Typhoon Manual & Bilge?

[JWEells]

Hi, all. I'm a new owner of an old Typhoon (Hull #1842, vintage 1981), and I would dearly love a copy of a manual. In return for the privilege of borrowing a manual, I'll scan it into a full blown Adobe PDF (since I own the obscenely expensive software to do it), and then I'll give a free Review Copy on a CD to any one who requests it, ostensibly for the purpose of checking its accuracy against their original.

I am specifically looking for information on the Typhoon's bilge, the bilge pump, the sump, etc. as the bilge system in my Typhoon is in complete disarray and needs rebuilding.

Jonathan Eells

[tartansailor]

Jonathan,
Look at the top of our Home Page, and the first line under the row of emblems you will find "Cape Dory" Click on that to download owners manuals and other interesting perspectives. If you can not find the precise answer then post it on the board.

[JWEells]

Y'know, I used to know where that manual was, and then I forgot. CRS strikes again. Thanks for the pointer!

But the manual seems truncated just where I was hoping for effusive. All I had hoped to discover was how deep the sump goes, which I could easily discover by stuffing a strainer-capped hose into it, sure. The devil is in the details. I was looking for the devil.

Has anybody cut a larger access into the sump? My Typhoon has a 1.5 inch hole into which some laughable hose had been inserted, maybe a whole two inches down. That hose literally turned to shards in my hand as I inspected it. I'm thinking about giving myself a break and opening a larger access there, and - on another subject really - putting a lazarette hatch in the aft deck (since the original twin main sheet blocks were long ago removed) that I could use to service the bilge thru-hull or anything aft of the cockpit now and in the future.

[Joe Montana]

I have a 1981 Ty Daysailer. Would knowing more about the bilge on my boat help you? My cockpit is not self-bailing. There is a removable rectangular teak grate in the cockpit floor -- about 8x12 inches -- that gives access to the bilge. I stow a gusher pump in the bilge with hoses permanently attached. The pump is mounted on a teak board that spans the width of the opening when in use. The discharge hose is about 5' in length (so it reaches overboard); the intake hose is about a 3 to 4' long, and reaches down and aft to the bottom/aft-most point of the bilge. I'd guess the bilge is 14" to 16" at the deepest (a very rough estimate). I assume the bilge is the same for the weekender. The bilge begins about 3 or 4 feet foward of the access hatch, and is most shallow (about 8-12 inches) deep at the forward-most point. As often as I've pumped and cleaned the bilge, I've never measured it, so this is strictly by memory and I could be off with my measurements. Unfortunately I just covered my boat today, but if knowing more about my bilge will help, I'll try to describe it in more detail.

[JWEells]

The more I think about my boat's innards the more I realize it's simply a matter of imposing my iron will upon it (that's a laugh line). The rear deck needs, not a lazarette, but at least a bronze deck plate that I can open and get my hand on the bilge thru-hull without either breaking my arm or giving my son claustrophobia from stuffing himself into the aft hull through the seat hatch. Actually, he did that today when I sawed off the old, useless plastic thru-hull hanging half out of the hull and he was champ! He retrieved the inside piece for me so it didn't have to rattle around for a year before we could get to it.

The bilge is simply going to get a bigger access and a grate on top of it so I can see down into it at will, without guesswork. And it will put me more closely in touch with my German ancestry, who I am told used the bilges for bathrooms in the U-Boats that used to visit American waters. And while I'm at it I'll install a bigger capacity pump just because I can. I would always rather be able to pump ridiculously more water out of the boat than I am likely to get into it.

My Typhoon's a Weekender, so I have a draining cockpit wih the too-small drains. But it WILL drain. Those thru-hulls are sound as are the seacocks.

I love this boat. Thanks for helping me figure out what's going on with my new darling.

[Cathy Monaghan]

For anyone confused about where to find our home page, it's at www.capedory.org -- bookmark it We provide many resources, in addition to this message board, for Cape Dory owners.

You can get to to our home page easily from any page of the message board by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking on either the CDSOA link or the CDSOA logo. Once there, use the menu system. The menu is located on the left side of the page. All of our other web pages (except for the message board's pages and any documents like PDFs or DOCs) are accessible via the menu. And you can easily return to the message board by selecting "CD Message Board" from the menu. The message board's software utilizes its own navigation methods.

Hope this helps,
Cathy
CDSOA Webmaster

[Mike Wainfeld]

Just for another perspective, I've sailed my '82 Weeekender for about 10 years now and the bilge does not collect that much water. I'll find maybe an inch there after a heavy rain, depending from what direction the rain is blowing. I just stuff an old towel down there and wring it out in the cockpit a couple of times, and that dries it out fine. I have a hand pump onboard if there's more water, but I rarely have to use it.
By the way an '81 is actually a fairly "new" Typhoon. So if you choose this alternative approach, you will maximize the time you have to sail your new boat, and minimize the time you have to spend sawing it up.

[JWEells]

I like the way you think, Mike. I'm just in from blasting the assembled sea life and scum from the bottom of the boat. I think maybe I'll do exactly as you say, and just get her back in the water ASAP. It began to dawn on me that I probably wouldn't have to worry too much about water in the bilges getting the upper hand, not on placid Lake Arrowhead.

And I hate sawing fiberglass. It'll be enough for me to stick the pretty bronze thru hull in the hole recently vacated by the ancient marelon one, and go sailing.

Update: I grabbed some 3/4" tubing, stuffed it down the bilge hole and siphoned out the gallon or so that was in there, who knows for how long. Hardly troublesome. Now I will call the bilge "dry enough" and move on. I DO think that I should open the top just a wee bit more. There's no room, for instance, to perform Mike's "Towel in and wring out" maneuver because there's only that 1.5" hole. Some day later. I'll make it really fancy and put a hole fill fitting in for the bilge hose, and a 6" bronze deck plate for my meaty arm. Pictures to follow.

[Serge Zimberoff]

I confess to being totally confused by the original and follow up post. (This may not be an uncommon occurrence, however.)

To my knowledge there wasn't a factory pump and through hull setup for emptying the bilge. Every weekender I've seen has a round hole in the sole of the cabin with a nice teak block over it. The hole is about 4" in diameter. Admittedly too small for convenience, but adequate for access for a towel or 'big gulp' sponge or a small hand pump.

I've found I need someone to stand on the bow when I want to get all the water to come within reach, and I replace sponge my bailing sponge every other season or so, but that is all that has been necessary so far.

Many Ty's have an eye bolt down in this opening, although not all.

Good idea to find where the source of excess water is coming in and fix that. In my case it was around the base of the tiller. This has been fixed with a 3/4" piece of teak gasketed and bolted with ss machine screws to the cockpit sole.

Serge

[RIKanaka]

My Weekender has a 4" square hole access to the bilge with a teak cover with an approx. 3/4" round hole in the middle, into which you presumably stick you finger to remove the cover. I stick one of those hand-pumps (looks like a water cannon with an outlet hose coming off the top at a 90 degree angle) down into the bilge and pump any water out into the cockpit. Seems to work pretty well for the small amount of accumulation.

[JWEells]

It sounds like I've got a one-off design for the bilge. I'll take pictures and post them, but meanwhile I've been to Minney's in Costa Mesa and am moving forward with the necessary work of getting the bilge system back to Bristol fashion. I love having projects to finish. AND I am mounting oarlocks on the combing today, as outboards are e-e-e-e-vil. Pictures of that, too.

[RIKanaka]

You may already have come across this site about rowing a 26' Pearson Ariel (another Alberg design) if you're serious about rowing your boat:

http://www.solopublications.com/sailario.htm.

Click on the Oar Locks and Oar Lock Mounts link for an interesting use of the winches as mounts for the oar locks. They're removable when not in use, so it's a nice way to keep the coaming boards clear of things to snag lines and sheets.

I didn't have to use a motor this year, sailing off a mooring. This oarlock arrangements looks like a nice backup for calm water conditions. I might do something like it next year. I'll still keep an outboard below for Plan C.

[JWEells]

Here I was, perfectly content to slap my side mount oarlocks onto the combing (with a really big backing board of teak on the other side, rounded nicely so as not to present a snag to anything), BUT NOOOOOOOO! You had to show me inventive ways of doing what I want to do! Nicely done. That page is COOL.

But now I have an idea of my own. I'm going to get a hold of the six pointed star bar stock that winch makers use to make the thingy that goes into the other thingy (the winch handle into the winch body top, to turn it). I'm going to cut it to length, drill a hole down the center of it for the pin, and plop it into the winch fitting and VOILA, instant oarlock. If I'm feeling particularly inventive, I'll even give it a little key like the winch handles have, so as not to pop out at the wrong time.

My idea for these is to use them just for maneuvering around the dock and out the slip into the channel, and thus not very forceful rowing. For off-shore sailing and marina maneuvering, I will indeed compromise my priniciples and use the motor mount. With a motor. Sigh. Sold for so small a price, that integrity.

And speaking of rowing, here's me and some friends doing the same:

http://web.mac.com/alpine.island/iWeb/L ... whead.html

[Bob Mial]

You can use a standard oarlock on the coaming if you use an extended mount for the oar - about 4" higher than standard would work. Using standard hardware will cause the oar to rub against the genoa track on the toerail. I have an inch or so gouged out from my oars due to this friction when I was battling the wind trying to row away from a big rock. You have very little power with oars. I'm quite fit and barely avoided a serious scrape. The Honda 2 has been a reasonable option but I keep the oars stowed just in case.

[JWEells]

Well, actually getting that bar stock turned into a Sisyphean task, so I'm going with plan B. Shaw & Tenney have an outrigger oarlock for sale on their site that does the trick, and if it's mounted further aft on the coaming then it stays out of the way and doesn't exert undue leverage on the coaming itself. The outrigger sticks out toward the toe rail when deployed for rowing, allowing the oar clear the gunwale. I'm doing some measurements now just to make sure it'll all fit, but I think that's the easiest, though hardly the least expensive, way to go. I'll use a small folding stool as I row out of the slip, and then stash it in the cockpit truck.

Tell me about that Honda 2hp. I've read that it's noisy. True?

And maybe you need longer oars in order to miss the genoa track? Did you calculate length of the oar using the formula 1/7 x [distance from pin to hand] X 25? I'm putting my oars where the coaming is about 48" apart, which gives me a calculated oar length of 7.14", but I put 8.5-footers on there just to help me clear the gunwale. They're ash oars, too. Not light! But I can beat the snot out of them without fear.

Update: had a nice conversation with the fellow at Shaw & Teney today, which resulted in my ordering a PADDLE instead of the oarlocks, and a boat hook just for good measure. Ha. So much for rowing the Dory.