O'day 26 Icebox drainage

[Howard Jones]

Has anyone ever converted the icebox drainage on an O'day 26 to some place other than the bilge? I'm tired of having to clean the bilge so often. I keep ice in the icebox most of the time because I'm on the boat most every day and like to have food and drinks available.

 

[Benny17441]

Howard your bilge problem is probably a little more complicated than the icebox draining melted ice into it. There are likely many gallons of water trapped in the hull stringers below the sole. Perhaps when tied up at the dock this water remains trapped and you may be able to dry the bilge but as soon as you get the boat in motion it will start flowing out. What you can do for daily use is to get a portable cooler and when the ice melts just dump the water overboard. Many have converted those ice boxes to dry storage. They are usually poorly insulated requiring large amounts of ice. I would avoid at all cost spilling milk, juices or food particles in the icebox to eliminate the need to frequently clean the bilge.

 

[jviss]

What's to clean?

 

[Howard Jones]

When I first bought the boat I didn't know that the icebox drained into the bilge. I freaked out when I kept finding water in the bilge. Then after exhaustive testing and checks I discovered the icebox was the source of the water. I've left the icebox empty for a couple of weeks and throughly dried out the bilge. It remained dry even after two weeks of North west rain. But as for cleaning it....well it just grows slime if I let the water stand too long. Or I could just be a clean freak. As for the stringers...they have drainage holes that connect to the bilge. I've looked at the areas under the v-berth and port and starboard seating. Those areas are always dry. The boat is really dry over all. So, with that said, I'm just hoping someone may have changed the drainage of their icebox on an O'day 26 and could tell me what they did.

 

[Apex]

Can you connect it into the sink drain with a shutoff valve?

 

[Sefuller]

I am not sure the configuration on the 26, but on our 34 I connected the icebox drain to a footpump I installed under the galley sink so that I can pump the ice box water into the sink which drains overboard.

 

[JRT]

I know a few in our area have them tied to a thru-hull discharge above the waterline to drain to, like the forward head sink discharges.

 

[Pat]

Our 272 LE has a fynspray pump that pumps the ice box water to the galley sink...not the bilge.....we once had a friend that spilled milk in his ice box on his 28 ft. O'Day and it was a mess in the bilge for a long time....I'm sure others complained about this as well so the fynspray pump is a great alternative. Pat

 

[Howard Jones]

Thanks Pat. I just looked at the Fynspray pumps and I think that solution could work. I'll check out the icebox drain tube closely and determine what I'll need to do exactly. But I really think it will work! Thanks again. Howard.

 

[jviss]

My new boat has a small simp pan in the bilge, like a 'sub-bilge,' into which drain the shower sump and ice box. There is an automatic bilge pump for that sump. The shower has a strainer before it hits that sump.

 

[Pat]

We have since bought an electric pump which sits in the corner down in the ice box and we plug it into the duplex outlet that is already installed in the galley area...the biggest issue with this solution is keeping the plug dry between pump-outs...my wife thinks this is easier than the fynspray pump...I do not as there is the possibility of plugging in a wet plug....the fynspray eliminates the possibility of an electric shock....although that has never happened in our case...we also installed some rubbermaid shelves in the ice box for dry storage vs. wet, but that was not a great solution as the rubbermaid shelves tended to want to fall off the walls of the box...I think the fynspray is the best solution for a quick and easy pump out....it comes with a built in pump which is part of the unit.....and screws down onto the counter top right behind beside the faucet....Pat

 

[autocad]

On our 25 the icebox drain connects to the galley sink drain with a 'T' connector that then goes down to the thru-hull

 

[jviss]

On our 25 the icebox drain connects to the galley sink drain with a 'T' connector that then goes down to the thru-hull

The bottom of your icebox must be above the waterline, by a lot, no?

 

[autocad]

The bottom of your icebox must be above the waterline, by a lot, no?

Not by much. A few inches

 

[jviss]

you don't get salt water in the bottom of it when you heel?

 

[autocad]

you don't get salt water in the bottom of it when you heel?

The cooler & thru-hull are near the centerline of the boat so it's never been a problem. That and we sail on Lake Michigan

 

[Pat]

The bottom of our ice box is well above the water line..Pat

 

[jibes138]

Those Fynspray pumps are really expensive. I rebuilt mine once and the parts kit was a large percent of a new one. I have since gone to an expanding plug in the drain (like those used in the transom of a power boat) and just use a plastic cup to empty the water out of the icebox. Ten pounds of ice is only a gallon and a quarter plus you can put that cold water in a day cooler and cool down your beverages with it. Every degree below ambient is cooling you paid for and energy that was spent making it, try to get the most out of it.

 

[rogjack2]

Hi-- Used a vertical stroke lift pump to the galley sink. Worked perfectly. Every few weeks a drop of oil to keep it pumping smoothly.

 

[Castrilper55]

My cockpit ice box drains to the cockpit starboard side aft right at the bottom. (Probably a 1-2 inch drop over a couple of feet of run. Any water then drains to the scupper basin at the extreme aft end of the cockpit deck and out through the scupper. I thought it was OEM as it looks like a professional installation. Hope this helps.

Chris