26 Cutwater on the hard winter projects

After a season of boating with our 26 Cutwater I came up with a few Projects for winter. We are planning on cruising the Loop .Starting this Fall for our first segment- Racine Wis. to Green Tuttle bay . Storage in the galley, Storage in forward berth area , Storage in the head and showering in the head , Cooking while under way with all electric stove / Micro/ convection oven , clean potable water for cooking and drinking, A transom shower . These are projects that I have been addressing this winter . I down loaded pics in my album of some of these projects.
I Removed the seat in the forward berth area and built shelves for storage bins to sit on .That's what we use for our cloths and personals while cruising.
I made curtain rods for a shower curtain in the head so that we don't have to remove towels and other thing stored in the side shelve and things in the cabinets. The mirror will not get wet and reduces the chance of water getting in the electronics that is behind the mirror. I removed the privacy curtain in the berth area (we never use it and the rod is in the way of opening the head door all the way) ) and used the material for the shower curtain so it matched the rest of the boat .
I installed a Transom shower purchased it from overtons . Hot and cold water with 10' hose. Stainless steel polished finished door.
I made shelves for the galley cabinets, It really added storage room .
I installed a whole house water filter . I purchased it at Menards . Its made buy DuPont . One cartridge is good for 1500 gallons . That is quite a few fill ups. Plus we filter the water when we fill the tank.
I am in the process of installing a 2000W Kisae inverter 2000w continuous 4000 peak that I will use while under way with the engine running so we have 120V . I have purchased a 2000 watt Honda for use on the hook. I will post pics of the install when completed.
I am also looking for suggestions on adding a 40 gallon fuel transfer tank to add to my cruising range.

I have the boat in heated storage for the winter and the marina lets me work in the building . Its my way of still boating during the winter . I hope everyone had a great holiday !
Brian Brown
PORT-A-GEE
26 Cutwater

Still a couple of years (daughter finishing up college) till we join the Ranger/Cutwater family, but the Cutwater 26 is among my favorite boats. You have the set-up I day-dream about, 26 with the aft enclosure on a triple axle trailer, as this offers up so many boating possibilities. :mrgreen:

I enjoy reading (and seeing) owner modifications to their boats. Looking forward to seeing you future posts, especially as you get the boat ready for extended cruising!

Jim

Nice work! Love the look of that transom shower.

I have completed a few more projects on the boat this winter.I have posted them in my Albums. Items completed, Inverter, Shelves, Water filter, shower curtain and rods. I made a cockpit table.
New projects started , motor mount on aft rails for dingy, installation of weaver davits for new aluminum rigid hull inflatable. 120V and 12v receptacles install in forward cabin by TV. Run a water line from raw water wash down pump to the bow for anchor rode wash. Make a prop puller for Prop removal. Do a three step process Primers and bottom paint for all underwater metal , Trim Tabs , Keel protector, Rudder, swim platform supports.
I'm looking for input on a portable generator. I have looked at the 2000 inverter Honda , Yamaha , and Generac .The Generac is the cheapest . Has anyone used one of these to run their marine air unit ?
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

Bravo.

Where did you locate the water filter?

Which dinghy did you select? I looked at the Achilles aluminum. But I am swayed towards the takacat inflatable. Would love your perspective.

The water filter is a Dupont whole house water filter housing with by-pass and it has a charcoal filter in it for sediment, and odor, removes some chemicals also. I purchased it from Amazon. I had to order the mounting bracket separate from amazon. The fittings and filter and misc.parts it cost approx $70.00 to install. I filter the water when filling the tank and now will filter the water coming out of the tank to faucets. Over fill but we use the water for cooking and drinking .
The Aluminum rigid inflatable is a GALA . Distributed out of Canada, made in Europe. We purchased it at the Chicago boat show. We have looked at several brands and models. My biggest concern was weight at the stern. Our Cutwater 26 is stern heavy,Im not complaining just working with it! The 270 Gala 8'10"has a 4 person capacity,10hp,forward storage locker and seat, keel protector,Anodized finished hull. It seemed like a good dingy for the money and weighs 99lbs. Gala is Grand inflatable boats Aluminum line. I hope it works for us!
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

Good morning Brian,
We also have a Cutwater 26 with the 180 HP Yanmar, we stay on board two to three mounts during the summer anchoring out most of the time.
How did you rout the water line from the salt water pump in the engine room to the anchor locker, especily the section from the hanging locker forward?
Check out our photo album, hopefully there are some ideas that will help with your modfications.
Mike
M/V Elan

The water line is a project I am pursuing. I have removed the panels on port and starboard side in midship storage area. I have access to running water line either side. There is room behind the head wall starboard side to the v-berth. I looked under the v berth liner where the bow thruster is I am hoping to get the water line run under the liner. Plan b will be to completely relocate the pump where the bow truster is and put a thru hull and seacock and strainer in there and not have a stern wash down. It is a easy run from there. I need to do a little more digging around in the forward area . I do believe there is space between the outer hull and the bow liner. What are your performance numbers with the 180hp. Cruise speed , GPH at cruise speed , Top speed , and what do you find to be your optimal speed / GPH. I did look at you album nice stuff !
Brian Brown
Cutwater26
PORT-A-GEE

Good evening Brian,
Top speed, full fuel & water; 13.5 kts
Crusing speed 7kts/2.6 gph no wind or current
Please keep me up to date on your washdown project?
Thanks,
Mike
M/V Elan 180hp Yanmar

how do you find the 8"10 beam of that dinghy on the cutwater? I assume it sticks out wider than the boat? Any issues docking?

Did you consider the Achilles 270 AL? if so what ruled it out for you?

The Gala 270 and the Achilles have almost identical specs. Achilles has the name and have been around forever. My father bought a tender in the 80's and it is still being used today .Great boats ! My reasons for going with the Gala , slightly deeper interior , deeper V, forward storage locker with a padded seat , Two bench seats included too. The rubber rail going around the outside of the tubes has a larger deflection edge to keep it a bit drier. I felt that the quality was equal to the Achilles( my opinion ) .The Gala was equally priced to the Achilles if you shopped around . Same warranty .
The length ,yes 4" longer then the width of the boat. Actually , the 8"6" will stick out off the swim platform. I can't say it works fine because I haven't piloted the boat with it on the stern . I can't imagine that 2" on each side will make that much difference. Its hard to find 8' 6" rigid hulls to have a 4 person capacity or 900 lbs + capacity.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

Thanks Brian. Appreciate the insights. For my light use case I am struggling to justify the cost and weight over a rollup softbottomed although for the PNW an Alu rib would be beneficial.

my use case is an infrequent use to ferry a few people to the dock and a backup safety boat should we have the catastrophic failure in the cutwater that leads to sinking. I dont mind the repeated trips. the real question is is a soft bottom a false economy because I'll end up wanting a rib in the end anyway; because a single rock beach landing leads to a puncture. just how sensitive are these soft floor boats?

I also only want to get a 2.5hp outboard to keep the weight down at the back. on the 28 the only real sensible place to mount the outboard is on the port side; in my boat thats where I have the 4 batteries. in the new models I see they now balance two in each locker.

Added a few more winter Projects to my Photo album.

Radar Dome adjusting studs My dome was not level side to side. I also wanted to pitch it down so the dome is level fore/aft while cruising.

Replaced the floor in forward cabin. It was damaged. Small piece broke off the corner .

I made a dingy motor bracket that mounts to the rail in the cockpit and also is used to mount my Magna grill to.

Fuel filter Replacement!!! (First time removing Factory Filter) I am replacing the Volvo fuel filter ( Primary) mounted on the 220 D3 block. It is tight to begin with to get to . Not bad if the thing was not so tight. I drained it ,then proceeded to remove it. I used a filter wrench first no way ! Then a strap wrench with a 1/2" breaker bar NoWAY!!! it just destroyed the filter. I ended up removing all the electronics on the top of the engine ,the metal cowling the electronic is mounted , to gain access to the 2 torx head bolts that bolt the filter bracket to the block . That assembly is in a vise in my garage ( pictures of it in my Album) and still can not get it to move. Next step is to cut it off and try not to damage the housing. I have read about this removal being hard in post (Tugnuts) I never thought it would be this hard. I am glad Im doing it now and not when I have a problem. I can't imagine being on the water and removing this thing. Im sure once the factory filter is removed it will be quite easy to replace.
Brian Brown
Cutwater 26
PORT-A-GEE

BB marine":ssdbrpwz said:

I'm looking for input on a portable generator. I have looked at the 2000 inverter Honda , Yamaha , and Generac .The Generac is the cheapest .

Click to expand...

Over on the Cbrat site they all recommend the Honda - lots of threads on generators there. They all say the Honda is worth the extra money - I am inclined to agree but then I worked for Honda for over 12 years so I am a bit slanted in my view.

Regards, Rob

Fuel filter Replacement!!! (First time removing Factory Filter) I am replacing the Volvo fuel filter ( Primary) mounted on the 220 D3 block. It is tight to begin with to get to . Not bad if the thing was not so tight. I drained it ,then proceeded to remove it. I used a filter wrench first no way ! Then a strap wrench with a 1/2" breaker bar NoWAY!!! it just destroyed the filter. I ended up removing all the electronics on the top of the engine ,the metal cowling the electronic is mounted , to gain access to the 2 torx head bolts that bolt the filter bracket to the block . That assembly is in a vise in my garage ( pictures of it in my Album) and still can not get it to move. Next step is to cut it off and try not to damage the housing. I have read about this removal being hard in post (Tugnuts) I never thought it would be this hard. I am glad Im doing it now and not when I have a problem. I can't imagine being on the water and removing this thing. Im sure once the factory filter is removed it will be quite easy to replace.

Click to expand...

Woe the factory install of the D3 fuel filter! I had a similar experience with my first filter change on our D3. I suspect the filter is installed at the Volvo factory by miscalibrated robot. There is no way a human could overtighten the filter by so much! I eventually got it off without as much disassembly as BB marine but it was definitely a challenge. I bought a new filter wrench sized exactly for the filter with a short enough handle to fit the space. I snugged up the wrench on the filter with friction tape and then placed a large crow bar down against the engine mount below and leveraged it against the filter handle. A full hour of everything I had, sweat everywhere, plenty of breaks for rest and I finally had it off. Even when I was able to get the first bit of movement there was no relief until nearly a full turn. The wrench was toast when done.

The filter replacement this year went relatively easy!

I was able to remove the filter from the housing in a vise, using a larger strap wrench and a lot of swearing. It too didn't really break loose until at least a full turn. I measured the thickness of the rubber gasket on the new filter 5/32 of an inch thick , the gasket of the old filter was 1/16 of an inch thick ( really compressed). It was so tight it actually galled the stainless steel housing . I had to stone the groves off the surface before installing the new filter. I posted pictures of the filter and housing after removal. Now time for reassembly . I'm glad I did it as preventative maintenance. Good job Red Raven on removing it in place. I tried but just couldn't get enough on it in the boat. On the positive side I am a little more familiar with the engine and its electrical components.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

Hi Brian great ideas. I'll have to put some to use, after the first season on my C28. I've only had it in the water for 3 days and I can see the need for more storage.

We launched the boat last weekend and have already realized the extra storage space. I have added some more Items and will put them in my album.
Brian Brown
Cutwater 26
PORT-A-GEE

Hi Brian, Interested in your shower curtain. I want to install one on my 2011 29' Ranger and have been looking at bendable rods that mount on the ceiling however ceiling is not consistent heights and I worry about what I'm drilling into. Your solution seems much better. I'm wondering if the corner of the curtains are connected (Velcro-zipper, etc) or if they even need to be?. Also when drilling into the outside bulkhead, how far in did you drill? Appreciate any info you can provide.

#4 on Bucket List":2j5vzzhq said:

Hi Brian, Interested in your shower curtain. I want to install one on my 2011 29' Ranger and have been looking at bendable rods that mount on the ceiling however ceiling is not consistent heights and I worry about what I'm drilling into. Your solution seems much better. I'm wondering if the corner of the curtains are connected (Velcro-zipper, etc) or if they even need to be?. Also when drilling into the outside bulkhead, how far in did you drill? Appreciate any info you can provide.

Click to expand...

The corner is a nylon zipper. I did this because it has two separate rods at different elevations. Each curtain is hung separately and zipped in the corner. The head's ceiling on the C-26 is part of the interior liner. There is a small gap between the interior liner and the exterior deck. The interior liner is approximately 1/4" thick the machined mounting plates that the rods screw into are 1/4" thick. I drilled a correct size hole for #8 self tapping screws to mount the rod. I then used a smaller bit, inserted it in the hole to measure how much space there was before the screw would hit the exterior deck. I used 3/4" long # 8 screws to mount the rods. The wood bulkhead measured more then 1/2 thick. I wasn't sure if it was 5/8" or 3/4" I used the same screws to mount to the wood and it didn't penetrate through. You can look at the pictures posted in my album to help with this explanation.