Grey Water tank .....and more grinding and glassing

Let's start off with the looks like progress part. The Grey water tank which I decided to build into the bilge for 2 reasons (1) It is low enough for everything to drain into it including a "drip" pan under the stuffing box and (2) it will act like a coffer dam to keep the forward part of the bilge dry if the stuffing box does leak into the bilge. My original idea was to just put a small pump behind the grey water tank to drain the dripping from the stuffing box, then I realized that if I made to top of the tank low enough I could just drain the stuffing box into it. I will still add the small bilge pump just in case....it is a boat after all. The box is roughly 24" long X 18-1/2" wide X 15" tall which is 29 gallons.I do not want to store the grey water just have enough buffer in case the pump gives trouble.

So here is the tank, at least what I got done of it today. The inlets and outlet will be plumbed though the fixed portion of the top. I have a macerator pump which I plan to use to pump the tank dry. Macerator pumps have a set of stainless steel blades that cut up anything in the water it is pumping. Hoping this will take care of the hair in the tank problem.

The left shot is of the exterior of the aft wall and the one on the right is of the interior of the forward wall. The light colored band you see at the upper right of the right picture is a piece of aluminum angle which I have glassed to the stringer side. It will be completely glassed. You can see both of them in the first picture. They will provide support of the removable cover. I will install 1/4-20 studs in them to hold the top on.

So that was the interesting part. Yesterday I spent the morning removing a poorly installed 1-1/2" dia sea-cock and through hull and a grounding plate.


 
The seacock was the type with 4 mounting bolts as well as the through hull, but who ever installed it drilled the holes for the bolts all the way through the hull. The problem is that one of the bolts leaked to the wood backing block, but sealed at the seacock, so the stainless steel bolt rusted and the backing block rotted while everything look fine inside the boat. Stainless steel will rust if it is kept wet and no oxygen can get to it, like when the bolt leaked into the backing block...

I will replace the backing block with a fiberglass one with the bolts drilled only though the backing block.
I just about removed all the through hulls, I think there are two 1-1/2" in the engine room and two smaller one up forward. All will be removed and properly reinstalled when I am done.....


Then I got to finally glass the last of the four engine room bulkheads to hull joints. I had saved the aft side of the forward bulkhead to starboard hull joint for last. Note to self, should have done that one BEFORE I built the starboard fuel tank in. I am glad that I decided to leave 24" of space at each end of the tank. Now you can get to the though hulls that exit the sides of the boat above the waterline. Before there was only about 16" which was enough to see the though hulls, but not enough to get to them to work on them.

There it is all it's glory....
The light spot in the lower right picture is the hole for the generator exhaust which I need to put back in.

I also glassed the rest of the outer stringer on the port side. I did take pics for my collection but I won't subject you to them. I am very nearly ready to start on the port side fuel tank.