Electrics 'Patch'

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:22 pm

Hello again all!

My Trojan is still sat in the dry-yard ($900 of my boat money gone so far) and I can't keep water out of her. I've had tarps over it made sure everything thing is closed but just can't keep it out and I'm tired of siphoning it each time I go down.

There is a bilge pump (with a rats est of wires about it) but no batteries. As I'm new with this, I need to know how I can hook it up. What batteries would I need and how do I hook them up?

As I'm assuming the electrickery worked (no one said otherwise) I'm hoping I just have to find the battery leads and just hook them up.

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:31 pm

Have you removed the drain plug at the stern of the boat? It should be located on the midway of the stern and at the lowest spot. Standing behind the boat look at the stern for it. When you do make sure it gets put back in before launching. Put it in a safe place . I place ours by the pilots wheel by the guages. Easy to see and find.

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:57 pm

I don't think ours has one. There are two holes drilled into the stern by the previous owner but they're not low enough on the transom for all the water to come out and there seems to be a dam between the forward bilge and the engine bilge.

I'll have to have another look around.

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:15 pm

Just went out and had a look. Nothing I can see. I looked all over the transom and looked at the hull between the back of the skeg and the transom. If there was ever anything there it's gone now.

The odd thing is it make perfect sense for it to be there as it is a trailer-able boat.

LandVF36 · Post by **LandVF36** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 12:41 am

In the "engine room" there should be a shelf where two or more batteries sat, one for each engine. If it is not obvious where they were, find the starter on one engine. It should have a a thick 0-2 guage cable running off it, likely red. Follow this cable until you find a batter post end. This should be your positive battery lead.

The negative lead should be black and could be attached about anywhere to the engine block. Check the bolts around the alternator, the exhaust manifold, or transmission mounting bolts for the other 0-2 guage black cable and follow it to a battery post end. This should be your negative lead.

This is at least a start. Next, your bildge pump wires should feed from a fuse panel, but hopefully, if you connect a battery to the engines, hopefully things will "come to life"

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:11 am

Make sure you have no gas fumes, as the sparks will ignite the "heavier-than-air" gas fumes that settle low in the bilge!

You SHOULD have a drain somewhere though! This should be at the lowest point on your transom. If you don't, you should consider adding one. There are drain tube/plugs kits that you can epoxy it, and eliminate this issue forever. It will take some careful cutting, cleaning and epoxying, but it can be done by you or a reputable yard, and will save you much grief with water when the boat is on the hill.

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 6:39 am

I would check for the drain on the inside. Ours was painted over and was not readily seen. We have to use a flat blade screw driver to get it out which made it hard to find when I looked for it. If not there , I agree put one in.

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:12 am

LandVF36 wrote:In the "engine room" there should be a shelf where two or more batteries sat, one for each engine. If it is not obvious where they were, find the starter on one engine. It should have a a thick 0-2 guage cable running off it, likely red. Follow this cable until you find a batter post end. This should be your positive battery lead.

The negative lead should be black and could be attached about anywhere to the engine block. Check the bolts around the alternator, the exhaust manifold, or transmission mounting bolts for the other 0-2 guage black cable and follow it to a battery post end. This should be your negative lead.

This is at least a start. Next, your bildge pump wires should feed from a fuse panel, but hopefully, if you connect a battery to the engines, hopefully things will "come to life"

We only have one engine but I'm assuming I'm still looking for the same things. It sounds like what you're saying is the panel feeds off the engine batteries correct?

What sort of battery will I need, I don't have the old ones to look at. Will there be a book at the supplier's?

Make sure you have no gas fumes, as the sparks will ignite the "heavier-than-air" gas fumes that settle low in the bilge!

Duly noted, I'd like to avoid being blown up. As this is my first boat, any tips for clearing it off if I find fumes?

I would check for the drain on the inside. Ours was painted over and was not readily seen. We have to use a flat blade screw driver to get it out which made it hard to find when I looked for it. If not there , I agree put one in.

I will have a try at that.

It looks, to me anyway, that the transom isn't going to be the lowest part of the hull. It looks a little like the hull slopes upward from about 2/3 back until the stern.

chumwithabottleofrum · Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:20 am

check the bottom of the boat for the plug. (My F26 has two bilge plugs-one in the front underneath the cushions in a storage compartment, and one in the back on the transom.)
I always remove both prior to storing my boat for the winter-I put them in a ziplock back and tie the bag to the wheel-that way there's no forgetting to put them in prior to splashing the boat for the season.

daydrmr999 · Post by **daydrmr999** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 6:31 pm

If his is anything like mine (also a 25' 1969 express) there definately is no drain plug. The battery "shelf" was located just aft of the engine between the engine and main fuel tank.

Also, I plan to fill the area of the bilge under the cabin floor with foam, there seams to be no reason to have this open space inside the cabin floor to collect water.

Hope this helps,

Mike

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:06 pm

I haven't been down to check yet but if there isn't one I will certainly be putting one or more in.

Also, I plan to fill the area of the bilge under the cabin floor with foam, there seams to be no reason to have this open space inside the cabin floor to collect water.

I wouldn't. I've got another boat where the previous owner had filled the voids in the hull with foam. Over time, the foam absorbed the water that does find its way in and the boat got heavier and heavier.

Be very careful where you put the foam.

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:07 pm

These are what I need to install right. http://snurl.com/946nh [www_westmarine_com]

After looking today, I don't see any existing plugs.

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:10 pm

There is no way a '69 Trojan didn't have a drain plug. In your model it may not be at the stern. My father's '69 28 footer (wood hull) only had a single plug near the bow (vs my F32 that has plugs both near the bow and near the transom). Look underneath the boat for a thru hull about 3-8' from the bow (measuring from where your waterline is) near the centerline (perhaps as much as 6-8" off the center line, probably on the port side), then figure out where this is inside. It may be underneath your v-berth, or you may need to pull up the cabin carpet and the first floorboard aft of the v-berth. Once you find the plug and pull it, if your boat is sitting 'right' for storage, this should be the lowest point in the bilge, and all water should run to this point and out. Since the plug probably won't be sitting dead center, some water will remain, but there won't be much left over.

Re the foam : You have it right : under NO circumstances should you fill the bilge with foam. Aside from soaking up water etc, when the foam starts to break down it will find its way into your bilge pump and plug it. Foam is for runabouts, not real boats !

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:28 pm

AuxiliaryComms wrote:After looking today, I don't see any existing plugs.

What is it that I can see on your transom couple inches above the bottom and just above the prop shaft strut in this image?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-wils ... 390162717/

AuxiliaryComms · Post by **AuxiliaryComms** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:55 am

ready123 wrote:
AuxiliaryComms wrote:After looking today, I don't see any existing plugs.
What is it that I can see on your transom couple inches above the bottom and just above the prop shaft strut in this image?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-wils ... 390162717/

I thought it was a plug too when I first saw it but it is a partly drilled hole in the transom that has now been drilled out entirely.

captainmaniac wrote:There is no way a '69 Trojan didn't have a drain plug. In your model it may not be at the stern. My father's '69 28 footer (wood hull) only had a single plug near the bow (vs my F32 that has plugs both near the bow and near the transom). Look underneath the boat for a thru hull about 3-8' from the bow (measuring from where your waterline is) near the centerline (perhaps as much as 6-8" off the center line, probably on the port side), then figure out where this is inside. It may be underneath your v-berth, or you may need to pull up the cabin carpet and the first floorboard aft of the v-berth. Once you find the plug and pull it, if your boat is sitting 'right' for storage, this should be the lowest point in the bilge, and all water should run to this point and out. Since the plug probably won't be sitting dead center, some water will remain, but there won't be much left over.

Hmm... there is a thru-hull on the port side towards the middle but it is a lot further outboard than 6-8"...

I don't have anything planned for tomorrow so I'll walk down and give another good look over and try to get the rest of the floor up in the cabin.