engines and tanks are in, but I agree now it the time to do it!!

Oh, and also... I did finish painting the forward side of the propane locker.... I just took the picture too early!

Stray Cat

03-25-2008, 08:07 PM

Wow... that's very nice. Now comes the hard part.... keeping it clean! :iconbiggrin:

Sundancer

03-25-2008, 08:14 PM

That gives me the urge to pull engines and paint! That is one nice looking bilge! Don't forget to submit the final pictures when it's all put back together!!

Go Aweigh2452

03-25-2008, 08:15 PM

You going to tap the oil pans for an auto oil dump hose?

tolly28

03-25-2008, 08:33 PM

You going to tap the oil pans for an auto oil dump hose?

That's a good idea... I thought about it... might have to think about it some more!

Go Aweigh2452

03-25-2008, 08:43 PM

That's a good idea... I thought about it... might have to think about it some more!

sure makes it nice... Since I'm gettin a bit older, its a nice mod you will think about every oil change...

have them do it while the engines are out... if it does leak... they have to fix... probably run about $100... if you do it and it leaks... well...

Stray Cat

03-25-2008, 08:43 PM

You going to tap the oil pans for an auto oil dump hose?
Can't you use the original hole?

Randygh

03-25-2008, 08:43 PM

Steve--what did you use to clean the bilge in preparing for painting? The finished job looks great. The new tank looks like a real quality job.

tolly28

03-26-2008, 06:30 AM

I used good old Simple Green to clean the bilge.

The paint I used is called Gavlon. It's a self-priming modefied urethane paint. It's a heavy duty industrial paint that is used on oil rigs and stuff. It's really "hot" and doesn't need much surface prep- it burns right through. First coat is dry in about 15 minutes. Made it nice for applying multiple coats in one day. The yard recommended it. I bought some "Bilge-Coat" and used a little bit of it- in cool damp weather it took two days to dry...

For oil changes right now I use a "Suck Up" vaccum tank. It actually works really well. Having permanent oil drain lines would be nice. I'd still need a pump, though. I'll look into it, and see if there's still time... and money left!

Go Aweigh2452

03-26-2008, 09:03 AM

I'd still need a pump, though.

Nope. Just let the oil run out the garboard hole... into a bucket. Come back when you want to check it... 30 mins to a few days.... don't matter.

SomeSailor

03-26-2008, 09:37 AM

That's an upgrade I'm setting up for right now myself. Gonna install a fixed pump. It's gonna be sweet to hit a switch and change the oil. :)

Go Aweigh2452

03-26-2008, 09:40 AM

That's an upgrade I'm setting up for right now myself. Gonna install a fixed pump. It's gonna be sweet to hit a switch and change the oil. :)

laaaaazzzzyyyyy, but cool...

tolly28

03-26-2008, 09:46 AM

That wouldn't work for a few reasons. First of all the boat is kept in the water. Second, I don't have a garboard drain hole. Third- if I did it would be about ten feet away! :roll:

Pump would be nice, though!

3788sam

03-26-2008, 10:05 AM

Here is what I'm adding to our boat.
http://www.x-change-r.com/

Nehalennia

03-26-2008, 01:08 PM

Steve
That looks great!
Nice stuff.

Tedster

03-26-2008, 01:18 PM

Steve, knowing your boat as I do, I would continue changing the oil the way you have done in the past and save the money for something else. JMT

Nehalennia

03-26-2008, 01:56 PM

Go Aweigh2452

03-26-2008, 02:15 PM

When My engine was out to have the FWC added and the O/D replaced, I had them add the oil pan drain hose kit which comes out the garbord drain. I have heard that they drain a little slow, but it's handier than sucking it out the dip stick and hopefully more thorough as well. I have thought of the kit Fisheries sells
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/online/Assets/catalog/SHU/257815_SHU_8050-305-426_WPM.jpg
Shurflo Oil Change System (http://www.fisheriessupply.com/online/ln_menu/product.asp/mode/1/product_id/257815/Ntt/oil+change+kit/N/-144559/Nty/1le/R/7633/act/A01/catalog_name/FISCO/Ntx/mode+matchpartial+rel+Inactive)
to pump it out and make it a 5 minute job

Well, I have the shureflo oil change system as well. Had it for my last boat and I'll have to say, it was not a 5 min job. More like 20 mins as you tried to move the less than 1/4" hose around the base of the pan through the dip stick to suck out as much oil as possible.

Heat the engine up, shut her down and then open up the oil pan drain. Go away for 30 mins or 30 days, no matter, gravity works. The Shurflo required it to be hooked up to the battery and you had to get back to shut it down eventually...

Now my plan is the next time I change the oil, out the garboard plug, I intend to attach a chain to the end of the garboard plug and the hook on the oil pan oil hose to make it easier to pull the hose out the garboard plug...:argh2

Tedster

03-26-2008, 03:10 PM

....and if Steve's boat had a garboard drain I'd suggest he install the drain system you want to add too......but he doesn't.

Randygh

03-26-2008, 03:13 PM

My boat doesn't have a garboard drain plug. The drain is a through-hull brass plug, just to the starboard of the centerline, beneath the engine. I use an oil pan in which I punched a hole and secured a drain line. I run the line through the drain hole into several empty milk jugs below the trailer. It's a real PITA to place the pan below the engine. I'd like to rig a drain plug valve (with a hose) in the oil pan so all I need to do would be to run the line through the hull drain hole and open the valve. Has anyone ever seen an oil pan drain plug valve? It'd be great to swap out the bolt plug with a small valve that screws into the oil pan

SomeSailor

03-26-2008, 04:44 PM

Has anyone ever seen an oil pan drain plug valve? It'd be great to swap out the bolt plug with a small valve that screws into the oil pan

They have them at Harbor Marine. Be sure you get the appropriate adapter (about $3) with it and it installs as you drain the oil for your next change. I missed that step and wasn't able to install mine this time around.

Whole thing costs about $40 and can be rigged to a pump or drained out the garboard drain.

pkrogh

03-26-2008, 09:53 PM

I've got the oil pan drain hose thing on the Trophy. The end of the hose has a plug with a ring in it and it hangs on a screw at the transom.

I use one of those hand pump vacuum things, connected to the hose, and it really sucks the oil out. Doesn't take more than a couple of minutes.

Pete

Randygh

03-27-2008, 07:38 AM

When I change the oil at the end of the season, I'll definitely replace the bolt plug with an adaptor and valve.

pkrogh

03-27-2008, 09:01 AM

No valve on mine. The free end of the hose is plugged and kept way above the level of the oil in the pan.

A valve on the pan would involve some serious gymnastics to reach it!!!

Pete

Randygh

03-27-2008, 01:20 PM

Pete--I like your idea. It is a pain to get an end wrench on my pan drain plug. It would be much easier to plumb and plug it without a valve like you do. To change the oil, I could run the drain line through the hull, align over a drip pain, and pull the plug. No mess and no contortion act involved. How cool!!

When I change the oil filter, I place the bottom half of a milk jug under the filter then spin the filter. The milk jug catches most of the oil and I drop the filter in the jug. Still messy, but does prevent much spillage. Does anyone else have a better technique?

Go Aweigh2452

03-27-2008, 02:20 PM

Does anyone else have a better technique?

Well, I normally puncture the filter with a screwdriver and catch the oil in a small bucket similar to your milk carton. Let it drain and when empty, I unscrew the filter with a paper towel wrapped around it after loosening it. Less mess...

II Lucky

03-27-2008, 02:30 PM

Once I have loosened the Oil or Fuel filter, I place a big freezer ziploc bag over the filter and remove. Zip it up and toss it out. No mess. I always keep extra large ziploc bags on board so that I could make the change on the water as well.

Nehalennia

03-27-2008, 03:21 PM

........Now my plan is the next time I change the oil, out the garboard plug, I intend to attach a chain to the end of the garboard plug and the hook on the oil pan oil hose to make it easier to pull the hose out the garboard plug...:argh2

I have the hose on the bottom of the oil pan. It does have the chain as well. I was thinking of getting the oil change system, My plug has the chain attached so I can pull the hose out of the plug. I figured it's a 2GPM pump and if I can screw on the oilchange system's hose to the oil pan hose and turn the pump on it's 5 mins. I use to use the Tempo hand pump through the dipstick on the last boat and it took and hour to get all the oil out.

tolly28

03-27-2008, 06:04 PM

I use one of the vacuum extractors, and it works pretty darn well.

http://www.alloymarine.com/suckup_r2_c1.jpg

The key is to run the engines and get the oil nice and warm. Then it takes 5 minutes or so each side. I wish it was a little bigger so I could hold the oil from both engines. No biggie, since I usually take a 5 gallon bucket with me to dump the oil in to drop off at the dump anyway.

pkrogh

03-27-2008, 09:57 PM

I tried draining the oil by running the hose through the transom plug but it took forever for the oil to run out. Warm engine too. The vacuum sucker only takes a couple of minutes and there's no messing around with stuff in the bilge. The end of the hose hangs up high on the transom. Just open the engine cover and there it is!

Easy.

Pete

SomeSailor

03-28-2008, 11:38 AM

I still want a pump. I wanna flip a switch and out it comes .... :)

tolly28

03-28-2008, 01:24 PM

Still waiting for things to start getting back together...

Another project I will be working on once the boat gets back in the water and gets a good bath is the install of my new GPS, VHF, and AIS receiver...

Looking forward to some new electronics to play with!!

SomeSailor

03-29-2008, 08:50 AM

AIS would be really fun. You could see what that BIG blip is out there in the fog... :)

Fred P

03-29-2008, 11:55 AM

I use a big zip lock bag. Start the filter turning with the wrench, slip the zip lock bag over the filter, turn the filter off and zip the bag shut before I spill the filter full of oil on me and all over the boat. It works most of the time. it also helps to have a rag under the filter for the few drops that will fall before you get the new filter back on. How can all this go wrong: If you use a bag that is to small, and you drop the whole thing while you are trying to zip the bag shut on a filter that will not fit in the bag.

Fred P

SEEG

03-30-2008, 08:34 AM

I still want a pump. I wanna flip a switch and out it comes .... :)

Think Reverso! Mine drains both engines and the generator. The first time I attempted to use it, on the gen set, it wouldn't work. I read and re-read the manuals to no avail. Turns out there was a valve on the generator discharge hose that Tiara had added but was not documented. When I went to drain the main engines I spent an half hour looking for a similiar valve on the engine discharge hoses. There wasn't one. I drain my engines into 5 gallon gas cans and it only takes a few minutes per engine to remove all 4.5 gallons. Slick, I'll never have another boat w/o a pump. Too bad it doesn't drain the IPS drives. That, unfortunately requires a haulout.

tolly28

04-03-2008, 08:58 PM

The bilge is not as empty as it once was.... The new tanks are in and the engines were moved onto the aft deck by crane.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5184888757813648210"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/mvjollymon/R_Rs2sFmG1I/AAAAAAAAA9c/OYtbcWy5RT8/s800/Boat%20project%20016.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5184888869482797922"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mvjollymon/R_Rs9MFmG2I/AAAAAAAAA9k/zDxYP7CXnjU/s800/Boat%20project%20021.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5184888985446914930"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/mvjollymon/R_RtD8FmG3I/AAAAAAAAA9w/e0axbaR8wK4/s800/Boat%20project%20022.jpg" /></a>

A gantry was set up with a beam running through the side windows. Engines were slid forward and set in place... Took about an hour. The comment was made that it took way longer to move and set everything up that to set the engines. By the time I get there this morning, they were setting the second engine on the stringers...

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5185246670323325826"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mvjollymon/R_WyX8FmG4I/AAAAAAAAA-w/xny5TFUnNQI/s800/Boat%20project%20024.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5185246756222671762"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mvjollymon/R_Wyc8FmG5I/AAAAAAAAA-4/i0xeUCu7oeE/s800/Boat%20project%20025.jpg" /></a>

Almost done!:)

Randygh

04-03-2008, 09:08 PM

Steve--are those 318's?

tolly28

04-03-2008, 09:21 PM

Yes, 318's. The originals, too...

I thought about rebuilding/ repowering, but they run so good I'll wait til they die..

tolly28

04-17-2008, 07:24 PM

Everything is pretty much done now, and "Jolly Mon" is safely tied in her slip. Launched today and went for a spin and everything seems great so far.

Freshly tuned props with Propspeed (http://www.propspeed.com/) applied.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5190415418095100386"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/mvjollymon/SAgPUqBE4eI/AAAAAAAABBs/0EQ2PdX18AQ/s800/Boat%20project%20029.jpg" /></a>

Jolly Mon takes a little road trip to be launched. This "Sea-Lift" is really slick.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjollymon/BoatProject/photo#5190415508289413618"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/mvjollymon/SAgPZ6BE4fI/AAAAAAAABB0/OZI6zyzf3tc/s800/Boat%20project%20032.jpg" /></a>

A few small items are left to be done and the whole boat needs a good cleaning!