Help (again). I just had the valve break on the raw water intake for the head. 1994 C36 2-cabin. The boat is kept in slip, fresh water, St. Marks river, Florida. The valve is the original plastic. 1" od thru-hull. I know its failed because the handle is now very easy to turn with no resistance. I'm pretty sure it broke in the open position as the head will still flush and its dripping slowly into the bildge. I want to change it out in water as I don't want to go to the expense of a haul out and the nearest yard is a day's sail away. Also I want to replace the plastic with bronze. Any one else done this?
Will the thread of the 1" bronze valve match the plasitc thru hull fitting?
All comments, suggestions appreciated.
I plan to go over the side in a wet suit to plug the intake. (Water temp about 70)
Thanks
Sam
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Sorry I can't offer any help. The only thing I got out of your message was "Water temp 70". I'm jealous.
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Cpt. Sam,
I purchased my boat a few years ago. One of the first things I did was to haul it out of the water and put a new coat of paint on the bottom. While doing this I found the plastic sea cock valve to my raw water strainer and engine appeared to be heading south. Since the boat was out of the water I figured it was the best time to replace the valve. I chose to replace the plastic valve with brass.
As I was removed the valve the fitting that connects the valve to the hull began to turn in place in the hull. Since the boat was out of the water it was an easy fix; remove the fitting (which takes one person outside and one inside of the boat), clean the hole and then caulk the new brass fitting to make it water tight, tighten down the nut on the inside of the boat and install the valve. That process took around 30 minutes.
I think if you are careful you should be able to remove the valve and re-install an new brass valve on the plastic fitting. But... if the plastic fitting begins to turn you might consider having a plan "B" in place. How close is your local boatyard that can remove you boat from the water? And/or how well do your sump pump(s) work?
If you do decide to do the project let us know how you did, any problems you encountered and how you solved the problems. Take some photos if you can and post them...
Chris
Chris Stewart
S/V "24~7"
1984 Catalina 36 Tall
Hull #251 M25
(SF Bay) Alameda, CA
Chris, WADR, brass?
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
I'm sure he means bronze
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Do any of you know if the intake for the head is covered with a strainer on the 1994 C36 and can I plug it with a stopper of some sort?
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
I would doubt very much there is a strainer attached to the raw water intake of the head. If there is I suspect a previous owner would have done it. It would be unusual. You could use a tapered plug offered by West Marine or some other supplier.
Gary Bain
S/V "Gone With The Wind"
Catalina 36', Hull #: 1056, Year: 1990, Engine: M-35
Standard Rig
Moored: Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Home: Auburn, Maine
My understanding from other posts on this forum, is that there is a white tapered plug that's screwed into the handle side of the seacock. That can be used to plug the hole from the outside. Can't swear to that from personal experience.
I've also read reviews that indicate that the Marelon (plastic) seacocks have improved greatly over the years, so it may be worth considering replacement with the same thing; would avoid any thread compatibility issues. Both bronze and Marelon have their pluses and minuses as does just about everything else..:(
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay
Thank you all for the comments. I've also consulted my best friend and retired Yacht surveyor, Pete Brown, who agrees that the Marelon valves are very good now and that there probably would be a mating thread issue with putting a bronze ball valve on the plastic thru hull. (Bronze most likely having a tapered thread and thru hull not.) He also told me about how to use a "plumber's friend", plunger to cover the thru hole from the outside while the repair is done, to avoid the hall out. But I'll keep the plug ready with my in-water assistant standing by. Parts are on order. I'll report back in a week or so. Wish me luck!
Sam
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Pretty sure that if you plug the thru-hull from outside with the white plug in the handle then all you have to do is undo the 4 long screws holding the ball valve part onto the mounting base, take the ball valve parts off and then screw the new ball valve onto the existing base. I changed mine last fall and the mounting base of the thru hull was in place so firmly that the only way it was coming off was total destruction. It was suggested on this forum to just change the moving parts which I did. There was differences in gaskets between current Marelon valves and the old ones, one has an O-ring and the other has a full gasket, can't remember which was which, and there was a slight difference in the bolt length but I just used everything that came with the new one and it has been fine. It was much easier than trying to fight WWIII with that mounting base.
Sam,
I agree with Bud. I replaced mine last year with the boat in the water. Give a call to Forespar, and they can send you detailed instructions, along with the parts you will need. It turned out to be a non-event, but my pulse was NOT normal when I started the job.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Thanks Tom and Bud, I think I'm following you. I ordered the new valve from Defender ( a lot less that West Marine!) yesterday and the part is shipped, so I'm going to try removing the whole valve first. But I'll be ready to resort to your "Plan B" if I have too. I'm going to have a diver in the water to keep that hole plugged. I can only imagine what it would be like to sink my new boat at her slip!!
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Actually, I went back down to the boat today ,and also talked directly to Forespar. The valve I have is not repairable apparently. So full replacement is the only choice. Maybe the weekend after Thanksgiving. I'm really nervious about this. Wish me luck.
Sam
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
OK, the deed is done. The Forespar valve on my boat (head intake) was not repairable. I went over the side in my wet suit and found the intake hole with my girl friend helping me line up with the right spot fore and aft. Like some one said earlier, I could reach the intake on the hull without getting my face in the water, although, it was hard to locate because the outer flange is flush to the hull, faired into the gelcoat. The inner diameter of the intake is very small, maybe a half inch as I could only get my little finger in it. The small dia, made it easy to plug. I used a cut off tip of emergency foam plug, (see photo) and it held well and cut off almost all the water flow.
The rest was easy, just removing the hoses, spinning off the broken valve and screwing on the new one. A piece of string tied to the plug allowed me to pull it out without putting the wet suit back on. I worried much more than this job deserved. But better safe than sunk.
See photos, the thru-hull valve in the picture is just an example, an old one I had laying around to show the correct outer and inner diameters and how the plug fit.
Capt. Sam Murphy
1994 Catalina 36, Hull 1327
Shoal draft, two cabin model.
Panama City, Florida
Well, those are definitely not the OEM valves that were on both Catalinas we've owned. And there is no raised mounting flange donut under it either. Makes you wonder if a PO at some time changed all the OEM ones for the aftermarket version, maybe because of the horror stories you hear about the OEM ones now and then. Good that worked out so well for you though, definitely changing that would be much easier than changing an OEM one. But then again the OEM ones are easy to rebuild. Nothing is ever simple on a boat.
Thanks for sharing all that, Sam. Glad it worked out for you!
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/