Dagnabbit -- I should've been paying attention the weather!

We are forecasted to get 15" of snow from this storm. Fortunately Napoleon is totally winterized and shrink wrapped.

The kicker is we bought a snow blower the last time we visited my family in Maine over Thanksgiving. We did not take the truck (did not plan to buy it) and figured we would just pick it up during our X-mas visit....in 4 days! I probably will not prioritize 7 hours of driving today to avoid a morning of shoveling but I sure wish we had the snow blower at home!

Back to your problem...look alive Mike (he he)...I think you said in another post you have not had much time to use your fine Tomcat due to other time contraints. She needs your attention!

If your cockpit is wide open..you could take some boards and a tarp and build a quick lean-to. I assume the water in the fish box is frozen at this point (if not - get in there and bail it out as best you can!) A little water will not cause damage to the fish box itself...like an ice cube in a tray it will freeze "up" and not out causing damage.

Do not bother with any of the toxic stuff...it will be a pain to dispose of once the temps thaw. I too would put some kind of heat producing light in the bilge to prevent serious damage. This would assume you are not too late. How long have you had the freeze? We have had several days of 0 and below zero temps with wind chill but I assume (hope) you have been in more mild air. Just be careful to keep the light secure so it does not melt any wires or hoses or cause any damage in the bilge.

Good luck....let us know how you make out.
 
An update:

This morning we are getting rain which is melting the snow. So it was really messy out when I climbed up on the boat.

I checked the starboard fish box and the water had not frozen. Mike, I think you were right about the snow insulating.

I did find a fusebox on the transom. I very much appreciated the fact that there was a group of hoses running right in front of the thing so as to make it difficult to access.

Anyway, I found a blown 20A fuse and replaced it. The starboard macerator pump still did not power up. But the fuse I replaced did not blow (yes, the battery switch was on). I looked around and did not see any other blown fuse, but I am thinking there is another fuse somewhere I need to find.

At this point I was getting quite wet, so I got a bucket and bailed out as much of the water out of the fish box as I could.

And I used lots and lots of bad words. :amgry

I brought the water down to a couple of inches and closed the fish box up. By this time I was soaked and shivering.

Matt, you are right. She does need my attention. Monday, I am going to try to find some indoor storage space and get her under cover. Then, I'll get her cleaned up and start addressing some of these issues.

I didn't see your post until I got back in, but I did pump out the bilge again; there wasn't much water in there this time. Is there a the concern about water in the bilge freezing if there is little water in it?

It's supposed to turn to snow again this afternoon, for another three inches. Temps tonight are supposed to get into the mid 20s.

Starting tomorrow, it's supposed to be in the 40s and sunny for a few days. Nights will continue to be in the 20s for the rest of the week.

The big lesson for me is to pay more attention to the weather. Had I known this was storm coming a couple of days ago, I would have had her in storage by now.
---
mike
 
wannaboat":3vdmrm86 said:
... Is there a the concern about water in the bilge freezing if there is little water in it?
...
Click to expand...

Only if it were sufficient to cover/damage the bilge pumps when it freezes. I empty my bilge at the end of the season, then pour in some non toxic propylene glycol and run the bilge pumps until I see pink. (I do the same with the fish boxes).

Good you found the fuse...something is amiss though...maybe another fuse behind the actual switch on the portside of the aft seat? When you turn the switch on, do you see the red light on the switch? Maybe the pump is still frozen....I would take a blow dryer or heat gun to it then try again if you appear to be getting power.

I don't recall if the fish boxes are wired to the house bank only....just wanted to be sure you turned the bat selector switch on the house bank to make sure.

Good luck.
 
Mike:

There should be two identical fuses side by side. Just to make sure you replaced the correct fuse, you may want to pull the other one and make sure the port macerator does not start.
 
Mike,

I'm not sure what year cat you have, but the fishbox pumps are mounted to the transom on '07 and '08 Tom Cats. I would pull the hoses from the base of the pumps and let the boxes drain into the bilge. Not all T/Cs have hull drain plugs installed from the factory so if yours does not, I recommend doing it or having it done. Pretty boneheaded move not to put drains in a trailered boat.

It should only take a minute and solve your fishbox problem until spring.

Good luck,
Randy
 
Alok":1kmdk0uo said:
Mike:
There should be two identical fuses side by side. Just to make sure you replaced the correct fuse, you may want to pull the other one and make sure the port macerator does not start.
Click to expand...
Hello Alok,

I did exactly as you suggested, but your post has me pondering. I wonder if indeed they are not side by side after all. As I said, the fuse block was somewhat obscured, so I was reaching being hoses to pull the fuses. I wonder now if there was an empty slot between the macerator pump fuses.

The sun will come out tomorrow (hmmm, channeling Andrea McArdle there a bit) and it will be easier to get in there and see what the heck is going on.
---
mike
 
Coastie Dory":95klasao said:
Mike,
I'm not sure what year cat you have, but the fishbox pumps are mounted to the transom on '07 and '08 Tom Cats. I would pull the hoses from the base of the pumps and let the boxes drain into the bilge. Not all T/Cs have hull drain plugs installed from the factory so if yours does not, I recommend doing it or having it done. Pretty boneheaded move not to put drains in a trailered boat.
Click to expand...
Hello Randy,

Well, that is truly a great idea. I wonder why I didn't think of just pulling the hoses. It's an 08 model, which was built in 07.

I don't think it has plugs. I did ask about them before I bought the boat, and was told that it didn't. And, I haven't seen them. Where would they be if they did exist?

In truth, I have long held the belief that plugs are bad. Probably that's from all the stories I have heard about boats sinking from someone forgetting to put them back in before launching their boat. Maybe I need to rethink that position a bit.
---
mike
 
wannaboat":q5ppmyvm said:
I wonder if indeed they are not side by side after all. As I said, the fuse block was somewhat obscured, so I was reaching being hoses to pull the fuses. I wonder now if there was an empty slot between the macerator pump fuses.
Click to expand...

Maybe a small mirror and a flashlight will help? Can't tell you how many times using them AND contorting various parts of my body has illuminated what I need to see in tight spots not easily viewed.
 
Hi Mike,

I guess all of the years I have worked on trailered boats, the second biggest un-needed expense after frozen blocks was what I like to call "driveway sinkers". Where the boat owner has left in the plug and the boat fills with water. I have seen boats 2/3s of the way full to the gunwale and also several bass boats where water froze, expanded between the deck and hull and broke through the bottom of the boat.

I see the logic of no plugs when a boat is kept in the water...just one more potential leak. I don't understand not putting them in a boat that will spend significant time on a trailer. Batteries go dead, auto bilge pumps fail, and even good covers can fail and leak.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday season,

Randy
 
You could get some of the RV anti freeze and pour in your fish boxes. It's the pink stuff, that's environmentally friendly. Wally World sells it.
I always add it to my waste tank when the weather looks like it could get cold and stay cold here.

When I had an RV, I'd pump it thru the entire fresh water system when it was winterized.
 
Another update:

The sun is out today and it is a little warmer (if 35 degrees can be considered warmer).

It turns out that I was right about the fuse block. The fuses for the port and starboard macerator are not side by side. And the wire color is also different (yellow/red stripe). Once I put a 20A fuse into the right slot and flipped the switch, it blew. I tried another fuse, and as expected, it blew too. So it's likely the pump is frozen up or bad.

The water in the box (about three inches now) has still not frozen. And there is plenty of room in the box if it does. So, I think I am ok for now.

I did try to loosen the clamp so I could pull the hose to the pump but could not get a good angle on it. Ended up dropping my stubby into the bilge and spent a half hour retrieving it. Love fishing with a magnet.

Access to the pump is through a screw-in round deckplate in the starboard lazarette, which seems totally crazy. How the heck does one service the macerator or bilge pumps through that hole?
---
mike
 
wannaboat":3ljx7vhn said:
It's an 08 model, which was built in 07
Click to expand...
Turns out I may have been wrong on this. The HIN clearly shows a 2008 date.

Also, I did get that stuck macerator running again today and emptied out the starboard fishbox. Again, I am puzzled why C-Dory made it so hard to service the pump. After heating it with a hair dryer, I wanted to use a screwdriver to rotate the impeller a bit, but because the pump is mounted to high in relation to the deck, there isn't enough clearance to even get a right-angle screwdriver in there to do that. It's crazy.

Anyway, this freezing weather thing won't be a problem for the rest of the winter because we are putting the boat into a warehouse tomorrow.

Thanks all for the help. I really do appreciate all the advice. I was quite worried there for a bit. :)
---
mike
 
Doryman":29qh7mzm said:
Roger on Dreamer cut access holes into his fishboxes, then placed deck plates in the holes. Maybe that is the way to go!
Click to expand...
Hmmm. They would need to be watertight. If they are then that would certainly be an improvement.
---
mike
 
Doryman":2a70ebby said:
Roger on Dreamer cut access holes into his fishboxes, then placed deck plates in the holes. Maybe that is the way to go!



Warren
Click to expand...

What was he gaining access to? You might be able to reach down and touch your bilge pumps but not enough room to "work" on them or remove them.... still, access is good... or is that are good?

Charlie
 
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