Getting New 25D Ready

[ghockaday]

It probably does not have a winch because it was set in the water by the marina. May be different up your way but down on the lower Chesapeake Bay you will be very hard pressed to find a ramp that you can float it off of the trailer without backing the toe vehicle till it (tow vehicle) floats. You will need a substantial tow vehicle. Some folks will tell you different, but stopping the load is the bear. You are smart knowing that you can't tow it with what you have or can borrow.

Makes sense about the winch.

That's been my experience too about the tow vehicle. Brakes are the primary concern (most states require trailer brakes in addition) followed by the transmission.

I'm aware of the ramp issue, and once I'm ready to start exploring I'll plan to build a very long tongue extension. For the next couple years I'll only launch at steep marina ramps which are >20 degrees, compared to 12-15 for public ramps.

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One additional question: I see this seacock for the head discharge, downstream of the Y fitting mounted under the galley. It's different than the other seacocks, with a lever-looking thing on the right (which won't turn, though it may be stuck) and a twist adjustment on the left (which turns easily).

Any ideas how this works? I'd like to close it so I can remove the discharge hose (useless in great lakes) and reclaim some galley storage space.



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Also, do I need a set of winch spares or just some grease and oil to service my deck winches?

yes, rubber and I am not a fan of it. But you loosen that tee handle and fidget with the long handle to get it to close. Probably needs to be cleaned up and lubed. Don't forget to tighten the tee back up. It will make sense when you pull it apart.

[Tom Keevil]

You should get some spare springs and pawls to have on hand when you do your winches. A broken spring is not obvious until you take it apart, and despite your best efforts you might drop and lose a pawl. Pay attention to the how the springs go in, as they are asymmetric.

[fritz3000g]

You should get some spare springs and pawls to have on hand when you do your winches. A broken spring is not obvious until you take it apart, and despite your best efforts you might drop and lose a pawl. Pay attention to the how the springs go in, as they are asymmetric.

Thanks Tom just ordered some!

I see this seacock for the head discharge, downstream of the Y fitting mounted under the galley. It's different than the other seacocks, with a lever-looking thing on the right (which won't turn, though it may be stuck) and a twist adjustment on the left (which turns easily).

Any ideas how this works? I'd like to close it so I can remove the discharge hose (useless in great lakes) and reclaim some galley storage space.
yes, rubber and I am not a fan of it. But you loosen that tee handle and fidget with the long handle to get it to close. Probably needs to be cleaned up and lubed. Don't forget to tighten the tee back up. It will make sense when you pull it apart.

Do you know if I need anything special along with me when I go to service this seacock or the tee (which also doesn't move)? Do I need a replacement rubber piece? Any idea who makes this kind of seacock or what the model number is?

[ghockaday]

[/quote]
Do you know if I need anything special along with me when I go to service this seacock or the tee (which also doesn't move)? Do I need a replacement rubber piece? Any idea who makes this kind of seacock or what the model number is?[/quote]

Not in the water correct? Loosen both nuts, I think a 7/16 wrench (adjustable) flip that disc up. screw the tee handle in and it should push the rubber plug out. The plug has a hole all the way through perpendicular to the length of the plug. The rubber is probably pretty scared up. You would probable need some type of penetrating oil for the tee handle and the two nuts. I lightly sanded the rubber plug to smooth the gauges out and gave it a lite film of oil. I would not use any kind of solvent on the rubber it may melt it or make it gummy. After reinstallation you tighten the tee handle to stop it from leaking. To open you loosen the tee handle, jiggle, fiddle, mess with the lever and open. Then tighten the tee handle to stop it from leaking again. It seals good, BUT I do not like it at all. I think a simple seacock would have worked just fine. I am sure CD had their reason. Not sure if any spare parts are available. I seem to remember looking it up and it has been up dated to something similar but no parts for it. I hope this helps. This is how I remember it coming apart. Dee

[ghockaday]

The leaver will screw out if you can't get the valve to to move or wiggle. As a last resort you can use a pipe wrench on the shaft. Be careful not to chew up the shaft or you may not be able to thread the lever back into it. This may not have moved for a long time.

[fritz3000g]

Thanks Danielle!

[Paul D.]

You may also try a little heat to loosen it up then give the handle a firm but gentle tap with a hammer. First maybe a hairdryer or heat gun - carefully. If nothing, then a careful application of propane torch with plenty of distance minding the hoses etc. Turn off any music or distractions if you do this. Ask me why I know.

[wikakaru]

* I'm wondering if it's practical to remove the sheet and halyard winches and bring them home for service, or is it really just a lot easier to service them in place? Can they be serviced below freezing?

If your 25D is the same as my Typhoon and CD22 it is easy to remove the sheet winches by removing the winch bases. One bolt through the deck and two machine screws through the coaming. You may want to do this anyway to make it easier to varnish the teak coaming. I'm not sure how the winches are mounted to the mast on your 25D. If there are pads machine-screwed to the winch you could try to remove them, though there may be a problem with stainless/aluminum corrosion and you may do more harm than good trying to take them off.

* The trailer needs a winch for ramp-launching. I've figured out most of the details (been ramp-launching sailboats for years) but one remains. Based on my experience, the winch will pull the boat to the bow stop first, and will touch the bow stop at the red waterline mark on the bow (see image 1) rather than a foot below that where it should be. When driving out of the water with the bow touching the bow stop at the waterline mark, the boat will tilt back to rest on the keel, which will tilt the bow away from the bow stop. This will cause the boat to sit a few inches back of the bow stop, risking it sliding forwards in a fast brake as well as putting the trailer off-balance to the rear. To remedy this I think that the keel and the bow need to touch the trailer at the same time. I think this means I need to winch the bow upwards out of the water about a foot, which I think means that the winch needs to be at least two feet above the attachment point. Any other solutions for this problem, or any reason to think this won't be an issue?

The best solution is to have an adjustable bow pad, as is done on the Triad trailers. Slide it forward when you haul, and once the boat is out of the water, tilts back on its keel, and pivots away from the bow pad, just slide the pad back out until it once again touches the hull. You can see in the photo below that I forgot to slide the bow pad in before I hauled, and so I hyper-extended the bow pad this time. A checklist would have been nice to remind me not to forget this little detail.

DSC_3567.JPG

* Does anyone have suggestions for installing an attachment point (see example, picture 2) on the bow for the trailer winch hook? Currently there isn't one. If I do what I describe above, there will be a lot (500+ lbs) of upward force on this attachment point, which will put a lot of upward shear force on the bow at this point. It'll be above the waterline so slightly less critical that it never leaks. But obviously I'd like for it not to.

Again on the Triad trailer, the winch is up above the level of the bow so you can attach to the stem fitting or a cleat on deck and don't need a towing eye through the bow. Two pieces of angle-iron run from the vertical post where the winch sits down at a 45-degree angle to the trailer frame for support. The system is plenty strong. You should be able to find a local trailer shop that can weld it up for you. Triad also incorporates a mast support into the same mount, since the Typhoon doesn't have a bow pulpit to rest the mast on.

Smooth sailing,

Jim