H31: Plumbing & Wiring

Aug 16, 2009
1,000
Hunter 1986 H31 California Yacht Marina, Chula Vista, CA
Plumbing: the hot and cold water lines start at the water heater in the starboard locker, then go into a plastic pipe starboard of the fridge. Do they run aft behind the stove, under floor, or somewhere along the bulkhead? I have a chafe leak right where they enter the plastic pipe in the locker, but I can't pull them aft to replace that section of grey pex. The only other much less desirable choice I can see would be to cut out a piece of that bulkhead under the countertop large enough to work on the pipe, and reinforce it again after the pipe is repaired.

Wiring: There are 2 ac cables exiting into the starboard locker out of the starboard side of the cabin. The only ac device I know of are the ac plugs along the upper wall. Since I assume all those plugs are wired serially, why two cables? The only thing I can figure is that one of the wires serves the portside plugs, but running starboard from the panel, all the way around the bow and along the port wall terminating at the plug near the nav station [rather than two wires originating at the panel, one going port and one going starboard]. I guess when you're wiring with only a hull in place the optimal wire routing looks a lot different than it does with the superstructure in place.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
running wires all over the boat instead of directly to the appliance is standard practice. seems there are limited opportunities to route wires directly and the toe rail is a nice place to do a lot of it. So both going forward for one to get to the other side is not that unusual.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Water tank is aft under the quarter berth. The sink in the head area is forward. The water lines go forward in the area starboard of the table in the salon to the sink. You should be able to remove or replace the entire water lines (hot/cold) if you reach up into the area by the salon table.

Maybe it would be a good time to replace the entire water supply system.
 
Aug 16, 2009
1,000
Hunter 1986 H31 California Yacht Marina, Chula Vista, CA
Bill, I would have thought running wires in the headliner would make it simple for the manufacturer to go port or starboard, but they don't seem to favor that for some reason. The H31 panel is, unfortunately under the companionway rather than at the nav station where it should be. If I had been braver at the outset I might have relocated it, but that nasty nest of wires was too intimidating. I ended up just making a second starboard panel for some additional breakers and switches.

Steve, that's actually my plan, including the toilet/sewage/holding tank. Aside from the area of chafe in the starboard locker, I think the aft freshwater pex is probably OK, but I wanted to change to the somewhat controversial plan of using pvc wherever possible. I feel it's sufficiently flexible for most areas, is impermeable, and joints and connections are easy to make and pretty much bulletproof, and it should outlast the boat. Another reason is that pvc ells come in several angles allowing for "tighter" turns that eliminate the wide arcs of flexible line that take up space and get under foot.
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,102
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Poking around in the electrical/plumbing diagrams for the 31.... The 120V plugs are wired separate port and starboard. There is the water heater and the battery charger? The boats did not come with a 120V charger so those were added at the dealer, typically.Is that the other wire?
Plumbing: diagram shows the hot and cold running along starboard from aft of the rear bulkhead on starboard.. like aft of the hot water tank . doesn't look like there are fittings after the 90 degree ell that turns the lines forward, until they get to the sink in the head. The diagrams sometimes are what the design was and what ya got may be different..
 
Aug 16, 2009
1,000
Hunter 1986 H31 California Yacht Marina, Chula Vista, CA
Claude, I'm pretty sure both of the ac romex looking wires are for the ac plugs, one for starboard and the one for port running parallel on starboard side but all around the salon, crossing to port either forward of the v-birth or in the bulkhead at the compression post. The water heater is in the starboard locker not 2 feet from the panel so it's wired more directly. You are correct that these did not come from the factory with a charger. I installed an old Xantrex inverter/charger under the aft port birth.
I think the plumbing diagram is accurate, though as I recall it is a top down view and one cannot be quite certain what path it follows or how to access it. I'm hoping Steve is correct.