Drip tray on CD31

[Dean Abramson]

The engine mounting bed on our CD31 includes a fiberglass drip tray under the engine. Our 25D had the same arrangement, almost.

At the forward end of the drip tray is what I call the dam, the wall which keeps liquids in the drip tray. On my 25D, that's all there was; if the water got too high in the drip tray, then it ran over the dam, across the surface where the holding tank inspection port is, and ran into the bilge.

But on our 31, there is a hole down low in the center of the dam, through which, in our case, a hose ran (until I removed it today) from the drip tray to the bilge. This means that even if just a little water is in the drip tray, it runs out through the hose.

I don't like this, because I want to keep my bilge dry, and because I like to see how much water I am collecting, because this is where the stuffing box drips go. In the 25D, as long as I sponged out the drip tray now and then, that water never wound up in the bilge.

When I pulled the hose out, I was expecting to find that the dam was hollow, and that the hose had just run from one hole (on the aft side of the dam), through the hollow void in the dam, to another hole (on the forward surface. The hose had been caulked heavily at each hole.

But I was surprised that when the hose was gone, I could feel that it is an actual tunnel, like the dam is solid glass and this tunnel goes through that, or there is a glass or plastic tube that runs through the a hollow in the dam between the holes.

Can anyone picture this?

I am wondering if this is standard on the 31, or other boats. And if so, what is the theory behind it. Why have a 5 inch high dam, if you are going to have a drain passage 4 inches below the lip? And why would you want to direct possible leaking oil or whatever right into your bilge?

I want to plug the hole on the aft side of the dam, but maybe not permanently, as I can think of scenarios where I might want to use this tunnel. (Like if I spilled lots of oil in the drip tray, and wanted to run a hose from the drip tray to a collection jar.)

Does anyone have a suggestion for some type of tapered rubber plug I could use for this?

I am interested in hearing any comments on this arrangment.

Thanks,

Dean

[Tom in Cambria]

Hi Dean,

I have the exact same set up on my 31 so I imagine that it was standard for all 31s with the Universal engine. I don't know the answer to your question, but I always just assumed it was to catch the occasional oil drip from the engine and they never figured there would be more than a trace of oil there. Then when you wanted to mop up the oil you could flush it with soapy water and catch it with a tuna can or rag. I keep one of those oil-sorb pads in the bottom of mine to collect any oil that drips down before it runs out the hole. Unfortunately the alternator sits on the gear cover as you know and tends to crack the cover which allows more oil to drip than they planned on. It could also be that the idea was that when changing the oil you could just let it drain into this sump and then pump it from there into containers. Then to get the last little bit up you flushed it with soapy water and collected it from the hole or let it drain into the bilge over the holding tank via the hole. I don't know, I'm just guessing.

There was a design modification that John N. in Oriental traced down which apparently cures the oil drip problem and alternator mounting design, but it's a fairly expensive modification and a lot of work to get to. I think John sold his 31 as we haven't heard from him in a long time. Most hardware stores have a little bag of rubber stoppers of various sizes. I'm sure one of them would fit if you just want to plug it up. Or you could, perhaps, make one from silicone sealant. It could be that Beta Marine has a better design as they use the same block as Universal did.

[Dean Abramson]

Tom,

Does yours have a hose too? Or just the tunnel? Judging the by sloppy, ineffective the way it was caulked to the dam/tunnel, I took the hose to be the PO's work. The hose, it seems, was to keep the liquids off of the top of the holding tank.

And, since you have the same engine: do you have a hose which runs from a fitting on the top of the engine (from a breather??) down into the drip tray?

Dean

[Bill Romeo]

I always wondered about this as well. My CD31 has the same set up but does not have the tunnel or hose. I actually installed a plug for the hole and keep an absorbant rag in the bottom of the tray. Mine actually does collect minor amounts of water which I assume is from the stffing box(?).

[Phil Shedd]

I also wondered about this hose until I did a in depth search. This hose starts as the drain hole on the back dam under the engine .The hole drains the water that drips from the shaft seal and drains to the bilge. ( clean water) The hose runs the lenght of the engine drip area.

I find it is important to clean out the area under the seal as dirt some times collects there and will plug the hose. When this happens then it will over flow into containment area under the engine. This in turn if it fills will flow into the bilge also. Oil and whatever that may be in the engine area is now in the bilge and makes for a difficult cleaning job. I use oil absorbing cloth in the well under the engine to pick up any oil or fuel that might drip.

I make a point of washing and then use a wet vac to clean under the cockpit . This year I will paint this area. A tough area to work in but needs to be done.

When I have to clean under the engine I use hot water and Dawn dish soap seems to work best. Make sure you get way under the engine. There is a bigger area there than you would think.

I write this from my hotel room in St Paul Mn. First time to see the Mississippi River . I here in St Paul for of all things a Snow Conference.

Phil

[Pete]

Hello,

On my CD, I have the same set up, except that the hose is attached to the hole in the lower tray and runs into the shower sump area. This keeps any "engine/water/yuck" contained in the shower sump tray. Good side, it keeps stuff out of the lower bilge. Bad, anytime you empty the shower sump you need to know what you are sending overboard. Given the capacity of the shower sump, I feel its easier to catch the mess there instead of all the way down in the bilge.

Pete

[Tom in Cambria]

Mine never had a hose that I'm aware of. Just a drain hole and tunnel. But I would think it's a good thing to have. As far as a hose running down alongside the engine, there is a hose from the head cover that runs down the port side of the engine. It's shown in the parts manual as number 301396 and called a "breather hose". It attaches to part number 299854 called a "breather elbow" which is on the top of the "Cylinder head cover" part number 300157

[Dean Abramson]

Tom,

That's it. Does your breather hose just end in the drip tray? Mine does. I am wondering if that hose should be supported, and not be in a spot where it's lower end could sometimes be underwater.

Dean

[Tom in Cambria]

I don't think the hose needs to be supported. It only has to hold its own weight and if it ever came off it would be no big deal as it would just drop down to the drip pan. As far as the end being submerged under water if you're worried about that you could always just cut it off high enough that the water would spill over the top of the dam/pan before it covered the end of the hose. I imagine that they brought it down to the pan to direct any oil that might drip out of it into the pan rather than flip it around the engine. I never thought about it, but the Kuboda engine was originally designed to be used in a tractor where submerging the end of the hose would never be a possibility as it would be in a boat. I just figured the Universal people would have taken that into consideration when they did the marine conversion so they could install them in boats. I'll have to look next time I go to the boat though as you never know. BTW it's a really great little engine -- quiet, dependable and smooth and very economical. Once I solved the intermittent cranking it's been bullet proof (knock on wood) and starts instantly.

Don't forget to change the zinc in your heat exchanger at least once a year because if you don't electrolysis will eat your water heater and heat exchanger and both are big $ to replace. Also don't fail to change your tranny oil every year as they are the weak link in the chain and they are really huge $ to replace. It's a fuss to get to but really essential. I've been through 3 transmissions and I know whereof I speak.

[Dean Abramson]

Tom, I don't have the manual in front of me now. Is oil extracted from the tranny's dipstick hole with a hand pump? Or is there a drain plug somewhere?

[Tom in Cambria]

There is a drain plug at the forward end of the engine pan. You can reach it with your hand. The problem is that there isn't enough clearance to get a can under it when you want to drain the engine oil. What I do is open up two plastic trash bags and put the top edge under the engine, then sort of hold up the rear edge of the trash bag and undo the nut. The oil runs into the bag, then I very carefully pull the bag out with the oil inside it. It's a sloppy job, but I prefer that to the dipstick hole because you get the sludge at the bottom of the pan which you tend to leave behind if you go through the dipstick. You have to put down a lot of paper or plastic bags opened up to protect the cabin sole. You might use a combination of both by taking as much oil out at you can through the dipstick hole and then finishing up by removing the drain nut at the bottom of the pan to get the last of it, but I usually just go with the drain plug and plan to clean up behind myself. Of course you wind up with a plastic bag of hot oil so you have to have a five gallon plastic bucket standing by to put the bag into once it's full. It's an ugly job anyway you look at it, but a lot of people complain that they can't drain their oil at all because the drain plug is inaccessible on many boats. BTW I use two plastic bags because it's like the old misogynistic joke about ugly women being "two-baggers". The second bag is if the first bag breaks. It's surprisingly easy to scrape the bag of oil on something and lose the contents where you don't want it to go. If you ever design a boat give some thought to making oil changing easy and accessible. We'd all do it more often if it weren't such an oily, dirty hassle and the transmission oil is just as bad.

[Dean Abramson]

Actually, I was asking about the transmission.

[Tom in Cambria]

Sorry, I didn't read your question carefully. There is a drain plug on the bottom of the trans. If you look at the "nut" on the dipstick, it's the exact same size as that. In fact I was told you can run the trans right side up or upside down. If you run it upside down you have to trade the two fill and drain nuts, because the one on the top has a breather hole and the dipstick attached. The bottom one is just a solid nut. Draining it is mainly a matter of feel because you can't see the drain nut from the top. You find a wrench that fits the dipstick nut and that will be the same one that fits the drain plug as well. Then you feel under the trans and you will find the nut that it fits and is the drain nut. It's pretty east to figure out which one it is by its location and size. What I do is put down an oil-zorb pad and let the trans fluid drain onto it. It's too tight to get a can under it. You could pump the trans fluid out through the dipstick hole but I don't usually do that because it only holds about half a pint and there are gears inside that make it tough to reach the bottom of the trans so it's hard to pump the fluid out.

Hope that helps.

[Dean Abramson]

Thanks, Tom. That's exactly what I needed to know.

On the engine, I am fortunate in that the PO had installed a permanent drain hose on the oil pan; it makes changing the oil a snap. The hose is long enough so that you can hold a catcher (I use the plastic bottles that my non-tox came in) with the hose right in it, down low enough in the bilge so that the oil flows well. The hose has a valve, and a fitting with a threaded cap on the end; when not in use, it loops up and is secured in a position where the end is well above the level of the oil.

I am not sure how hard this is to rig up, but it really was a pleasant surprise to find it on this boat. Oil changes are a breeze, and from the bottom.

[Bill Sonntag]

All:

I have exactly the same set up on my CD31. I like the idea of re-running the hose from the front of the engine drip tray to the shower sump, I may try that. As for oil leaks, well a new engine cured that problem but with ye ol M25 I kept the engine drip pan liberally swaddled in oil sorbs. That took care of the problem mostly along with simply stoppering the limberhole through the front of the drip pan/engine mount.

Not to change subject, but anyone have any tricks how to loosen and reset the packing gland on CD31s? I have not been able to figure out a method yet that avoids claustrophobia and the dangerous rushing of blood to the brain in an enclosed space. I read the recent really good posting on changing packing material: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=20671
and thought I might arrange one hardy crewperson in one cockpit locker one in the other with feet well placed on wrenches set up on the packing gland nut and lock nut, have them give a simultaneous push and see what happens.

Again, any tricks? I need to take a quarter turn or so to reduce the drip rate.

Bill Sonntag
SURPRISE
CD 31