Tomcat fixes and questions

The gauges are not to be trusted. We have Floscan Twin Scan fuel gauges. I fill both tanks as full as possible, reset the twin scan to zero. The fuel used is recorded. When refueling the amount recorded, and the actual gallons needed to refill the tank are usually within 1%. At the Delta Bay trip in May the Floscan indicated a use of 80.9 gallons. I refilled the tanks and could get 40 gallons in the port tank, and 39.9 in the Stb. tank.

I have 150 gallons total capacity, 75 in each tank. We always try to use off of the top 1/2 if the capacity. I have on occasion, put in more than 130 gallons at a time, so I'm confident the tanks are 150 gallons total.
 
Lori Ann":1r8tun7v said:
one of the mods I want him to make is one he thought up: to reroute the fuel hoses so that instead of one tank feeding one engine, a switch and additional hoses will be installed to make it possible to run both engines from one tank. A side benefit of this mod is hopefully to run the stbd tank dry first so as to help the stbd list common to TCs.

Warren
Click to expand...

That's a great idea. If you can have pix taken, it would be a service to the rest of us. I'd like to have that mod too!

My gauges must be WAY off! They're suzi gauges, installed by Y-Landing in NH, new when the boat was bought in 2005.

Charlie
 
That's the way they were on my ships (A Destroyer and a Carrier). You used sounding tubes and tapes. They had guages too but no one believed them!

Unfortunately, they also had overflows, in the case of the Carrier, it was in the XO's stateroom and, more than once, we pumped a little black oil into his bunk! :oops: :shock: :cry

Unfortunately, I was boiler officer and in charge of fueling!

Captain Charlie (almost a permanant Ensign!)
 
Once my photo album is created I will post the pic, but if you look inside the anchor locker the longitudinal frames (on the left and right) do not go all the way to the ceiling except for 1 inch or so right at the very bow. Said another way, from the anchor locker I can stick my fingers/hand over into the left and right bow storage compartments.

Are there other Tomcat owners with the same issue? Is this a major error in construction? Can this be fixed to provide 100% full deck and hull strength? If yes, how should it be fixed? I do not take delivery until March so there is time for the dealer to have these things taken care of.

My first thought was a wedge made from marine plywood cut to fit as snug as possible, epoxied into place, apply epoxy filet's at the 90 degree angles between the wedge and the ceiling, then of course finished with fiberglass cloth over both seams.

I have to admit this has me concerned....
 
When I first saw the photos of these, I didn't realize that they were the side petitions between the center anchor locker and the side compartments. There is no support function to the top deck. there may be some stiffening function of the under bridge deck, where these petitions are glassed in.

I don't see any reason to glass in these fore and aft petitions at the top. They are only 1/4" thick and don't act as a support structure. The balsa cored bulkhead, which is at the foreward end of the bunk does give both support to the deck, stiffness to the bridge deck (under body) and the lateral hulls--as well has help to tie them together.
 
Mine's the same way. As for the reason, I would have to guess ventilation. A wet anchor rode will dry out quicker if it gets a little air. I know the side lockers aren't open to the air but provide a larger air space.

Charlie
 
As an aside regarding fuel gauges - I towed a guy in on Sun AM who assumed his fuel gauge was correct. He thought he had 1/2 tank and that he wasn't getting fuel to the engines (thought clogged fuel filter). After being towed back to his dock, closer inspection demonstrated that he simply ran out of gas. There's a lot to be said about the simplicity of the translucent tanks in the 22's - look at tank - see gas level. No gauge required and more reliable information obtained.
 
A note regarding the TomCat's fuel gauge performance...

I have the Honda digital guage set which includes the fuel level indicator. For some reason, when I start a cruise, this gauge reads the fuel level much lower than it actually is - about 1/4 or more tank less fuel is shown. However, after cruising around, turning, bouncing, etc., the Honda gauge shows the more accurate levels.

I just reset the miles and gallons on the flow meters and go by how many gallons I've burned against the 150 gallons in the tanks.

In summary, either the Honda gauges are "off", or the TomCat's fuel tank senders are "off". Either way, monitoring fuel "used" is the way I've been going.

John
 
As for the tank capacities on the TomCat - you can get one of those mirrors on a stick and look thru the inspection holes to the tanks and there is a sticker on each tank listing it's capacity. Both of mine say "75 gallons" per tank. When it was brand new, I could only get about 73 gallons of fuel in each tank. Maybe C-Dory had some in, but what I 'heard' was that you only have the fuel left in the Racor filters and lines from testing when you take delivery of a new boat.

John
 
drjohn71a":2p3mv3wp said:
In summary, either the Honda gauges are "off", or the TomCat's fuel tank senders are "off". Either way, monitoring fuel "used" is the way I've been going.
Click to expand...

That's what I have been doing also with my Yamaha Command Link gauges.

Warren
 
Our Honda speedometer/fuel gauge was really the only disappointment we had on our new boat. It doesn't register any miles/gallon at slow speeds (i.e., trolling speeds) which is what we do much of the time. The total gallons burned shows about half of the actual consumption, and the switch that is supposed to let you toggle between port and starboard tanks doesn't seem to work at all. And I've been unable to talk with a Honda technician -- because I'm not a certified repair shop. I think we'll install the FloScan, TwinScan (0-16 gallons/hour) this winter.

Matt, you might also check to see if your table will fit between the seats to form a bunk. Our's was about 1/8 inch to wide.
 
Ted,

When I first got my TomCat, the factory had not hooked up the fuel sender to the Honda gauges properly. As such, I had NO fuel gauges during my initial cruise up there in the PNW. I sent the boat back and the factory did something to fix it.

Soooooo, I would advise you visit with the factory ppl about your Honda gauge not working... it is likely the hookup.

John
 
Thanks for the info as this thread continues....

I checked to make sure I could change the position of the First Mate seat and set the table down to the bunk position among the other items in my 2 hour inspection ;) I will be sure to test everything during the sea trial as well.
 
Thanks John. I suspect our problem is something similar to yours. I have been in touch with the factory via phone and email. Thumper is currently at the Boat Shop here in Fairbanks being winterized. (It's a short boating season here in AK -- bummer.) I asked the factory folks to call the Boat Shop directly and see if they can work through the problem. Hopefully, they will follow up.

Are you happy with your Honda speedometer/fuel gauge?
 
I have found that the Navman/Northstar/Standard Horizon guages have been quite accurate down to very low speeds--but none of the turbine guages are good when you get to a gallon an hour or less. The Suzuki's do plug into the NMEA 2000 back bone, and since I have a Lowrance guage, I may try that for low speeds.

I have the Lowrance flow meter on the CD 25--and have not had a chance to use it yet, but others have had similar experience with the Navman units and Lowrance. (Just more information on the Lowrance guage for less money). The Flow scans are good instruments--and for diesels they are probably the best. I think that for less, you can get almost as good with the Lowrance--or if you can net the NMEA 2000 signals they may resolve the flow at low speeds.

For some reason, our "Suzuki" guages--which are analogue and probably by Farii, work quite well, and agree with our flow guages with are within 1%.

As for the space above the petitions foreward--but I don't think that there is any deep philosophical reason behind not tying the upper petition in to the deck--other than it is not necessary and would cost more. This assumes that you are going to let the lateral lockers be wet--Since we are going to use the side lockers for dry clothes storage, it makes sense to avoid any water from the center anchor well getting into the lateral lockers. Thus far we have used "water proof" bags for clothes--but as we finish the modifications, we may consider glassing in the top space. I consider this a bit of a design issue. The outside lockers are really of no useful purpose with water drainging thru them--If the anchor locker drain had been a better design, then both side lockers would give some significant additional storage space.
 
Sea Duck,

The Honda fuel computer uses a speed input from the pitot hole in the front edge of the engine lower unit. It's simply water pressure. As you say, it doesn't register at low speeds. You still can monitor fuel economy by pushing the R. button once and switching to the Gallons per hour reading since it does not depend on speed.

The L. button on the speedo should cause the display to show P, S or PS for both port and starboard engines. If it doesn't, it's wired wrong. There's a pretty complicated explanation of this in the installation brochure.

My fuel computer is quite accurate and I would not spend extra money for flowscan.

The fuel gauges vary depending on the boats attitude, on the trailer, at rest in the water or underway. Once you get used to them, they are a good indicator.

All the best, Roger
 
I think I may be responsible for the bulkheads in the forward (anchor locker) area. When we were at the factory for our initial on the water evalulation of TC255 hull #1, in July of 2005. I looked at the then unfinished hull of the #2 boat. The forward locker area was one large anchor locker. No bulkheads at all. It looked like an awfully large area to store a few hundred feet-at best- of anchor rode. I asked Jeff Messmer, if they could divide the forward area into three spaces. We had a lack of storage for clothes on our TC 24, and this area looked like a natural for clothing storage. Right there next to the berth, where you need to have clothing. Jeff indicated we could have the space divided into three compartments. The deck was designed to be self supporting, without any bulkheads. Our TC255 which was the 5th hull laid up has the anchor locker division, and I think all the boats produced thereafter are constructed the same.

Brent
 
Thanks Roger. It's encouraging to know that your Honda gauge works OK. I suspect mine isn't wired correctly. The operator's guide and the installation instructions leave a lot to be desired. I'm still not clear what the percentages in the "fuel integration error compensation values" represent, nor do I know what number the "fuel level resistance gauge" should be set on. The pitot tube is one of the main reasons I think a different kind of gauge would be better; they tend to get clogged. I would like to be able to determine what our most fuel-efficient rpm and trim settings are with various loads and props. Without an accurate miles/gallon mode that's difficult.

Dr. Bob thanks, I'll look into the Navman/Northstar/Standard Horizon and Lowrance units a little better.
 
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