A Dry TC-255 Fish Box?

D

Dreamer

New member
After weighing the pros and cons for a while, I drilled a 1.75" hole in the fish box walls. It's right under the striker for the latch in the photo. The change was apparent overnight. No condensation dripping from the lid. No gurgling sound when the lid is stepped on. Everything seems very dry even though the weather is still cold and damp (snowing this AM!). I'll seal the edges with epoxy and call it another successful although small modification.
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It seems to me that these boxes will never be dry til a drain is provided for the rim trough. My new boat is still at the dealer, but this is high on my list for modifications once she comes home.
 
Tom, There are two 3/8" holes at the rear corners of the troughs. They drain directly into the bilge. The problem is that all the junk that goes down there clogs the floats for the automatic pumps. That area needs work. The fish boxes looked good in the brochure but in practice weren't a good idea IMHO. Roger
 
Warren,
I could give you a formula that only Sea Wolf Joe would understand but actually, it was the size hole saw that happened to be on the arbor at the time! Position was picked to be unobtrusive and close to the top. Nothing scientific..
 
On our yet to be delivered TC 255, the fish boxes, bait box. even the forward storage under the berth are full of water. The dealer says heavy rains during delivery to him caused the boxes to have water. In FL we have heavy rains from time to time and some way must be found to keep the water out of the bilge.
Will visit the boat tomorrow and see about the rim drain holes in the fix boxes. The bait box is being modified to hold batteries since the battery location will be occupied by the oil tanks for the E-Tecs
 
Putting full canvas over the cocpit (either a slant back or the full camper canvas keeps the fish box, bait box etc dry. I would be worried if the area under the bunk is wet--there is a leak. After I fixed the leaks, we have not had one drop of water inside of the cabin. (the only one was around the foreward hatch)

There should not be any connection with the foreward storage with the bilge or anchor locker. If there is--the factory goofed.
 
I too had some water in my port forward sponson in my new (leftover - delivered two weeks ago) 2007. I noticed what appeared to be a gap between the anchor storage locker and the storage compartment on the forward port side. I filled this gap with epoxy paste and no water has reappeared even in rain. I will test it fully by pouring some water right into the anchor locker to see where it goes.

I thought about the solutions to the leaking fish lockers and decided not to bother. Once they fill up, excess water will just run out of the scuppers. When I arrive at the boat I will just open the doors, empty them in 30 seconds, and take off.

I can appreciate why some of us may want to drill holes to keep them dry though.
 
Matt,

I subscribe to the KISS principle too, but it's nice to actually use the boxes for storing something. Cleaning supplies, power cords, hoses, fenders, lines, etc. all fit there nicely if there's no water. Don't give up valuable storage space because of a factory faux pas.

If the fish boxes are full of water, your scuppers will be under water and leaking water in to the cockpit! The one-way flaps in the scuppers are not one way only, unfortunately.
 
Just returned from the dealer and inspected the wet fish boxes. Water is up to the brim and touching the top hatch. Obviously the boxes do not leak. There are no drain holes in the rim trough. There are no batteries yet and the box pump is not activated.
Does not look like a rim drain can be fitted. Will have to live with a wet locker.
Additionally, the anchor rode locker will always be wet with wet rode coming in. The side lockers drain the anchor rode locker and will also be wet. How do TC owners deal with the dampness and mildew in these lockers?
 
Tom,

The point of this whole thread, as I see it, is don't settle for what the factory gives you! Drill holes, drain that gutter, ventilate the fish box, clean in there occasionally with a Clorox solution. We came to like this boat a lot more when we took charge of it and made it work for us like it should have from the beginning. Don't settle, make it work for you like it should.

There are ways to make the anchor area tolerable. PM Me.

Descending from soap box now............Sorry about the ranting!
 
Tom Little":26gaoyan said:
Additionally, the anchor rode locker will always be wet with wet rode coming in. The side lockers drain the anchor rode locker and will also be wet. How do TC owners deal with the dampness and mildew in these lockers?
Click to expand...

Some people have drained the anchor locker by attaching a tube between the drain holes in the anchor locker and the drain holes to the outside in the port and starboard lockers. This keeps water out of the port and starboard lockers.

I have not done this and have had no problems with mildew or moisture in any of the three compartaments. The port side is easy to explain- the drain hole between the anchor locker and the port compartment was blocked, and I never opened it! Interestingly, others have reported the same blockage. The starbord drain hole is patent. I was going to install a drain tube but kept putting it off until I realized that I did not need it. I guess it depends on how often you anchor. We anchor perhaps 2-3 times a month at the most.

Another consideration is that the drain holes in the anchor locker are ABOVE the bottom of the locker- at least on my boat. So, unless I build up the bottom of the anchor locker, I am going to keep any small amount of water trapped in the anchor locker without it draining out. I guess this is what is happening. Why I have no mildew is a mystery that I have no desire to solve, but am just thankful for.
 
No mildew or mold either. The anchor rode is wet when it comes aboard, but seems to dry OK. Not even much rain water comes in thru the windlass. (we put in pieces of pipe insullation foam if we are in heavy seas)

I agree you do not want the fish boxes full of water. But that is what the macerator pumps are for. If was was concerned about water in the lockers I would drill holes, epoxy tubes in place, and lead a fine house to a shower sump drain to pump any water overboard--but as noted with the camper canvase I don't get water in the boxes, unless I am washing down the deck of the cockpit. It is a real agrivation to have fish boxes which are not very useful They could have been made water tight--or at least more water tight than they are....
 
I blocked both holes from anchor locker to port and starboard lockers. Then, I built a slight fall in the anchor locker to one side and drilled a drain hole straight down through the hull. Thus, my anchor locker drains between my two sponsons. The factory drain holes on port and starboard sides were plugged and re-gelcoated. It's a nice improvement. Both forward lockers are now moisture free. The drain hole was oversized, filled with epoxy, then re-drilled to 1/2"--this is to make sure no water seeps into the coring material.
 
Bad Boy,

I like it! That's a good, simple solution. The only time it could get water into the locker, other than from the wet rode, would be from "sneezing", then it would drain right back out. I'll be doing that mod as soon as it stops snowing! Roger
 
Condensation occurs when the air in the fish box drops below the dewpoint of that air. Depending on your humidity and how cool it gets, we will have varying degrees of condesation. The warmer the temperature, the more ability for air to hang on to the moisture. As the air in the fish box cools below the dew point, water droplets will form.

I store my boat on a trailer, inside a building. There is no water in the fish boxes because it never gets colder than the dewpoint in the building. When I have it parked on my driveway at home, the fish boxes start to fill with water from condensation so I leave the boxes open to prevent the condensation.

One way to stop condesation is more ventilation. Dreamer has it right by cutting a hole to prevent the condensation. I plan to do the same but start out with a small hole and build up until I see no condensation occurs. However, I do not plan to store anything in them that might be affected by mildew especially if you block the ventilation that you are trying to achieve. Because I have stepped into the fish box cavity on three occasions, I think Dreamer's solution is better than leaving the covers open.

I don't believe the hole significantly affects the cooling efficiency of the fish box as long as you have ice, similar to how an ice cream freezer at a grocery store is open. If I discover there is a difference, I will plug the hole with a rubber stopper when using it as an ice box.
 
Good ideas there...

I keep my boat moored under cover, so not much problem with the fish boxes unless out at sea for a week or so...

I keep the aft canvas up most of the time for shade, so not much water in them even in rain. They are definitely a problem on the trailer from rain.

I had thought about cutting a piece of 1/2 or 3/4 " pvc pipe in half and running that up underneath and against the cockpit floor to those indentations where the aft scuppers drain. That way the lid gutter would drain aft.

I think there is a capillary action that gets going, drawing water from the deck into the fish boxes.

I've also knocked a fair hunk of skin off my shins by accidentally stepping in a propped open fish box. That is something to avoid.

I like your idea of a center drain for the anchor locker, but won't water be forced in in high seas?

Keep up the good ideas!

John
 
Bad Boy":9yfkconh said:
If I discover there is a difference, I will plug the hole with a rubber stopper when using it as an ice box.
Click to expand...

I think I will get the stopper first then cut a hole that size.

Warren
 
drjohn71a,

I used one of the vent clam shells from the previous drain hole. Risk of water being forced in is no more than previous location. The drain hole is about 3 inches long between the anchor locker and the hull.

Also, I installed a drip tube in the drain hole, protruding down past the hull surface by 1/8" and screwed the clam shell over it. The purpose of the protruding drain tube is so that any muddy water draining from the anchor locker does not ooze down the hull and stain it. The end of the tube forces the staining water to drip away form the hull. Hope I make sense.

My boat is getting some extensive electronics installed so I will not be able to show you pictures but would be glad to in the near future.

Bad Boy
 
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