1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
mikegcny
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Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:32 am
Location: NOFO New York

1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Postby mikegcny » Tue Sep 05, 2017 9:46 pm

I have been fishing often this season and, as I am sure most of you know, the open transom of the Outrage 22 allows in quite a bit of water. Earlier in the season I was contemplating building the transom up with KING Starboard. Since I have twin engines such a system would not work that well and, in my opinion, would look terrible.

A few weeks ago while drifting in the race off of Fishers Island and standing in about 4-inches of water I came up with an idea: I would rig the live well with a large bilge pump (or pumps). This would basically make the live well into another splash well.

Last weekend I pulled up the aft deck section to inspect and plan out what I would need to do. I found the useless port tunnel full of water which makes me think that all of the tank foam is soaked. I also noticed that when the boat was rigged for twin engines and batteries the tops of the rigging tunnels (between the tunnel and live well) was notched a bit (about 1" vertical and 2" horizontal) to allow for wires to cross. This basically means that every time the boat swamps, the port tunnel fills with water. I should note that the tops of area they notched were sealed up nicely with epoxy.

For the problem of water coming over the transom:

--install a 1-inch drain tube from the port tunnel into the live well. I would most likely keep this plugged to prevent a massive amount of water from entering the tunnel. The plug would be removed when the boat is not in use.

--install a bilge pump (or pumps) in the live well. I would put in two float switches, one high and one low. The floats would be switchable so that I could use the well as a live well (high float) or as an additional splash well (low float).

--seal the top of the live well between the live well and port tunnel so that if the live well fully floods it will not get into the port tunnel.

Wondering if this sounds like a good idea? I figure even if the boat does eventually swamp, the pumps will be capable of bailing it.

I should note that over the winter I also plan on:

--remove the full deck

--replace the tank and fuel lines

--re-wire everything

--rebuild the deck similar to what Jeff Rohlfing did. I don't think that my boat is a soft as Jeff's was.

--move up the console a few inches.

jimh
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Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: 1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Postby jimh » Tue Sep 05, 2017 10:06 pm

On my 22-foot hull, which is a REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive, the port rigging tunnel seems to go nowhere. It ends at the stern, and then a small drain tube runs across the aft end of the live well, rigged so that it exits the port tunnel a bit above the lowest possible position, slopes slightly down as it runs across, and then drains into the starboard rigging tunnel. I have never investigated if there is any water remaining in the port rigging tunnel. I just assume that any water in there would run to the aft end when the bow rises (as when getting on plane), build up enough level to rise to the drain inlet, and then drain over to the starboard tunnel and flow out into the sump. The starboard tunnel ends in the deeper sump with a pump.

The aft cockpit live well on my boat has a drain to the sea. If you open the drain, the well fills with water to the water line, which is not too far below the deck level. I keep the drain plugged. I have a small pump in there just to evacuate water that collects from rain running into the cockpit and draining into the live well. When the well is full of water, the little pump takes an eternity to pump it out, maybe five minutes or more. That pump drains out the hidden scuppers at cockpit deck level that exit between the hull and the air gap to the Whaler Drive.

If you want a pump to evacuate water from the live well quickly, you will need a good pump, one that can handle a high volume of water per minute and also lift it out of the well and over the transom. I don't have a lot of faith in centrifugal pumps to do that. But perhaps a really big one would work. The centrifugal pump in the starboard sump works well, but it does not have to lift the water very much, less than a foot, to pump it overboard via the through-hull exhaust fitting in the hull side just above the water line. A pump at the bottom of the live well will have to lift the water at least a foot higher, possibly more if the pump hose exhausts over the transom. The amount of head on the pump reduces the output flow rate.

jimh
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Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: 1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Postby jimh » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:12 am

When you get around to "re-wire everything," you will probably find most wire on the boat is just fine, you do not need to replace it. A few years ago I put in a new secondary power distribution panel at the helm, but I kept almost all of the original wiring. The only circuit I found needed to be re-wired was the stern navigation lamp circuit. For reasons unknown, that circuit had three or four splices in the wiring. That run of wire was discarded and replaced with a single new run, no splices. If you need advice on electrical projects, use the SMALL BOAT ELECTRICAL forum. Here is the link:

http://continuouswave.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

mikegcny
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:32 am
Location: NOFO New York

Re: 1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Postby mikegcny » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:54 am

Thanks for the advice Jim. For some reason on mine there is no drain tube between the port and starboard tunnels. I currently have an 1,100-GPH pump in the starboard well (the area you described) and although the automatic mode doesn't work, it performs well.

I am going to try out a 2,000-GPH in the live well and see how it performs via the existing thru hull (just above the waterline on the starboard side).

For the re-wiring, I am planning on replacing all of the switches and circuit breakers them. I am going to put in deck lighting, flood lights, a chart plotter, a horn, and a new VHF for next summer. I also plan on putting in a third house battery.

mikegcny
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:32 am
Location: NOFO New York

Re: 1984 Outrage 22 - Tunnel and Live Well Work

Postby mikegcny » Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:45 pm

I did all the modifications to the boat today. I dressed all the wires in the rigging tunnel to make it easier to get the pumps installed, wired, and connect hoses. I hope everything will be dry tomorrow so I can test it out.