Deck Caps

[bobcat30]

Well we survived the winter form hell in Massachusetts.
Now that boating season is upon us, I plan to replace the Deck Plate caps for the water , waste and fuel. I have a Catalina 30 and Catalina Direct says that their caps might not fit my existing pipes. Has anyone replaced theirs? If so, any issues?
With the exception of the waste, the caps are black and use a two prong key to open. The new styles use the winch handles and are color coded. The waste is chrome. I had to replace that cap 3 years ago and the new one never screwed in properly.

Also, I need to replace the Ball valve under in the head. Cat Direct does have a 3/4 valve. Again, has anyone replaced theirs? Advice is always appreciated.

last, how can I trouble shoot the macerator pump. After pumping the tank, flushing with fresh water and repumping, I run the macerator for 1 minute. It didn't turn on. Is there a fuse behind the switch panel?
Thanks, BobCat

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

I recently pulled out the main water tank deck fill on my '82 MkI (replacing all of the hoses and checking the deck seal).
My plates and caps are different than yours - they're all chrome (appear original) and I can't answer your question specifically, but I can offer up a little info.

Like you, I tried replacing the actual cap a couple years back. I didn't measure before buying as pretty much everything available is 1 1/2". Naturally, the cap didn't fit when I got it out to the boat. Wasn't overly bothered as the old ones worked fine. I just wanted an easier 'opener' mechanism - the ones I have are slot, which is a royal PITA.
Where my experience might be useful to you is that when I pulled the whole plate this winter I found that the deck hole was VERY oversized. In fact one of the three screws was firmly seated in AIR. Fortunately the plate hadn't been leaking. I've now sealed the deck with epoxy and am looking to buy a fill plate with a little larger flange so that all three screws can properly bed. It also means that I need to pull the second water tank cap and the diesel fill cap to see if they have the same deck cut size...

Not sure why Catalina did that, but perhaps they changed the type of plate part way through a manufacture season. Still unacceptable if you ask me though. What are the chances that the other two haven't leaked on me??!!

Regarding your ball valve question - do you mean the ball valve for the head through-hull? If so, the forum user MaineSail (Musings with MaineSail) has the best info available ANYWHERE on how to properly service, replace, move, etc...

Cheerio,
Mike

 

[bobcat30]

Thanks

I recently pulled out the main water tank deck fill on my '82 MkI (replacing all of the hoses and checking the deck seal).
My plates and caps are different than yours - they're all chrome (appear original) and I can't answer your question specifically, but I can offer up a little info.

Like you, I tried replacing the actual cap a couple years back. I didn't measure before buying as pretty much everything available is 1 1/2". Naturally, the cap didn't fit when I got it out to the boat. Wasn't overly bothered as the old ones worked fine. I just wanted an easier 'opener' mechanism - the ones I have are slot, which is a royal PITA.
Where my experience might be useful to you is that when I pulled the whole plate this winter I found that the deck hole was VERY oversized. In fact one of the three screws was firmly seated in AIR. Fortunately the plate hadn't been leaking. I've now sealed the deck with epoxy and am looking to buy a fill plate with a little larger flange so that all three screws can properly bed. It also means that I need to pull the second water tank cap and the diesel fill cap to see if they have the same deck cut size...

Not sure why Catalina did that, but perhaps they changed the type of plate part way through a manufacture season. Still unacceptable if you ask me though. What are the chances that the other two haven't leaked on me??!!

Regarding your ball valve question - do you mean the ball valve for the head through-hull? If so, the forum user MaineSail (Musings with MaineSail) has the best info available ANYWHERE on how to properly service, replace, move, etc...

Cheerio,
Mike

Thanks for the info. Bobcat30

 

[George Da Porge]

I have a 1990 30 MKII. My water fill and waste lines are all 1". The deck fills are bronze. I was just going to replace the fills with new, but wanted to stay with 1" lines. Could not find reasonably priced new, so I did buy new caps from Catalina Direct and they fit. I would like to think you could return them if they didn't fit.

I had to replace the waste cap 'cause like a ding dong I left the cap on the deck when pumping. That cap is now on the bottom of the harbor. I was able to watch it slowly sink though, so it wasn't a total loss!!slowly

Anyway, when I pulled the water fills off I also found the holes a bit too large. The core was firm, though. If I recall correctly I wouldn't have been able to rotate them for new screw locations - one screw would have been in air. So I put a little straight epoxy in each screw hole, and sealed fills liberally with 3M 4200.

The hardest part of the job was removing the paneling above the hanging locker. Took that off to remove the hoses to allow the chains to be riveted to the fills. So while I'm at it I'm changing the fill hoses. And a corner of the paneling will be trimmed for ease of reattachment.