No overboard water tank vents

Mar 10, 2015
62
Catalina 30 Moss Landing, CA
My old 30's two standard water tanks have no overboard vent fittings - just a foot or two of open-ended hose on the tank vents, and a hell of a wet mess when I first (way over) filled them! I suppose I could rig a detachable plug-in tell-tale hose out the fwd or head hatches from the tank's vent hose while being filled, but really...

The parts manual shows no tank vents or hoses, and a search of the forums not a word. What am I missing, and how have you folks dealt with this? The inner liner makes the usual high hull vent difficult I would think.

Pete
 
Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
No outside vents keeps salt water and bugs out of the tanks. It is the "correct" way of plumbing them, a lot of boats are done this way. They usually end the vent hose as high as possible, but depending on the tank location that may not be high enough. Just be more careful filling the tanks.
 
Mar 10, 2015
62
Catalina 30 Moss Landing, CA
No outside vents keeps salt water and bugs out of the tanks. It is the "correct" way of plumbing them, a lot of boats are done this way. They usually end the vent hose as high as possible, but depending on the tank location that may not be high enough. Just be more careful filling the tanks.
Thanks for your reply, Cap, but seriously, in my 42 yrs of owning and having the opportunity to cruise on many boats, the only "loose" interior vent hose I ever saw was the one I installed on my Herreshoff Meadowlark 37 leeboard ketch that ran to near the trunk cabin ceiling, and would still make a mess of things if you were distracted filling at the deck-level fill.

I would call this method more squeezing nickles by the builder than "correct", at least in cruising sailboats. A screened vent opening facing about 45 deg. aft hasn't caused any detectable fouling on my previous boats, and a wet locker's spider/bug density and the open line end access definitely exceeds the exterior fitting's possibilities.

Swan did it very elegantly by leading the vents to one or more sink spouts, and the cross section is small enough to cause a distinct fill-plate overflow, whereas the Cat. 30's 3/4" fill hose and a 3/4" vent gives absolutely no indication on my boat at the filler outside that the tank is full, and worse, my x-ray vision seems to have failed me...

I'm considering putting a common vent in the aft end of the anchor locker and tee'ing the stbd locker's tank vent line into the fwd tank's line - easy to see the overflow there - and both would fill through the big tank's fill. But I haven't checked out getting the hose through the various bulkheads to the V-berth locker yet.

Pete
 
Sep 1, 2014
48
catalina 30 Oxnard CA
The starboard tank I moved the cushion and cover board and filled it directly. I may do this in the v-berth if there is a problem of overfilling it, This '78 TR #1249 is fairly new to me.

If the overflow just drains into the bilge what is the problem ??? If you are in the club house tipping a few or start filling before you leave at night a portion of the big flag pole should be visible when you return. I prefer not to have bugs in the fresh water.
 
Mar 10, 2015
62
Catalina 30 Moss Landing, CA
The starboard tank I moved the cushion and cover board and filled it directly. I may do this in the v-berth if there is a problem of overfilling it, This '78 TR #1249 is fairly new to me.

If the overflow just drains into the bilge what is the problem ??? If you are in the club house tipping a few or start filling before you leave at night a portion of the big flag pole should be visible when you return. I prefer not to have bugs in the fresh water.

That would work, and maybe a screw cap with a small hole drilled in it for venting, and closing out the larger buglets. But I'm gonna try for a proper leak-proof solution.

Your last hilarious comment reminds me of the time years ago I walked off the end of a foot or so underwater dock in the Rio Dulce at night after a few too many G&T's, with the floating hat for a moment the only sign!

Pete
 
Oct 15, 2008
87
Catalina 30 Mexico
I have a light mounted next to the Vberth water tank and you can see the water level thru the open hatch from within the boat. Never saw a need to have vent line discharge overboard, however, after overfilling once I became more attentive.