Later Whitby 42s came with a sea chest. This is a great idea as it cuts down on thru-hulls. I am having the usual problems deciding whether I contract this out or try and build one myself. Should it be solid fiberglass or cored? Any other options, Stainless Steel for example?
8 comments:
you could do this.
http://www.sv-restless.com/Gallery%20Images%20HTML/systems_4.html
jc
Great picture JC. I have been considering something like that. Some mfr out there makes a nice bronze multi-port manifold. Cant remember who.
i know Vetus makes a bronze manifold. that would be pretty easy to install. Easy being relative of course.
jc
here it is.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/c95187af#/c95187af/94
the website i took the manifold picture is worth a read. over 20 years to build and launch his boat.
Negatives of a Sea Chest
We know some of the positives, but one negative is air leakage. If one of the systems, or the chest itself has a small crack, or bad connection air can leak into the chest. It eventually fills with air and then the other systems needing raw water ingest the air causing problems. i.e. Engine Cooling I actually had this problem last year. The diagnosis took weeks due to our false assumptions. The fix seems OK so far. Gerry If you want more detail just call me.
Thanks for the link jc, I must bookmark that.
Yes that's a great link. I found it some time ago, what a project.
Patrick,I get your point about the air leakage. That is something that needs watching.
The air leak was due to me stupidly forcing water from a garden hose from outside into the refrigerator cooling output, which is above the water line. This damaged a one-way valve that allowed air to leak into the sea chest. It was intermittent because the fridge only came on intermittently. The air would only build up if the engine cooling demand was high AND the fridge was on.
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