FROM:Gregg Sawyer, 103161,757
TO:Ray
DATE:Thu, Feb 18, 1999 10:26:19 PM
RE:Tartan 33 Icebox Woes
Ray,
As usual, my contribution is more of shared experience than hard answers, but
then what do you expect if you're not paying me?
Yes, we've blocked our ice-box drain pipe, and no, we don't know where it exits
(although it would be a simple matter to pour some dyed water into the ice-box, stick
your head into the bilge, and wonder where the hell the bloody stuff is going because
you can't see it in the bilge...). Circumstantial evidence and common sense indicates
that it is actually draining directly into the bilge - as ice melts, we need to pump the
bilge more frequently. Blockages have not been solid, though, and I have cleared
them by using my fat thumb as a crude plunger, and followed up with some Clorox
(loathe though I am to sully the environment, sometimes the flesh is just too weak); if
you don't have a fat thumb, do some other odd jobs around the boat until a blunt
object helps you out.
I have reflected on the advice to "keep the bilge as dry as possible" in the light of the
ice-box drain, the shower drain, and the chain-locker drain, and concluded that it's
just a great joke from those crazy Tartan guys. I have contemplated routing these
water sources to existing or new through-hulls, and decided it isn't worth the work or
risk; I have detected references to (and ancillary equipment for) a sump also, but I
would be surprised if it had ever actually existed on my boat - maybe a simple
solution would be to (re-)install such a beast. For what it is worth, my bilge is
permanently wet, and doesn't seem to suffer, although I do pump it out frequently to
stop primordial life developing, dying, rotting and causing a bad smell. Slop in some
"environmentally-friendly" bilge cleaner every few weeks and let it slop around a bit
before pumping out if you are particularly delicate about these things. I too would be
interested in hearing of any successful alterations in this area.
There is a pipe running from the shower drain directly into the bilge - it's fairly short
and large-diameter, and I haven't had a problem with it (even though my wife's long
luscious locks crop up everywhere else); don't confuse it with the drain from the chain
locker (the forward portion of the v-berth) - again, some dyed water would aid this
confusion.
I hope this waffle is useful.
Gregg
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