Winter projects completed boating season starts

Living in the midwest with a boating season of 4 months gives me time to do upgrades. Here is a list of my 2018 winter upgrades.
-Converted raw water flush to fresh water flush (Raritan Head)

-Moved two house batteries and thruster battery to starboard aft compartment.

-installed fresh water flush for engine and engine compartment light

-Installed 2 outlets in V berth area, cable TV outlets and 24" smart TV, 12 Volt fan, 12v light in pilot house


- Anchor raw water wash down

-22 gallon reserve fuel tank for fuel polishing and added cruise range


-Outside air ventilation for alternator cooling and cooler air induction for Volvo. Engine compartment exhaust blower to reduce high engine compartment temperatures. Added a digital thermometer to dash that monitors engine compartment temperatures.

-I made wider drop fins so that trim tabs will run parallel with centerline of boat.


-Wet sanded, Turbo cut, final polish and waxed blue hull to reduce visibility of factory hull patches, scuffs, orange peel, and swirl marks.It looks better but the patches are still visible.
-Repaired and rerouted deck drain hoses to get better drainage and prevent over flow into compartments.
-Repaired fuel fill hose routing replaced hose after finding it crushed from bulkhead causing a 50% obstruction in flow
-Removed cave mattress and installed carpeting.
- Recalibrated fuel sender to accurate calibrations based on recommendations from a Volvo service technician.

We are ready to start the 2018 boating season. We hope to see some Tugs and Cuts in our travels this year.

Very nice. You have been a busy man! 😀

busy indeed! did you manage to fit that 22 Gal fuel tank where the batteries were sitting in the port locker?

Impressive list of upgrades for one off-season. You must have a shop to work in. That's the biggest hassle I have is no warm/dry place to work.

When you use the raw water flush do you take the top off of the strainer? I routed mine back under the aft rail so I can hook up to it with the engine hatch closed.

Cutwater28GG":17cf4bme said:

did you manage to fit that 22 Gal fuel tank where the batteries were sitting in the port locker?

Click to expand...

Yes, the three batteries were moved to starboard to make room for the tank and also to help correct the boat listing to the port.

NorthernFocus":17cf4bme said:

When you use the raw water flush do you take the top off of the strainer?

Click to expand...

If I'm using the hose attached to a dock spigot (water pressure ) I will start the engine with flush valve closed and thru hull open. Once engine is running I will open flush valve and then close thru hull and reverse the procedure when shutting down. If I'm flushing with vinegar and water from a 5 gallon bucket. I'll put the hose attached to the flush valve in a bucket start engine close thru hull open flush valve suck the mixture from bucket shut engine down when the bucket is empty. Its like cleaning a coffee maker !!! This is my plan I haven't used it yet. I store the boat in a heated building.

I agree with the previous posters that you have been very productive over the winter.

In regards to your performance and cooling modifications, I would appreciate it if you would now collect and report some data on their effectiveness. This could help me and others who might consider doing something similar in the future.

As I understand your post, you've made two modifications to improve airflow in the engine compartment. One is the addition of a 4 inch vent tube to improve airflow into the engine compartment. The vent tube connects a stainless vent mounted on the on the starboard side of the hull via a PVC elbow to an area in the lower portion of the bilge, starboard of the engine. The second modification is the addition of an engine compartment exhaust fan mounted in the upper, port, aft portion of the engine compartment. The exhaust is vented into the port, aft storage area, and perhaps further, but where the exhaust duct ends is unclear to me. One photo shows two switches, each labelled "Engine Fan." It is also not clear to me why two switches are required for this fan.

It would be very helpful to have data on the performance effect of these modifications, both individually and together. I suggest that you establish a baseline by disabling both devices. The exhaust fan need only be turned off, and the starboard vent could be covered with blue tape. Run the engine at cruising speed long enough (20-30 min?) for temperatures to be stable and record temperatures at various points in the engine compartment. Then push the engine up to full throttle and record maximum boat speed and peak RPM. For the second run, turn on the exhaust fan and record similar temperature and performance data after a stabilization period. Turn the fan off and remove the blue tape for the third run. Then leave the blue tape off and turn the fan on for the fourth run. That should show the full benefit of the modifications. I am anxious to see the results.

As far as the trim tab modifications, it may be more difficult to to measure their effectiveness. I watch my boat speed as the trim tabs are lowered in small increments. In normal conditions/loading, peak speed is obtained with the tabs 2/3rds to 3/4 down. It seems to me that you might see peak speed earlier in the lowering process, but am interested to see your data.

Thanx for your help,
Rich

Rich, I have other pictures in my album of the ventilation install. The blower exhaust warm compartment air out the stainless vent mounted on the port side. The outside air comes in from the vent manifold that I fabricated port side. Air monitoring will be done by a digital air sensor located 3" form the engine air induction filter. Bringing air in thru cockpit deck / hull openings with a enclosure is not sufficient in our boat. Using the engine induction air as the only resource of removing compartment air is not sufficient especially when running at lower rpm 1850 rpm moves approx 165 CFM.

I will post good data once I have made several different runs with different ambient air and sea water temperatures.

Extra Fan switch is for a future cockpit blower that will pull warm air out of engine compartment and exhaust it in the cockpit enclosure to add heat on cooler days.

The drop fins help the C26. I have a full season running with drop fins and would not run with out them. The new Fabricated Drop fins are made so the fin can run parallel to the center line of the boat. The OEM Bennett drop fins did not have enough mounting surface to do this without loosing working surface. ( the transom is not straight across it is angled )

Brian, perhaps you could shoot video and post a link to youtube. Narration with the video would be very helpful. Very impressive work and great ideas. It would be even greater if this forum could support video.

After my 2018 shake down cruise I'm posting a few results. I was very happy with the modified drop fin performance we were running in a 1' chop with a 2'to3' swell. The bow rode at a very comfortable attitude,hull spray coming out at the step of the hull, good visibility , very good reaction from trim tabs. RPM increase over last year 100rpm, 3 mph increase in speed. I was going to feel good about equivalent performance over last year because of addition equipment (weight) added to the boat over the winter. 39 total gallons of fuel on board when started, 30 gallons of water (40 cutwater gallons).


Ventilation system is going to be interesting, 52 degree water temperature , ambient outside temperature 60 degrees , Temp probe was displaying 116 F and climbing this probe is 6" from air intake of the engine. outside ventilation open and working ( I verified that there was air movement when running I could feel cool air coming in with my hand in front of vent hose),I turned the fan on and after approx 5 minutes it stated to drop and maintained 115 degree. I will do complete set of test as the weather gets a little warmer with a comparison of no outside ventilation ( blocking off the vent and no blower) and installed ventilation. Volvo spec is max temp 40 degrees above ambient using 86 degree as ambient. 113 degrees is optimum.

Fuel tank sending unit calibration comparison to Garmin after running boat and using fuel. The calibration is not perfect but much more accurate then factory calibration.


-Anchor wash down works great !
-TV is awesome , smart TV we pick up marina WIFI and watch the same programs as we do at home.
-Battery Starboard with fuel tank full the boat has no List. I will keep reserve tank full most of the time but circulating it to main tank by polishing keeping fuel fresh.
Rangers and Cutwaters are awesome boats, we are just trying to make our boat suitable for our needs and hopefully maintain the longevity that is expected.

excellent news Brian. congrats!

I know this is three years later but do you have a template for the trim tab fabrication? I would like to make some.

Thank You

Bumping post delayed in moderation queue.

cwatson":2f0l65hw said:

I know this is three years later but do you have a template for the trim tab fabrication? I would like to make some.

Thank You

Click to expand...

Look in my photo album. There are photos of the drop fins I made. The photos have dimensions.