Catalina 350 International Association

Hi. I am a new 350 owner. I bought it in the Fall of 2004 and last Summer was my first Summer with it. I have it sitting at a mooring and everything seems fine except I went out to check her the other night, and both of my fresh water tanks are empty. A few days before they were full and now the water is gone. I assume that it went into the bilge and the pump pumped it out but now I have to figure out why. I called my dealer and said I probably have a leaky hose or a bad valve. But, both tanks? Would there be one hose that would both tanks would be expose to? Has anyone heard of this problem. Also there always seems to be about 1 inch of water in the bilge. Is this normal? If so where does it come from? Thanks guys, I'm still learning a lot and I truly appreciate any help I can get. This water thing has me kind of nervous.

Thanks
Jim

Unless you had both valves (under the galley sink) open at the same time, I don't see any way that both tanks could empty. This may take some time to figure out. If you leave your water pump off when you're not on the boat, then the leak must be between the tank and the pump (duhh!),
Theoretically, there shouldn't be any water in the bilge at any time. I've been troubleshooting intermittent water in my bilge and think it is coming from the inspection port on the top of my V berth tank. I think it is leaking when the boat heels. I'll keep you posted.

Jim, since you mention both tanks are empty, I can think of a couple things to check.
First: see if the valves are both open under your galley sink. If so then the leak is most likely at one point at or after the water pump. Since the odds of having a new leak on both tanks are slim. Check the distribution manifold in the bilge for leaks. Also check you water heater for leaks. Make sure the drain cocks are closed on the hot water tank. Close up one of the tank valves, under the galley sink, and put water in both your tanks. Test to see if one or both tanks empty.
Another possibility is that you left the water pressure pump on, with one of the taps on, and it slowly emptied your tanks while you were gone.

Remember you need pressurized water in the hot water tank before you start your engine so as not too ruin your heat exchanger.

As for water in the bilge. My bilge is dry. Was your bilge dry before you noticed your fresh water tanks empty?

Hope this helps,

Ralph,

Why would you need water in your hot water heater to avoid damage to the heat exchanger? I know that you could burn up the heater element if you plug into shore power without any water in the tank. I regularly drain all the fresh water from my tanks in the winter and yet still use the boat (under power) without any problems.

This is what the dealer told us during our training. He told us that we needed to make sure there was water in the tanks and that the water pressure pump was turned on before running the engine.

I too have a water,(fresh), in the bilge problem; had it since day one. My dealer is particularly uninterested and has no advice on the problem. Previous posts have elicited reponses that it might be coming down from the mast, (via the mast furling gear), overflowing inside the mast, and then running down the pressure post into the bilge - remedy suggested was that I bore a hole or 2 in the bottom of the mast to allow it to leak out - havn't tried that. Cannot confirm this is the cause. Another suspect source was given as the anchor windlass - cannot confirm this. I have noted some water collecting in the small inspection area near the boat speed indicator plug which is in the forward cabin, but cannot determine the source of this. I seem to use a lot of water from the water tanks, but this is hard to gauge. We have particularly heavy rains in Sydney now and then, and I suspect is it rainwater, as when there is no rain, the bilge remains dry, when we have heavy rain, it has about 1"of water in it at all times. This leads to stale water, mould etc. in the bilge. I am travelling to LA in about 10 days and will go to the Catalina Factory and see if they can advise how to fix the problem. Apart from that no problems....

Tom McGrath
# 278 - "Whisper II" -Sydney Australia

There's a thread on the C34 forum discussing - or advising - of loose hose clamps on new boats.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3117.0

I know that we initially had a loose clamp near the hot water heater (or the stern shower) - It wasn't a big leak, just enough to cause the pressure water to cycle once in a while. I finally went around and started feeling for moisture on all the connections and found a drippy one back there.

Probably not the cause of all your water, but possibly a contributer.

Good Luck!

It took me forever to trace the water in my bilge to the connection on top of the water tank in the V berth. I gave the fill and vent fittings a 360 degree turn and that has fixed my problem.

I think I have found a possible answer to the problem of freshwater in the bilge. In my case it usually occurred after heavy rain. After running a hose into the opening of the mast of the furling mainsail I found the bilge filling with water and water running out under the sink where the wires from the mast emerge - they were dripping with water ! It seems the holes at the foot of the mast cannot cope with a heavy downpour and the water builds up, rises above the level of the tubing that takes the wires below and finishes up in the bilge. This might be a problem confined to those yachts fitted with a furling mainsail. My dealer remains uninterested in coming up with a solution, (despite this problem being advised to him during the warranty period). Suggestions include pumping some foam type product into the bottom of the mast, however this would block the drain holes and perhaps compound the problem. It seems I may have to step the mast and raise the level of the tubing that carries the wires down below, which would seem an expensive exercise. It is a most annoying problem and if not attended to on a regular basis will, I fear, contribute dampness and odour on the boat. Anybody got any ideas. Regards

Tom
Whisper II #278
Sydney Australia

Tom
I remember you were planning a trip to California and I noticed all our west coast members were inviting you to sail with them
Next time you come to the US visit Tennessee or Florida and I will invite you. We have that great Southern Hospitality here.
Getting to the leak point. My boat is in Florida and we get tremendous down pours but that does not bring water in my boat. I also have a furling main and my hull # is 165.
Please give us some feedback on your Catalina visit in California.