For Those of you with Diesels

[49captain]

I really love having a diesel on my Horizon Day Cat.  We often have to motor in against a 3 - 4 kt current that runs out into Apalachicola Bay two miles or more.  While I would have loved to have gone electric we needed the power available for an hour or two at times.  And, I have had nothing but trouble with small outboards.  It must be a mutual hatred - I don't trust them and go out of their way to screw me.  As Rob White said ("Flotsam and Jetsam") - "You hate 'em when they runnin' and you cuss 'em when they ain't", or something to that effect.

That said, access to the packing gland, hoses, wiring, bilge pump, etc., is reserved for those with Houdini-like agility and a  love of tight spaces.  If you like cave diving you probably don't mind squirming down into the bilge.  I'm NOT one of those people - I get claustrophobia in a car with more than four people and I usually sleep in the cockpit and not down below no matter how big the boat is.

So, after much hemming and hawing, indecision, evaluation and re-evaluation, and uncertainty I bit the bullet and installed a hatch just aft of the centerboard cleat pad.  Gerry sent me photos of the underside of the deck and was very helpful.  However, the final decision was mine.

I have photos but I haven't yet figured out how to post them here.  If anyone would like them I'll post my email at the end.  It's my junk email that I use for unknown or uncertain sites so don't worry about using it.

I chose a Tempress 17 1/4 inch x 13 inch deck hatch.  I've had good luck with Tempress before.  I followed their instructions closely and everything worked fine.  I used a vibrating tool with the semi-circular attachment rather than a sabre saw.  I also used a short bit for drilling.  There are few wires below the area and the fuel tank is a few inches below the deck and I definitely did not want to drill or cut into anything.  The semi-circular saw attachment can only go about 1 1/4 inches deep and the deck is about 1 inch thick.

Because the rear bulkhead would not be supporting the deck I cut about 1 inch off of the top of the bulkhead to improve access.

I sealed all of the plywood coring and the top of the rear bulkhead with marine epoxy.   After that cured I used silicone sealant - recommended by Tempress - on the face of the cut deck and under the top flange.  Twelve screws were required and I used 1-inch long screws.  Installation was easy.  Not counting the epoxy curing time I did the job in about 1 1/2 hours.

Was it worth it?  Not sure.  I set the cutout back about 2 inches aft of the centerboard deck cleat.  That leaves about 4 inches from the forward edge of the hatch to the forward edge of the aft bulkhead.  I can see the packing gland and the bilge pump and I can probably remove the bilge pump by clipping a couple of ties around the discharge hose.  I don't think I can do anything with the packing gland.  On the plus side I can now access the fuel tank level gauge and the fuel hoses and fittings - something that was impossible before.

If I had it to do over again I probably would not install the hatch.  I could make the cutout and access the fuel tank if I ever needed to and then install a hatch.  My problem is that I don't like inaccessible places on my boat.  Unfortunately I haven't seen a boat yet where things like the packing gland and the bilge pump were easily accessible.  Not being able to get to those types of things make me nervous. 

If I was the designer I would design the boat so the aft deck was removable or I would reconfigure the centerboard cleat system to allow for access to the bilge pump and the packing gland.  Of course those would be major re-designs and, unless ComPac builds 25 or so a year at a minimum it would not be worth the effort and cost. 

Consequently I am stuck with being nervous while motoring.  Even though I've had boats with diesel engines for years and have never re-packed a packing gland, and have adjusted one only once after 10 years of operation, I'll still be nervous.  On the positive side, cutting a hole in the deck was a lot less nerve-racking than drilling a hole in a hull for a new thru-hull. 

But, it IS a sailboat and I keep my motoring to a minimum.

My email is boatbuilder1952@gmail.com