Forward Bilge Area?

[OldUgly]

I have not done any investigating in the bow/v-berth area (as all of my time has been spent fixing the keel cable and rudder and rudder assembly), so my question is this: Is there a bilge pump cavity under the v-berth/head area on a C26? If so, how do I get to the area to inspect?
Thnx.

[EmergencyExit]

Morning Jim,

A lot of area under the vberth, mine had a small hatch there in the sole at the rear of the berth. Basically the entire bow is open under the vberth. From the outside draw a line from just above the boweye straight back to just before the forehatch and everything under the line to the v of the hull is open.

I think it is definately a place you want a pump. And a hatch. Plenty of room for water.

As far as under the head, I think that is connected to the area under the port side banquette seating, but not to the Vberth bilge.

Beau

[OldUgly]

Thanks. I'll be getting to this area soon enough.
BTW, I sent you an e-mail regarding a depth sounder. You got one on your C26? If so, what kind (thru hull vs. some other type of mount.)
Thanks again.
Jim

[EmergencyExit]

Must of missed the email, sorry ! I have a thru hull transducer, port side about 18 inches behind the leading edge of the keel pocket.

[Windward]

Hi OU,

In addition to the forward v-berth locker Beau mentions, there is space beneath the forward cooler compartment. Unless you're a cockroach or rodent, the only way to access it would be to cut into the bottom of the cooler compartment and put in some sort of hatch, or cut into the lower aft face of the cooler compartment. The space is about the size of the cooler compartment, but of course tapers sharply upward on the sides until it is about an inch below the outside edge of the cooler floor (are my vague descriptions confusing yet?).

My original plan was to cut out the cooler compartment floor and drop it down a couple of inches, since most decent coolers now are too deep to fit, and I cut the hole to get an idea of what was below. I may still drop the compartment floor, but probably not until this winter.

Don't remember the exact depth, but I figured there's enough space below the cooler to hold perhaps 7-8 gallons of water in a flexible tank, which doesn't sound like much until you remember it's about 50% more than the stock tank, is low and on centerline and uses otherwise wasted space. You could also put a flexible holding tank there, but 7-8 gallons really isn't much capacity.

If you had an AGM or gel house battery, which are both sealed and can be mounted on their sides, you could make that into your battery locker, keeping the weight low, forward and on centerline. Potentially long cable runs, of course.

There is a low, narrow bilge compartment that runs from there all the way to the stepdown from the head area in to the main cabin. I'm thinking of mounting a float switch there for a bilge alarm, plus sticking a decent sized bilge pump in just in case I hit something harder than the boat.

There's also some space beneath the head compartment, but I haven't excavated enough to get depth dimension. One idea I had, and that Beau echoed in a back-channel e-mail (great mimes think alike, but don't talk about it much) is that one could remove the forward drawers, use a second door or curtain to extend the head across the cabin and have enough space to put in a shower drain, sump and pump. I've had my eye on the little Coleman portable propane water heater, which would give hot pressure water without having to actually plumb or wire anything besides the drain, but haven't figured out a convenient place to stow it and have too many other projects going on to fool with something that non-essential just now.

There's also space to be had on both sides of the cooler, and below the forward side storage bins, although it would take a little glass work and paint to make it suitable.

I've also had my eye on the settee backs, which could be opened up to store spare lines, canned goods, liquor, books.... again, a little glass work to add shelving and doors.

Fair Winds,

Jeff

[EmergencyExit]

Hey, Jeff, on that shower area, I have roughed in a second bulkhead even with the main salon bulkhead, and started building that area out. Going to tie the starboard chain plate into it so it matches the structure on the port side.

Have a couple pics on the website - also found a pretty good paint match so the wood matches the banquette gelcoat, which is not as white as it looks ! Almost a pinkish beige, have the details of the paint formula on there as well. Going with a lot of white in the interior for light, then will dress it up with wood trim.

We are holding off the shower for now, the club we joined has full bath/kitchen/shower facilities, and everyone pretty much dry slips their boats, no one really stays on board overnight as far as I know, so we can use those facilities in the clubhouse fairly easily.

Thought I was done with repairs on the interior until I removed the winch stand to lay carpet - wood it attaches to at the sole was rotted so much the screws just spun. As long as the keel had weight on it it was steady, soon as I dropped the keel onto the trailer, it just wiggled.

Ironic that they make plywood a half mile from my house, but I drive an hour to buy it. (I thought they reopened that mill because Katrina hit, but come to think of it, it was about the time I started the gutting...hmmm)
Well, that repair, then the keel/hull cleaning work, bottom job, then back in the water.

[Windward]

The plus to the stock config is that it gives the visual illusion of a longer salon, plus adds a bit of elbow room if you're actually trying to feed five people at the table. I'd sketched out a starboard bulkhead, and actually mocked one up with foam core, but I was afraid once I was done it would make the salon seem too much smaller.

I'm still tempted, though. Apart from the shower idea, I'd love a hanging locker other than the inside of the head, and it would be nice to have enough room to rearrange one's layers attire after using the facilities, particularly in the winter when many layers are involved. Not a problem if it's just my wife and me, but when guests are on board the whole modesty thing comes into play.

To combat the deck hogging due to the inadequate chainplate bracing, I packed the hull/deck joint with 5200, 5200ed in a 1/2x1/2 shim in the remaining space, then glassed in a fillet spanning the edge of the deck core to the hull. I then glassed in four (count 'em) mini-bulkheads / knees between the settee back, deck and hull, and bolted in another 2x2 angle brace between the chainplate and the forward end of the settee. Still need to varnish the knees, but it ain't going anywhere.

[Windward]

Problem is, it's always something, no matter what you've fixed or upgraded.

Part of me wants to purchase a fixed keel C-26 (in a perfect world, I like the idea of the inboard version to improve weight distrib and increase alternator capacity), gut it and start over right using what I've learned on Windward: reinforcing the things that now pass for bilge bulkheads (am I the only one who's cracked the "below the v-berth" and "aft end of the settee" bulkheads loose from the hull?), adding stringers and additional bulkheads to stiffer her up, properly tabbing in the large forward bulkheads to the hull, reinforcing the hull-deck joint, reconfiguring the galley, adding settee back storage, converting the port settee to a pull-out double, extending the cockpit lockers, adding a sea hood, installing decent fuel, water and holding tanks, mounting the rudder more cleanly, fairing the keel to a decent NACA profile, reworking the rigging....

But after those thousands of dollars and at least hundreds of hours, I'd still find something else that needed to be done, and the resale value would never remotely reflect the actual investment. I realize it never does, but sometimes there's not such a disparity. It would be no more work or investment (except in sails and some rigging) to do the same thing with a 27-30' boat, and the extra room would be welcome sometimes.

That said, I absolutely love the C-26. It sails wonderfully, is sweet and reassuring as a singlehander, and is at the upper end of reasonably trailerable. This year I've spend many hours working on things instead of sailing her, but last two years I've sailed at least a couple of hours between 95 and 105 days. Everyone who sails on her seems to genuinely like her handing, so I don't think it's just my misguided, myopic pride of ownership speaking here.

Anyway, off now to glass in the battery compartment/bulkhead and hatch in the starboard settee, glass in the port settee bulkheads / dividers, repair the aft cabin sole and maybe just maybe start to clean her up enough that she can leave the dock for a change.

Jeff

Thought I was done with repairs on the interior until I removed the winch stand to lay carpet - wood it attaches to at the sole was rotted so much the screws just spun.... Well, that repair, then the keel/hull cleaning work, bottom job, then back in the water.

[thepartydog]

But, but, but, I just wanted to go sailing......