New to us C-Dory

P

pat.jack

New member
Hi Folks,

My wife Pat and I recently purchased a 2003 22' C-Dory. Before I put the boat away for winter storage, I would like to do some work on the boat. The boat had a bit of mildew in the cabin and cockpit area. We've taken care of the cabin, but to properly address the mildew in the cockpit, I'll need to pull the gas tanks and batteries. I'm wondering if there are any issues with pulling the gas tanks that I should be aware of?

While I'm asking questions-I have purchased a replacement for my battery selector switch. The current switch has a problem with being very difficult to turn. The area where the switch is mounted seems very prone to getting wet. I suppose I can seal the leads in some manner, but I'm wondering if any of you have relocated the battery selector switch to another location to keep it drier? By the way-one of the projects I will address this winter is wiring the boat for shore power, my boat does not have shore power.

I look forward to hearing back from you.
Jack
 
Welcome!

If you PM Da Nag or Tyboo they can set you up with a photo album so we can see what you have. Don't know where your battery switch is now, but ours is located inside the stbd laz with the main battery. Our house battery is in the port laz. This location is nice and dry and out of the weather.

Never pulled our fuel tanks, but when you do, check the deck screw holes for water and make sure you seal the screws well when you reinstall them. For removing mildew, I've had good success with a spray bottle filled with 10% bleach and water. Spray on, wait a couple minutes, and wipe off. Works pretty well.

Rick
 
If you do pull the tanks, you might also consider replacing them with the slightly larger ones that are currently used in CD-22's. The older tanks are 20 gals each where as the new ones are 25. Depending on your planned use, the extra 10 gals might be worth a lot or nothing.

After 2003/2004, the factory also changed the way the tanks are strapped in to avoid drilling holes into the floor and balsa core. My previous 2003 22' CD was fixed at the old factory and they changed out the mounting system. Yours may or may not have been upgraded to the better way of installing the tanks (which involved glassing in some "bumps" around the tanks). Do a search through some of the old threads and I'm sure you can find what changes were made.

Also, while you're at it, you might want to cut an oval slot in the fiberglass skirting that hangs down in front of each tank. This will allow you to see the fuel level more easily and it's how the factory does things now.
 
Welcome from here too. When/if you do pull the tanks, the screws don't just need to be "sealed" when you put them back, they need to be overdrilled and undercut, filled with epoxy and redrilled slightly smaller than the screw you put back in. Lots on the site about how/why to do this!

Charlie
 
One more thing to check: the hoses for cracks, hardness, and other signs of aging. They're probably original from 2003, and may be fine, or tired and needing replacement. They have the date of manufacture stamped on them. Some advise switching them out every 5 years or so, but I think it depends on the aging due to sun exposure and other factors. If they're reasonably soft and supple, they're OK. If they're hard, cracked, and brittle, change them out!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Agree with Charlie about steps to prevent problems with the screws into the floor (balsa cored)--drill, under cut, fill with epoxy and re-drill. I don't know where the battery switch is in your boat, but I like to have it protected from direct water and spray. If we had a photo of where it is, that would help.
 
I was looking at upgrading my fuel tanks from the original '05 vintage to the new style. I got the Moeller part numbers from the factory, Moeller sent me the drawings for each tank in *.pdf file (FYI they are labeled as 23gallon). I have no idea how to upload *.pdf's and could not attach them to my gallery. West marine and others can order the tanks based upon the part numbers. I elected not to upgrade tanks as they took up more room in the bilge area (6-8" if I remember right), I would rather have the flexibility of stashing a couple fuel cans or an ice chest in the same space.

Regards,
Dave
 
I appreciate all the responses. I'll have to figure out how to get the pictures posted that I took tonight. Being new to this site I could not locate reference material on pulling the gas tanks. I'll take another look for the references mentioned in a few of these notes. Unfortunately, in the area we live there are very few C-Dory's, so I have not seen a newer C-Dory that someone mentioned regarding a cut out for viewing the gas tanks. Maybe there is something in the reference material regarding this.
Thanks again. Jack
 
Ask DaNag or Tyboo for an album--then you can post the photos.
If you go thru the albums, there will likely be pictures of the cut outs.

Removing the tanks should be fairly easy. There is the plastic or fiberglass in front of the tanks, and this is screwed to the floor--remove these screws. There will be a strap holding the fuel tanks in place--and you can remove the screws holding the end of the strap, and also chocks on the deck to hold the tank in place. Also remove the fuel lines and fill connections--as well as the vents--and the tanks come out. (Much of this is based on the older boat I owned, and my observation of newer boats).
 
rogerbum":2o6gx98s said:
Here's an image of the modified fuel tank skirts -
DSCF1417.sized.jpg (taken from C-Dancer's album)
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a nice clean boat! Oh, it's mine! :wink Thanks Roger.

Actually, we had those installed after our first season in 2005. Makes it nice when you're filling up the gas tanks.
 
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