Observations While Crawling Around My New (to me) SH

[Dougie]

I finally had the time to crawl around my new to me, 2001 SH and found a few observations to share.

Passing time while looking for my boat, I read here about others being concerned about through hull fittings below the water line on the stern. I don't recall if it was about one or more fittings but there was talk about removing the fuel tank to get to them if a line broke and flooding occurred.

FYI, I found this washdown inlet on the bottom of the boat and a petcock valve feeding the pump behind the port battery bay. (1st two pics)

(I don't see how to add text below the first two images, so I guess I get to stack them at the end...)

I found the downrigger base and ball holders mounted to the rear deck without backing plates. My first thought was to correct this, even with plywood backing and then I remembered a General Aviation accident report about a man that thought it was a good idea to modify his experimental aircraft by using a thicker plywood wing skin than that specified. A wing snapped off while pulling a few Gs, killing the owner / builder. The thicker plywood skin wouldn't flex under a G load as designed with the thinner wing skin. That recollection had me wondering if there would be less damage to the boat if a snagged downrigger wire just ripped the downrigger out by the screws instead of possibly more damage with a backing plate. The balls are on surgical tubing to the wire, but? (2nd two pics)

I need to map the fuses so I know where to look when something fails to work, and the Starboard battery bay needs some spaghetti clean up.  While digging around, I found the Port battery cables zip tied to fuel tank filler hose. I've only seen battery cables fry twice in my seven decades on the planet but still! (third two pics)

Lastly, while digging through the equipment manuals, I found this catalog. I presume it came with the boat back in 2021. If it's of use to the forum, I can scan it. (last two pics)

 

[fishmeister]

A lot of the Arimas that had washdown and/or live-well intake pumps with through-hull had them in the transom.  IF they came with a seacock, you couldn't reach it due to the gas tank.  Yours seems to have been done "after-market".  Your intake appears to be in the bottom of the hull and it looks like you have an accessible seacock to shut it off in an emergency.  The one thing that I would recommend verifying is that it is hard/rigid piping (usually brass) between the intake fitting and the seacock.  You don't want any type of hose between the intake and the seacock that can get old, become brittle, and crack/break (this is what causes you to see just how good your bilge pump operates).  Probably not too much to worry about.

[AJFishin]

That's some spaghetti wiring. If you're not planning on doing a rewire, I would disconnect and inspect them and note what they go to, re-run your wires neatly, reconnect them, and zip tie together. Getting some adhesive back cable tie mounts will be worth getting.
Definitely need to not have wires on the fuel hose, I run my wires and battery cables along the back of the transom using the cable mounts.
If you decide to do a rewire, it's worth it and usually takes about 3 full days to do. You can see here when i rewired my SC16 to give you an idea. https://youtu.be/-SjZGimU3Pk?si=X-Tackvr335RP1qC

[Dougie]

A lot of the Arimas that had washdown and/or live-well intake pumps with through-hull had them in the transom.  IF they came with a seacock, you couldn't reach it due to the gas tank.  Yours seems to have been done "after-market".  Your intake appears to be in the bottom of the hull and it looks like you have an accessible seacock to shut it off in an emergency.  The one thing that I would recommend verifying is that it is hard/rigid piping (usually brass) between the intake fitting and the seacock.  You don't want any type of hose between the intake and the seacock that can get old, become brittle, and crack/break (this is what causes you to see just how good your bilge pump operates).  Probably not too much to worry about.

It looked to be a hard fitting between the intake and valve, but I don't know if it is brass. It is oxidized and the third turn of the valve was smoother than the first!

[fishmeister]

Getting some adhesive back cable tie mounts will be worth getting.

 

Even with the adhesive mounts, I'd still recommend screwing them down with one #6 x 1/2" SS sheetmetal screw.  That way, you're never going to have to worry about the adhesive coming loose and falling down (don't ask how I know this).

[Dougie]

That's some spaghetti wiring. If you're not planning on doing a rewire, I would disconnect and inspect them and note what they go to, re-run your wires neatly, reconnect them, and zip tie together. Getting some adhesive back cable tie mounts will be worth getting.
Definitely need to not have wires on the fuel hose, I run my wires and battery cables along the back of the transom using the cable mounts.
If you decide to do a rewire, it's worth it and usually takes about 3 full days to do. You can see here when i rewired my SC16 to give you an idea. https://youtu.be/-SjZGimU3Pk?si=X-Tackvr335RP1qC

Fun video, snack thief and all.    The PVC wire channel looks clean. Do you still like it? I'll definitely get those battery cables off the fuel inlet hose before going out on the water. And mapping the fuse box under the dash and cleaning up the spaghetti is on the short list, but I don't know if that will keep me off the water. I like the rewire concept. I built an experimental aircraft from a set of blueprints and wired all avionics, etc. and rewired a 1915 knob and tube, Craftsman home from the meter in and received compliments from both inspectors. After a little marine wiring research, rewiring this boat would be a fun project when I'm not catching up on catching, I mean fishing. 

[Dougie]

Even with the adhesive mounts, I'd still recommend screwing them down with one #6 x 1/2" SS sheetmetal screw.  That way, you're never going to have to worry about the adhesive coming loose and falling down (don't ask how I know this).

I was wondering about the proper screw size for mounting and the thickness of the fiberglass. There are a few fasteners floating inside wallowed out fiberglass holes that will need doctoring at some point...

[Dougie]

If you decide to do a rewire, it's worth it and usually takes about 3 full days to do

I just couldn't make myself push the starboard battery box back in against that wiring mess, so I dove in and cleaned it up. It took me the better part of two days! When I wasn't thinking about how you did your whole boat in three days, I was thinking that I have proven my hypothesis about why retired people say they are busier now than when they were working. It's because it takes them longer to get anything done! 

[davidsea]

   I can still do most anything I used to do in a day....but it will take me most of a week to recover from it. 

  BTW,  if you launch the battery box and  use a tray/frame combo with SS hold down rods, you won't need the block of wood anymore,  you wont have to mess with the crappy plastic strap/buckle, and your battery  and connections will be happier because it won't move AT ALL. 

[Salmon Hobo]

Regarding your downriver mounts..I think it is worth doing a stronger backing on it..whether you keep them mounting in the location or if you move it forward to the gunnels like I think most people do.  If you hang up a downrigger ball...it should not rip off your downrigger and mount. The downrigger line should set up to pull out if over about 40lbs is applied. You can test this in your driveway and adust your downrigger...jut use a digital fishing scale and pull on your downrigger cable.  I also always keep strong cable cutter or knife if fishing braid nearby..in an emergency. So if you adjust downrigger correctly..if you did hang up..you will notice quickly and your downrigger cable should start pulling out extra line. Then you could take your boat out of gear, bring up your other side downrigger and try to deal with the stuck ball/ gear. Hope that helps.

[headduck]

Yup. Backing plates and through bolts are what I assume is typical, but seems like big a&& screws worked fine.

[Barnaclebob]

IMO, the screws with no backing plates are fine for the downrigger ball holder but the downrigger bases should be bolted with washers.  There is basically no load on it, the downrigger ball sits in there just with gravity.  But thats really a terrible spot for the downrigger mounts and the ball holder IMO.  I much prefer gunwale mounting with the ball hanging off the downrigger boom.

[Dougie]

But thats really a terrible spot for the downrigger mounts and the ball holder IMO.  I much prefer gunwale mounting with the ball hanging off the downrigger boom.

I'll keep an eye out for where others have theirs mounted. @BayWolf's SC was the first ARIMA I ever stood on and it was a little bit of input overload. I do remember his downriggers could rotate up and thinking about how far these have advanced since my huge motor on a stick downriggers from decades past. And son of gun if this boat didn't come with the same ones! 

[Mustard tiger]

I would put aluminum as a backer.  Mine are mount into the gunwale and the originally they pulled into the factory plywood. They did only have reg washers, I always put aluminum, fender washers and nylocs. Scotty instructions also say to put wood or metal.

[BayWolf]

But thats really a terrible spot for the downrigger mounts and the ball holder IMO.  I much prefer gunwale mounting with the ball hanging off the downrigger boom.

I'll keep an eye out for where others have theirs mounted. @BayWolf's SC was the first ARIMA I ever stood on and it was a little bit of input overload. I do remember his downriggers could rotate up and thinking about how far these have advanced since my huge motor on a stick downriggers from decades past. And son of gun if this boat didn't come with the same ones! 

Hey Doug, you're more than welcome to come back over and crawl around the Lil' Nibble anytime.

[davidsea]

Regarding your downriver mounts..I think it is worth doing a stronger backing on it..whether you keep them mounting in the location or if you move it forward to the gunnels like I think most people do.  If you hang up a downrigger ball...it should not rip off your downrigger and mount. The downrigger line should set up to pull out if over about 40lbs is applied. You can test this in your driveway and adust your downrigger...jut use a digital fishing scale and pull on your downrigger cable.  I also always keep strong cable cutter or knife if fishing braid nearby..in an emergency. So if you adjust downrigger correctly..if you did hang up..you will notice quickly and your downrigger cable should start pulling out extra line. Then you could take your boat out of gear, bring up your other side downrigger and try to deal with the stuck ball/ gear. Hope that helps.

    X2 on the sharp knife close at hand.  Whether it's fishing, crabbing, anchoring or towing someone else, there can be situations where you need to need to get rid of something RIGHT NOW - and it's more important to your safety than whatever's attached to your boat.

[dew]

Glad you got the boat, congrats!

Just to clarify to everyone and make sure I'm seeing this correctly, that picture is showing the attachment of the DR BALL holder, not the down rigger mount itself. Based on what I can tell and the title of the photo.

1. I agree with barnacle bob on the ball holder. No fishing activity is putting stress/shear on the ball holder. Honestly a lot of people have them just sitting on their deck or in a hatch free/loose with the ball sitting in them, and the holder is not screwed or attached to anything. All they do is hold the ball, gravity does most of the work. If I were mounting the ball holder in the location your previous owner has them (which I wouldn't) they would have been bolted not screwed as they are now. As bob said, I don't love the down rigger location but that's all personal preference and experience based.
2. Your through hull location provides great access in case of emergency. I personally don't think I've seen one in that location before but I like it. Negative side, eats up decent storage space.

[AJFishin]

Regarding your downriver mounts..I think it is worth doing a stronger backing on it..whether you keep them mounting in the location or if you move it forward to the gunnels like I think most people do.  If you hang up a downrigger ball...it should not rip off your downrigger and mount. The downrigger line should set up to pull out if over about 40lbs is applied. You can test this in your driveway and adust your downrigger...jut use a digital fishing scale and pull on your downrigger cable.  I also always keep strong cable cutter or knife if fishing braid nearby..in an emergency. So if you adjust downrigger correctly..if you did hang up..you will notice quickly and your downrigger cable should start pulling out extra line. Then you could take your boat out of gear, bring up your other side downrigger and try to deal with the stuck ball/ gear. Hope that helps.

    X2 on the sharp knife close at hand.  Whether it's fishing, crabbing, anchoring or towing someone else, there can be situations where you need to need to get rid of something RIGHT NOW - and it's more important to your safety than whatever's attached to your boat.

X3 on a sharpe knife onboard.
Last hoop netting season my buddy that goes fishing with me said I was clear of the line, so I went forward and my motor vibrated and stopped, I got prop fouled about 10 feet from the breakwall in a good current.
I told my buddy to deploy the anchor off the bow, I got to the stern, wrapped the hoop line to my cleat, and I used my a Grundens deck knife on my pdf to cut the lead line, then cut the slack line that was in the boat, and luckily when I pulled on the cut line I was able to pull the line off my prop, start up my motor and got away from the wall.
Those deck knives are very important for a lot issues you might run into on the boat. Besides my deck knife that's always on me, I keep my filet and chop knife at the stern to easier get to and a long gaff.

[Dougie]

Great advice you guys. Thanks for your time!