I was doing some preventative maintenance this weekend and came upon a problem I could use some advice on. I have a 1984 Catalina 30. I was cleaning the filters on my AC, tightening fittings and decided to change the cooling water hoses and clamps. I shut off the through hull valve by lowering the handle. I cut the hose to the correct length, placed the new clamps on and proceeded to remove the old hose and clamps. Everything went as planned; however, I did notice that a small amount of water kept coming out of the hoses. I replaced the new hose and cleaned up. I opened the sea cock valve and I started the AC pump. I noticed only a small amount of water coming out of the discharge and the hose started to collapse from the pull of the pump. It appeared to have a clog. I checked the hoses and filter and no problem. I shut the inlet valve again, removed the hose and noticed that the same small amount of water was coming out with the valve, closed. I slowly opened the valve, to see if it was clogged and there was no difference in the amount of water flow. I believe that something happened to the valve the first time I closed it. I do not think the pickup strainer is covered because it worked fine before I started and because the valve does not completely close. My question is, do you think the sea cock is broken? It was not hard to move and was not forced. Does it require a haul-out to check and repair? Also, I noticed that the water leaking had no way to get to the bilge. How does water in this part of the hull (under the V-Berth) get to the bilge? Thanks for your comments.
