Access to Hose/Wire Channel Below Main Sole

[scrimshawsc34]

Has anyone cut an inspection door to this channel to be bale to get to the wires, etc.?

[Stu Jackson]

Please tell us what boat you have.  Answers will vary based on Mark I or II.

[Hugh17]

Has anyone cut an inspection door to this channel to be bale to get to the wires, etc.?

It's on my project list. I just haven't done it. I have removed the teak and holly plywood and use a piece of fiberglass backed vinyl in my galley area. The floor under the teak and holly plywood is solid other than a few drainage/ventilation holes.

I plan to cut some inspection holes, probably rectangular, then add some supports along the edges so I can just drop the original cutout piece back down.

Please post some pictures when you do yours.

[Stu Jackson]

Absent a reply from the OP, would someone please explain to me what the question means?  And why someone thinks they need access?  To what? (Yes, I did read the title and I obviously do not understand it, dummy that I am! )

[Noah]

I installed a Beckson port/plate (had to modify trim flange flush) UNDER my plywood sole outside the head door to access shower drain and add wiring.

[Ron Hill]

Scrim: You obviously do not have a MK I or a MK II because the wiring going FWD from the main electrical panel (above the Nav table) - goes up and is hidden under the overhead outboard decking on either side of the hull!!

A thought

[scrimshawsc34]

Folks,
1. Mark 1.
2. Yes it is a Mark 1.
3. I'm sure it's a Mark 1. 



There is a channel that goes from the Stern to Amidships, under the engine to the Water Heater.  It's for Bilge Water, Hoses and transducer wires.

[Stu Jackson]

Folks,
1. Mark 1.
2. Yes it is a Mark 1.
3. I'm sure it's a Mark 1. 



There is a channel that goes from the Stern to Amidships, under the engine to the Water Heater.  It's for Bilge Water, Hoses and transducer wires.

scrimshawsc34,

WADR, we had no idea what boat you have.  What's the point of telling us three times?  The effort you spent typing that could have been used to make a signature as we requested.  All other boating forums,too, have that feature and most skippers use it, with good reason.

No, there isn't a "channel" for the bilge hose, water hoses and transducer wires.  At least there isn't on my boat.  The aft end of the bilge itself opens up into the wide space under the engine.  I know this because I have run new wires from my alternator and new water hoses to the head sink under the engine.  I used an unbent coat hanger to pull and push those through.  I also replaced my coolant hoses from the engine to the water heater (see Critical Upgrades) and once through the holes to starboard of the engine stringer, it is open under there, from the engine to the heater.

I recall seeing pictures of one boat where the space under the aft end of the engine was closed in with fiberglass with a hole drilled for hoses.  I think it may have been Vice Commodore Jon Windt's boat.  On my boat that sspace is wide open.  But that's an obstacle in only that one place below the aft end of the engine.  Otherwise it's wide open under there.

In any event, there is no channel.  At least on my boat.

[Paulus]

My hoses run along the port side of the engine.  The electrical wires run through conduits under the floor.  One conduit running from the space under the galley sink to the space in front of the holding tank. A second conduit from the area under the galley sink to the area by the water heater.  A third conduit from the area of the water heater to the space in front of the holding tank(by nav station). The conduits are pic pipes about 1" in diameter.  I have no open space under the engine.  As Ron pointed out a lot of wires run behind the overhead outboard decking.
Paul

[Stu Jackson]

Paul,

Thanks.  That's a very good description of the conduits.  I also have a conduit from the holding tank area below the main electrical panel that runs underneath the nav station locker and the head sole to underneath the head sink.  This conduit originally was for the #4 OEM wire "to and from" the alternator output to the C post of the 1-2-B switch.  When I installed our 100A alternator and ran the AO to the house bank, routed underneath the engine to the water heater space and then to the battery box and its fuse, that wire then only ran from the C post to the starter.

I still fail to understand how any "hole in the sole" would provide any access to a closed PVC conduit, nor how it would help in any way.  Noah's comment about access to the shower sump is the only hole there that makes any sense and the only hole ever mentioned in the last 32 years. 

[Hugh17]

Paul,

Thanks.  That's a very good description of the conduits.  I also have a conduit from the holding tank area below the main electrical panel that runs underneath the nav station locker and the head sole to underneath the head sink.  This conduit originally was for the #4 OEM wire "to and from" the alternator output to the C post of the 1-2-B switch.  When I installed our 100A alternator and ran the AO to the house bank, routed underneath the engine to the water heater space and then to the battery box and its fuse, that wire then only ran from the C post to the starter.

I still fail to understand how any "hole in the sole" would provide any access to a closed PVC conduit, nor how it would help in any way.  Noah's comment about access to the shower sump is the only hole there that makes any sense and the only hole ever mentioned in the last 32 years. 

Stu,

I don't think I have conduit under the cabin sole, at least I haven't noticed any. I do understand Paul's interest in creating an inspection opening in the cabin sole to allow access for possibly installing a shower sump kit, and to gain access for cleaning the bilge in the area between the galley and steps. I also hope to route my HVAC condensation drain into the shower sump pump to prevent that water from going into the bilge, where it currently runs. It's not that big of a deal but I'd really like to keep the bilge dry if possible. That's currently impossible, at least in the summer when the AC is running.

This proposed access area would also allow easier access for running the hot water hoses from the engine to the water heater.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I removed the teak/holly plywood from the galley and replaced it with a dimensional stable fiberglass backed vinyl flooring. The sole in this area is solid other than some ventilation and drain holes so the vinyl is easily supported. I plan to cut an access large enough to install a shower sump pump kit and then use the cutout piece of sole as the cover for the access hole by adding some support pieces under the sole and along the edges of the opening.

[Noah]

Why do you need a "shower sump pump kit"? Why not go with the OEM set-up with a pump hooked to shower drain hose then to the designated thru-hull (with anti-syphon loop)?   

[Hugh17]

Why do you need a "shower sump pump kit"? Why not go with the OEM set-up with a pump hooked to shower drain hose then to the designated thru-hull (with anti-syphon loop)?

I have the OEM sump pump set up. Installed a new pump last year. It works well, but I'd like to run the HVAC condensation line into a sump pump basin rather than have it draining into the bilge. If I can install a basin low enough for the HVAC then I can also route the drain for the shower and take care of both with one pump and float switch.

[Noah]

Can't you just tee your A/C condensate into an existing tru-hull drain line somewhere?

[britinusa]

Why do you need a "shower sump pump kit"? Why not go with the OEM set-up with a pump hooked to shower drain hose then to the designated thru-hull (with anti-syphon loop)?

I have the OEM sump pump set up. Installed a new pump last year. It works well, but I'd like to run the HVAC condensation line into a sump pump basin rather than have it draining into the bilge. If I can install a basin low enough for the HVAC then I can also route the drain for the shower and take care of both with one pump and float switch.

FYI, we collect our condensate in a jug (cat litter drum/container) and use it to flush the head rather than use salt or precious fresh water.

Paul