Anchor washdown system

[brokesailor]

I want to install an anchor washdown system on a Crealock 37. Where is the hose connection normally placed? Bulwarks, deck?

[Faster]

Not a PSC owner, but wouldn't inside the anchor locker make the most sense?

[bjung]

On our 31 the hose connection is installed through the aft cockpit locker, at a perfect spot to gouge your heel while at the helm. While this may not be the closest spot to the bowsprit, I assume it was the easiest and closest place for istallation and running the hose.

[wsmurdoch]

On my 34 the intake is under the galley sink. It is shared with the salt water tap in the starboard sink and in the past with the watermaker. The Groco washdown pump is mounted under the sink. A hose runs from the pump to the the bow where the hose fitting is mounted about even with the windlass on the inside of the bulwark. I attach a short length of hose (cut to the proper length by my riding lawnmower) and a nozzle to that fitting to wash down the anchor or a longer hose to come back to the cockpit to clean up the blood and gore when we catch a fish.

Bill Murdoch
1988 PSC 34
Irish Eyes

[niftynickers]

On my 37 the intake is under the sink in the head teed into the toilet raw water intake hose. The pump is in the cabinet in the head and the perko hose connection is in the bulwark just above the pump on the starboard side about 10' from the bow.A 25' hose will easily reach the anchor roller or the cockpit.
The washdown is one of the best and most used tools on the boat.

Dianne and Chuck Burke S/V NiftyNickers C37 #139

[brokesailor]

Thanks for the replies!

[BirdBrain333]

On our 37 the intake and pump are exactly as Dianne and Chuck describe. The outlet hose, however then goes under the head shower pan, up through the storage area under the vee-berth cushion, over to the port side storage lockers and from there forward through the anchor locker to that round deck plate which I unscrew to snap in the self-coiling hose and nozzle. If it sounds complicated it is, especially trying to run a stiff and quite reluctant piece of 3/4" garden hose when it's about 25F! Next time I'll go with Dianne and Chuck's solution in a heartbeat.

Jay PSC 37, Kenlanu

[PCSSailor]

Brokesailor,

Seems like everyone is placing the pump under the head sink. Because I already had a shower pump on the bulkhead, I actually made it difficult on myself and placed it under the head cabinets (upside - down)....that is one of many fond memories.

I port the hose directly above washdown pump starboard/midship because my 37 had been prep'd for two deck fitings (one wash down, one water tank fill) that were not installed but had noticible circle cracks in the gelcoat. Two birds...one stone.

Midship works great!

Unless you keep one hose dedicated to the washdown, buy two hose connections. They have small parts that like to jump out of your hand and into the water.

While it would be nice to have a pump with slightly more psi it's always a balance with power consumption and I'm not usually in a hurry. I wouldn't go cheap on the pump.

Hope to see you on the bay sometime!

[bobdugan]

My wife and I have been talking about this subject over the past week.

Right now we don't have an anchor washdown system on our PS34. Since anchor locker access is in the vberth... we're imagining the wonderful smell that will waft through the cabin and vberth when we pull up 60 feet of mud coated chain... yuck.

Short of installing a washdown system, do any of you have strategies for removing mud from the chain & preventing anchor locker stink from reaching the the cabin/vberth?

Bob

[wsmurdoch]

My previous boat was (and still is because I still have it) a Tanzer 22. The best anchor chain and line cleaning device I had was...

I went to a janitorial supply place and bought the heaviest toilet cleaning brush they had. (Wire size matters. You want it to be stiff.) You know the sort I'm talking about; a loop of baby bottle brush coming out of a plastic handle. I cut the loop on one side at the handle and straightened out the brush to make a 2 foot long baby bottle brush. Next, I wrapped the brush around a broom handle in a helix with about a 2 or 3 inch pitch and removed the broom handle. I could screw the brush over the anchor line so the line was inside the helix. Pulling back and forth brushed first the nylon then the chain as I pulled it aboard. With a longer handle I could do it at water level where the rinse and splash made it work best and kept most of the muddy mess off the deck.

Did it work? Sort of. Now that I have running seawater on the bow, would I ever go back? No.

Bill Murdoch
1988 PSC 34
Irish Eyes