45 convertible engine room floor

[big papa]

hi hof,

let me start out by expressing my gratitude for such an informative owner's forum. i'm new to the forum and new to a 1985 hatteras 45 convertible. i'd like to get just a couple of pieces of information to start.

-1 in the engine room center line and aft of the water tank what is under the floor?

-2 is the holding tank under the master stateroom starboard side?

thank you

 

[Diesel]

hi hof,

let me start out by expressing my gratitude for such an informative owner's forum. i'm new to the forum and new to a 1985 hatteras 45 convertible. i'd like to get just a couple of pieces of information to start.

-1 in the engine room center line and aft of the water tank what is under the floor?

-2 is the holding tank under the master stateroom starboard side?

thank you

Congrats on your boat ! I'm not sure there is anything under that floor other than the keel and the holding tank is to starboard under the master stateroom.

 

[big papa]

diesel,

thank you for responding and for the congrats. i'm still going thru all the systems of the boat and noticed that there is not a macerator for the holding tank. was that normal from hatteras in 1985? this 45c has the vacuflush head.

 

[Diesel]

diesel,

thank you for responding and for the congrats. i'm still going thru all the systems of the boat and noticed that there is not a macerator for the holding tank. was that normal from hatteras in 1985? this 45c has the vacuflush head.

I have the same boat and same vacuflush set up...no macerator from the holding tank.

 

[big papa]

diesel,

Any idea on the gallon capacity for the holding tank. I thought I read about 140 gallons. Is this true?

 

[magnawake]

My 85 year 43' MY has an aftermarket macerator pump. It looks like there was once another one mounted on the wall as well. Its hard to tell. I'm sure you will enjoy your new boat. The people here helped me out a great deal and I couldnt have done it without the forum's help. Three years ago I was totally overwhelmed at looking at all the systems. The owners manual (case) is huge. I went from "holy crap" to anchoring out a whole week with my family because of the help here. Congrats on the hatt. Welcome.

 

[magnawake]

Mine is 90 gallons. I bet yours is close to that.

 

[big papa]

magnawake,

my head has been spinning for a week now. i spoke with detroit diesel two days ago and the parts rep. asked me very politely to "take a breath" i'm still giggling just thinking about it. I must have been a machine gun of questions.

 

[Diesel]

diesel,

Any idea on the gallon capacity for the holding tank. I thought I read about 140 gallons. Is this true?

Yes 140 is correct.

 

[big papa]

So the reason I was asking is because about 8” behind the water tank (between the engines) there is a deep gouge in the fiberglass floor. And when sitting a little bow down stinky water would ever so slowly seep out of the gouge. I spoke with hatteras yachts yesterday to find out that this area below the floor is probably filled with two part foam.

My plan now is to cut an inspection hatch to remove the water (and stink). I’ll let everyone know of my findings when it happens.

 

[rwappleton]

Welcome! And welcome to keel water!

 

[big papa]

Just an update and also looking for some insight... I used a 4" hole saw a cut an opening in the engine room floor just about in line with stuffing boxes. The open hole was foamed right to the top. I was able to suck out about 7 gallons of really stinky keel water. I'm concerned that there is much more in the lower regions of the keel. I could only get the shop vac in just a few inches. I didn't want to start carving out foam until more research was done. Has anyone drilled a hole in the exterior part of the keel. My thoughts were to install a drain plug somewhere in the lower aft portion of the keel. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thank you. And happy New Year.....

 

[jim rosenthal]

Yes, this is done fairly often. But you should do it on a haulout and be prepared to leave your boat out of the water for a while, for the interior of the keel to dry thoroughly. It takes a while.

I think some of the water that gets in to the hollow keel gets there from up above, although some may migrate through the laminate. And yes it does stink.

 

[Avenger]

We opened up the keel on my 36 and let it drain before repairing the fiberglass. The foam actually held up really well so once it was empty and dry we just glassed over it. It's not uncommon for the keels to get cracks from improper blocking which is where the water usually comes from.

 

[31FlyCruzr]

My boat is smaller, but it had a copper pipe from the forward bilge to the engine room bulkheads. I believe it was there to let the water seeping in thru the shaft packing to reach the lower forward bilge pump when in dock. This was (in my opinion) designed to keep the stink water out from under the main salon limiting it to the accessable areas for cleaning. My 1969 copper pipe had corroded thru long ago. Oil etc is lighter than water so the nasty stuff was ozzing out of the pipe into the space below the floor. It made a significant mess over many years. I found it when I replaced the forward tank.

I don't know if the 45 is the same setup, but a bore score on the hard thru the limber hole might be something to consider.

 

[bostonhatteras]

We opened up the keel on my 36 and let it drain before repairing the fiberglass. The foam actually held up really well so once it was empty and dry we just glassed over it. It's not uncommon for the keels to get cracks from improper blocking which is where the water usually comes from.

This scenerio is common. The keel being the lowest gets hit by grounding or cracked and let's water seep in causing that awful smell. You certainly can drill any size hole you want to drain it out. It's fiberglass and repairs are relatively quickly done. Be careful with this but a technique to dry laminate is to wash it down with acetone. The evaporation of the acetone brings the water with it. I've seen keels virtually flushed by drilling the hole in the lowest point and literally letting acetone seep through the keel by pouring it in wherever an access point is, by stringers or tanks etc. no smoking!!!! Find the source of the water intrusion, repair it and the smelly water wi be a thing of the past.

 

[saltshaker]

Fix it before you get the dreaded "Hatteras smell." The foam isn't structural so if you need to remove some and replace it later don't worry about it. Once the funk gets in there it can be a major PITA to get rid of.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Yes. Drying out the area in question is essential, otherwise the smell will come back.