Recently purchased a vintage 1978 Catalina 30'. Head and galley sinks keep filling with water - will not drain. Searched for a closed seacock - none found. Ran a snake down the drain - no luck - maybe will try some Drano? Any other suggestions?
Clogged Head and Galley Sinks
- Thread starter Billy the Kidd
- Start date
The head doesn't 'drain' which I think you know. Consequently, you are mixing two different issues.
As to the sink, don't use drano please. Remove the hose where it attaches to the seacock and open it to see if the valve is functioning properly. The amount of water coming in should flow at a high rate. If not, voila! You just isolated the cause - no water = bad valve. Lots of water = clogged hose.The water which enters won't sink your boat .
Re the head - what happens when you try pumping it in dry mode?
As to the sink, don't use drano please. Remove the hose where it attaches to the seacock and open it to see if the valve is functioning properly. The amount of water coming in should flow at a high rate. If not, voila! You just isolated the cause - no water = bad valve. Lots of water = clogged hose.The water which enters won't sink your boat .
Re the head - what happens when you try pumping it in dry mode?
Clogged Sinks
Thenks Don -- It is the sink in the head that is not draining. Don't see any seacock leading to the sink drains.
Our head sink drain and water intake thru hull for the head is located under the port settee. Just forward of the hatch. Ours had a main valve to a T and then a second valve for the drain and a 3rd valve for the water intake. Goofy...
For the sink it had its own thru hull under the bar.
Munchkin Cleaning Brush 4 Pc. Set
Link: http://amzn.com/B0077M41Z4
For the sink it had its own thru hull under the bar.
Munchkin Cleaning Brush 4 Pc. Set
Link: http://amzn.com/B0077M41Z4
I cannot imagine anyone (a previous owner in this case) who would spend the money on a boat that size and do away with the seacocks/ball valves, which were installed during manufacture... and which need to still be in the system. you need to find where the drain line from the sinks go... hopefully the thru hulls have not been glassed over with the sink drains diverted to the bilge.
but where they are both will not drain and "plugged" as you say. i think you will find the seacocks/ball valves are there somewhere at the lower end of the drain lines, but in the closed position, which would be normal for an unattended boat...
but where they are both will not drain and "plugged" as you say. i think you will find the seacocks/ball valves are there somewhere at the lower end of the drain lines, but in the closed position, which would be normal for an unattended boat...
I can't believe that anyone would even think of pouring Draino down the plumbing drain of their boat. But maybe you don't know what its made of. Draino is comprised of caustic Lye which if it spills on your hands will severely burn your skin. If it splashes in your eye, you will go blind. As soon as it hits your plumbing it creates a very caustic reaction, which does not eat away at the clog adequately, but does an excellent job of eating away at steel, rubber & anything else it touches, causing massive corrosion. I work as a building inspector, & Draino should be illegal. I know several plumbers who have permanent burns on their hands from plunging toilet drains from people who poured Draino down the toilet.
Now as far as a clog, your Mark 1 C 30 likely has no holding tank installed, so follow the drain hose down to the thru hull to which it drains. Release the band clamps to the hose attachment to the fitting & remove the blockage in the valve. If you see round, blue handles for gate valves still in place, be very careful as these steel valves are very brittle & can break off & sink your boat. Our boat was re-plumbed, & our head sink is plumbed into the toilet to cut down on the number of thru hulls & reduce the chances of leaks. Catalina really put in too many thru hulls in their boats, & used very cheap gate valves & cheap plumbing hoses that can sink older boats. Here is a pic that I attached to another thread regarding cheap Catalina plumbing. This cut out stern shows you just how cheap their plumbing was in the 1970's era, & will hopefully motivate you to re-plumb anything that looks questionably or dubious:
Now as far as a clog, your Mark 1 C 30 likely has no holding tank installed, so follow the drain hose down to the thru hull to which it drains. Release the band clamps to the hose attachment to the fitting & remove the blockage in the valve. If you see round, blue handles for gate valves still in place, be very careful as these steel valves are very brittle & can break off & sink your boat. Our boat was re-plumbed, & our head sink is plumbed into the toilet to cut down on the number of thru hulls & reduce the chances of leaks. Catalina really put in too many thru hulls in their boats, & used very cheap gate valves & cheap plumbing hoses that can sink older boats. Here is a pic that I attached to another thread regarding cheap Catalina plumbing. This cut out stern shows you just how cheap their plumbing was in the 1970's era, & will hopefully motivate you to re-plumb anything that looks questionably or dubious:
Attachments
Clogged Drains
Our boat does have a holding tank. There are two thru-hull fittings - close together at mid-ships, but there only appears to be one seacock -- probably for the head saltwater intake -- must be another seacock for the sink drains - just need to find it. Billy the Kidd
Thanks for the cautionary info on DRANO -- what was I thinking!!
Our boat does have a holding tank. There are two thru-hull fittings - close together at mid-ships, but there only appears to be one seacock -- probably for the head saltwater intake -- must be another seacock for the sink drains - just need to find it. Billy the Kidd
Billy,
You might also take a look at our short Youtube video "Little squirt" at;
http://youtu.be/jrHEH9hpF4I
Greg
You might also take a look at our short Youtube video "Little squirt" at;
http://youtu.be/jrHEH9hpF4I
Greg
Have never tried this product nor know anyone that has.
http://uniquemm.com/products/marine-digest-it-holding-tank-deodorizer
Can only go by what Boat Galley has written about it.
http://theboatgalley.com/marine-digest-it/
http://uniquemm.com/products/marine-digest-it-holding-tank-deodorizer
Can only go by what Boat Galley has written about it.
http://theboatgalley.com/marine-digest-it/
If you can trace the drain hose, you should find the thru hull. My vanity sink drains to a thru-hull at waterline and is located just under the sink in the closet.
Find the seacocks. Unless some PO did something rash, they will be there. Open them and see if this solves your problem. If not, then dive over the side and clear out the through hulls. Most of the time you have a drainage problem with any of your through hull openings it will be caused by marine growth in the through hull fitting. While you are down there, do all of the through hulls with special attention given to the engine, raw water intake. If this doesn't totally solve your problems then use a small plunger to clear the drain lines. Taking off the hoses seems to serve little purpose here, Steve.
Is your sink absolutely not draining, or just draining slowly?
I've had this issue a few times. Usually, it's just draining slowly, which is a result of the water in the sink being warm/hot, and the ocean being a lot colder. If that's the case, run some cold water into the sink and it should speed things up.
Other times it has been towards the end of the season, the result of barnacles/mussels growing over the thru-hull. Scrape them off and it will speed things up.
I've had this issue a few times. Usually, it's just draining slowly, which is a result of the water in the sink being warm/hot, and the ocean being a lot colder. If that's the case, run some cold water into the sink and it should speed things up.
Other times it has been towards the end of the season, the result of barnacles/mussels growing over the thru-hull. Scrape them off and it will speed things up.
Have you considered finding the boat's manual online? That'll show you where they went when the boat was built. Won't show you what some a-hole PO might have done.