Leak under the sink*cry

[Jim Floyd]

During a recent weekend, we heard the bilge pump come on several times. Investigating, we found a leak under the sink from what we think is the water heater. There was a trickle of water from the edge of the gray box that drained to the bilge. Then we lost all water pressure. When we tried to re-pressurize, the leak increased. We looked as well as we could with flashlight, both from the front of the cabinet and the rear accessed under the nav table. Any ideas what could be causing this? Or better yet, any ideas how to fix it? Our boat is only 1 year, 5 months old. Thanks for any ideas!!

 

[RonD]

Leak

Had that happen to me once, too. Fortunately, it occured about the time we tied up at a slip & not at sea, or when the boat was unattended.The problem was a loose clamp on one of the hot water heater hoses under the galley sink. The hose had popped off of the heater fitting and my pressure water pump was working overtime to keep up with the bilge pump. Turning off the pressure water circuit breaker stopped the inflow quickly enough.--RonD

 

[Tom S]

Or it could be a plastic check valve Catalina puts in

Are you *sure* its not coming from somewhere else?? I had my check valve go on me. It dribbled out of a small area of the check valve and down the hose. It keeps the hot water from back flowing into the cold water feed. Its about $10-$20 to replace the cheap plastic one that was in there but I decide to go with a bronze one like the one you see in the link below from West marine. All I had to do was put screw in bronze nipples to fit the water hose.Also look closely at all hoses the the area.I would think that its rare for a water heater to go in one year and would think that its still under warantee

 

[Augie Byllott]

Catalina problems?

Im my eyes, Catalina is the epitome of boat manufacturers with respect to customer service and satisfaction. I have a '78 C30 that produces a headache for me every now and then. Whenever it does, if it's something I can't figure out, my next move is to go to the URL below, and describe my problem via e-mail. In a short time, I get a reply with a solution or, if necessary, the supplier who furnishes parts for them.

 

[Bill]

Check rear tank cap

JimI was also plauged by the bilge pump coming on several times periodically on my new 2002 320. This first happened in the period when I was taking delivery from the broker. I mentioned it to them; they said they would fix but they never did. After three months I found the grey cap on the top of my aft water tank was leaking water after I filled it. The threads in the tank that accept the cap appear to be on a curved plane and it is hard to get the o-ring to seal.Just a suggestion for a place to look?Good LuckBill

 

[SAM]

Inspect it easily by...

removing the drawers and the cabinet front. The drawers are easy to remove, and the cabinet is held in by six screws. I found this out the hard waw when I moved the water tank selector valves from the (extremely) poor location of under the aft berth to near the through hull for the galley sink. All of the plumbing in that area is the hard plastic Whale plumbing system that just clicks together. If one of the connections was not inserted far enough, it'll leak, and with the cabinet removed, it should be easy to see.Good luck

 

[RonD]

Forward Water Tank

I've had a minor annoyance leak from the forward water tank when it is topped off. Not sure exactly where it is coming from yet -- suspect either the inspection cap seal (see the other post, this thread) or the vent fitting. Stops after dropping a few gallons.Also, you should inspect both of those tanks via that screw cap on top of each. I found chunks of plastic shavings floating around. Probably left over from manufacturing. Some of that plastic had wound up going through the pipes & getting trapped (thankfully!) by the filter just ahead of the pressure pump (located by manifolds, aft cabin). So, check that filter periodically, too.--RonD