Is there a horn block-off plate for 22C?

[Carl C]

Even when my boat was new the horn was a joke. Then it got where you could barely hear it at all. We got a lot of good laughs out of that goofy horn. Now I carry an air horn next to my seat. Anyway, the front of my boat gets dunked in the water quite a bit on the rough great lakes and water is getting in through that opening. I don't want to do the glass & paint work to fill the hole but would like to take the horn out and put on a fake cover that would look functional but keep water out. Has anyone done this? Any ideas? A SS billet piece with fake slot openings would be perfect.

[Just Say N20]

Carl,

You could use the existing front cover of the horn, cut a piece of aluminum as a backer plate to fit inside the hull. Using the horn cover as a template, drill out the mounting bolt locations, and sandwich a piece of rubber between the backer plate and the hull to make it water tight. Just bolt the existing cover plate to the backer plate.

Should work fine.

I probably have a scrap of 1/4" thick rubber big enough to work as the gasket if you need a chunk.

[Jraysray]

and install some loud azz air horns on the back side of the kickplate ore side wall of the kickplate in the Carl cuddy. That would be more than close enough to the cockpit to rattle some fillings out da teeth.

Can do a novelty horn like the dukes of hazard or oooooga oooooga. (kidding)

[Carl C]

Bill, that sounds like it might work but the stock plastic cover looks kind of cheap. I'm sure I could find a piece of rubber around here.

Scott, no horn will live long behind the water pressure that this spot sees. I stuffed it twice on the way to Put-in-Bay Tuesday running 4 footers and ran honest 6-8 footers most of the way home on Erie. There was a small craft advisory and I went at idle speed climbing 8' waves made me feel like "Alaska's Greatest Catch" but to scale. No serious stuffs but that horn cover spent plenty of time under water. That was yesterday. I got wet and cold from spray and wind and it took about 3 hours to idle about 20 miles. Then the water calmed down a bit and the rest of the trip home was fun but cold.

[Jraysray]

I'm talking behind where your feet go. Like the firewall interior not exterior. Install second horn. Leave original maintains water seal.

[Carl C]

I use this horn that comes with a hand pump to refill. I found this one at Overtons with a steel cover plate. A fake plate like that would be perfect.

[Pismo]

Such a silly setup, what was Donzi thinking? Cut a hole in the hull for a horn..Silly

[Carl C]

Such a silly setup, what was Donzi thinking? Cut a hole in the hull for a horn..Silly

Especially for a useless horn that no one can hear and with a $6 cover plate.

[Carl C]

So this problem seems to be pretty common http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/b...horn-leak.html . I'll bet a lot of Classics are taking on water through the horn opening but the owners don't see it because they have not opened up that area. Boats with cabins sure see it. Maybe I will make a false grill some how.

[Carl C]

The water was definitely coming in through the horn cover. The poor seal was obvious when I popped the cover off. Only the starboard side of my opened up under-bow area was soaked. I left drainage when I did my mod so that excess water could drain to the bilge. However, at the very front is a bulkhead to which the lifting eye hardware is attached. This creates an area at the very front that can hold about a gallon of water. There is no drainage for this section and mine was about half full of water. I cut an aluminum plate to close off the horn slots. I sealed it on both sides with 4200. I sealed the horn cover with a bead of 4200 also. This is what it looks like now. Mine can't be the only boat with this issue. You just can't see that area on most of them. That horn was only good for a laugh anyway. I'll stick with my air horn.

[Just Say N20]

I didn't think someone who could invent, and then install the "Carl Cabin" would be challenged very much by such a problem as this.

Bam! Problem solved.

[Greg Guimond]

Nice fix Carl. I wonder if one of the new recessed marine headlights would fit right into that hole. Would not hurt to have some LED light. I know that both Alison and DCB have been using them.