On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 10:11:04 -0400, "Gary Warner"
wrote:


A few questions/topics from our weekend
boating. (See my other post for a narrative of that.)


HEAT ALARM:
We've got a temp gauge but I'm thinking I might want an
alarm too. Do these typically work with the existing
sensor & gauge? Any recommendations on good ones?

No reason to really - just something else to break or go wrong.

STOWING ANCHOR ROPE:
A few experiments showed me that trying to tie the anchor
rope into some bundle makes it hard to undo without a mess.
I'm thinking to just use a mesh bag, feed the rope into it, and
leave and end hanging out so it can't work it's way into a
knot. Does that work or no?

I have an anchor locker on the Contender, but on my Ranger, I just
loosely pile the rope into the storage locker and lay the anchor ontop
of it. The bag thing is almost as good. Trying to neatly coil the
anchor rode is not a good thing.

ANCHORING:
I've got a 18 lb Danforth for our 22' and 4000# boat.
We've got about 120' of rope (rode?) with some
heavy chain. Mostly we'll be in lakes, Hudson River,
and Boston Harbor. Probably not anchor much.
I'm thinking that in 30' water we'd still have 4:1
scope and that might be ok for us. I guess more rope really
can't hurt except for $$$ and stowage space.

The average is 6:1 FYI, but at 30 feet, 4:1 is good enough if you are
also using chain.

Oh, and I have another 13 lb here. If I was planning
on an overnight maybe I could get more rope and
use the two in conjunction?

You mean as a stern anchor or something similar?

You really don't need to do that - a single anchor off the bow is
sufficient. Setting a second anchor is pointless on a boat like that.

BILGE SIPHON:
Our boat has (original) a siphon system to remove bilge water. It's a
thru-hull in the aft with an opening that points aft. Attached to that
is a hose and then a brass tube with a bend in it. This makes an arc
that gets to about 14: above the bottom of the boat. As the boat
moves forward it's supposed to create a suction that pulls water
from the bilge.

A trickle of water enters our bilge between the bottom-most plank
and the keel. I'm not planning on tackling this fix until the winter
so for now there is always some water in the bilge.

We also have two 1100 GPH pumps mounted forward that
work - but only when stopped and the water has run forward.

Q: By look or feel I couldn't tell if the siphon is working. And
ideas on how to tell?

Nope.

Q: Would I be better off mounting an electrical pump aft?

Yep.

Q: Could I safely use the existing thru-hull for an electrical
pump as long as I had a length of hose looping above the
waterline...and maybe a check-valve??

I'm having a problem visualizing the fitting - do you mean it's
underwater? And where do the front pumps empty - I'd hook up a T
fitting and use that exit fitting.

Q: Or better to just not worry about it, let the front pumps
do their job, and fix the leak over the winter?

Or you could just not worry about it, let the front pumps do their
thing and fix the leak over the winter.

Aren't you glad you asked? :)

Later,

Tom