Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife

[wattaway2]

bilge looks great ! what type of hose are you using to glue to the pvc pipe? I
was a lil worred about it staying together

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by strick

Dave-

I am impressed. I see you have two fuel filters. One for each tank? Or are you mounting a kicker? I only have one common fuel filter that both tanks feed into. If no kicker then why would you need two? I do like the dual bilge pumps. Your kicking butt so keep it going. Not sure about glassing the tanks. Much easier to paint them with something. Did the glass bond ok to the aluminum? I see some air under the glass? Did you have those metal brackets custom made...the ones that the fuel lines feed into? And what is mounted to them?

strick

strick,
The things on the brackets are Flo Scan sending units. The brackets came with the kit. I got a good deal on a Flo Scan for twins on ebay. Rather than set it up for twin engines, I set it up for twin tanks. The gauge will read real time consumption from both sending units, but the totalizer can be switched between the two sending units. So instead of knowing how much fuel I've burned in each engine, I'll know how much fuel I've burned from each tank with the flip of a switch. The fuel filters need to be upstream of the sending units, so one for each tank. The sending units need to be at a low point in the fuel line so air bubbles don't get trapped and screw up the accuracy. That's why all the ups and downs in the fuel hoses.

The two bilge pumps in the pics are the backups. The primary is a 800 gpm located in a sump under the back of the motor. The pump with the float switch mounted on the wood block will also have a high water alarm buzzer connected to it.

I thought about just coating the tanks with coal tar epoxy, but I had laminating resin on hand. There are a few bubbles, but there's epoxy coating the tank even though the cloth bubbled. No worries with the bond. When I stripped one of the bubbles off, it took the zinc chromate with it.

Originally Posted by wattaway2

bilge looks great ! what type of hose are you using to glue to the pvc pipe? I
was a lil worred about it staying together

Hey wattaway,
Thanks for the kind words. The white hose is spa hose. It's used it for plumbing hot tubs, hence the name. It's poly vinyl chloride, so it glues up with standard PVC cement and fittings. It's flexibility is a big plus, but its cost not so much. In 3/4" diameter, it's about $3.50 a foot compared with $0.20 per foot for schedule 40 pipe. In 1.25" and 1.5", it's pushing 5 bucks a foot. That's why I only used it on the bends and not the straights. I haven't used corrugated bilge pump hose since a few years ago when I found myself 40 miles offshore with a busted bilge hose that just recirculated water in the bilge. I consider the spa hose money well spent.

Dave

[strick]

I see. What a cool set up on the dual flo scan's. I'm gonna remember your spa hose arrangement for the next project.

strick

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by strick

I see. What a cool set up on the dual flo scan's. I'm gonna remember your spa hose arrangement for the next project.

strick

You coming out of retirement to go to work on that 20' Sceptre? Still waiting on pics...

You'll like the spa hose. It's tough stuff and easy to use, just pricey.

Dave

[ChampionShip]

This is probably a stupid question that has likely been covered already but why the hard pvc for the plumbing vs flexible smooth wall tubing? Looks awesome and way beyond my patience.

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by ChampionShip

... why the hard pvc for the plumbing vs flexible smooth wall tubing?

Mostly cost, but also it's a little neater installation. Schedule 40 PVC is low cost and durable. I used hose for most of the bends, and at each end of runs of hard pipe so it will flex without breaking.

Dave

[ChampionShip]

Originally Posted by Blue_Heron

Mostly cost, but also it's a little neater installation. Schedule 40 PVC is low cost and durable. I used hose for most of the bends, and at each end of runs of hard pipe so it will flex without breaking.

Dave

Good to know, might try it if I ever have the hinkering to re plumb my bilge pumps.

[Islandtrader]

"My buddy Dennis sent me an email about the PVC I used for the engine raw water and got me thinking."

Sometimes you gotta think the industry does things a certain way for a reason...you made the right decision on changing that. Other wise looks great!

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

Sometimes you gotta think the industry does things a certain way for a reason...you made the right decision on changing that. Other wise looks great!

Yeah. Got a little snow blind looking for the finish line and didn't let common sense get in my way. I bought a book on marine electrical systems a while back and I'm doing all my wiring according to ABYC standards, but didn't think to get the book on mechanical/plumbing systems. Go figure.

I've got a couple good reference books now and will review some stuff to make sure I haven't built in any problems. According to what I've read so far, PVC is ok for use below the waterline in some boat plumbing systems, but engine raw water wasn't mentioned.

Dave

[cdavisdb]

Mounting your tabs as far outboard as possible might create some unexpected issues. Outboard maximizes their effectiveness, but makes them subject to coming out of the water. Probably not a problem when the boat is running, but at rest, it might noticeably increase the roll. Mine often rolls the outboard hull panel out of the water, especially if it light loaded. You may find that the roll characteristics change in unpredictable ways when the tabs clear the water. I'd be very interested in what you find.