Our 2003 C310!

Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
...The on to the cockpit it is 5/16 the other on the vang seems larger meaaured at 7/16. Larger line seems too big for the sheaves. According to Cataline direct this is suppose to be both 5/16, curious if this was a PO change or is this the same as others.
Listen to Cat Dir, and recall any system is only as strong as it's weakest kink, so anything bigger is probably false security. My B323 is 5/16./8 mm
 
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Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
Wanted to jump on this thread regarding a bit of an issue that I’m having with the helm brake. Issue is related to when I’m trying to remove tension on the brake after use. The wheel that controls the brake seems to come off of the post that it’s attached to prior to removing tension. I’ve tightened the screw that holds the wheel to the post, but that doesn’t seem to work. The only fix seems to be tighten the wheel to completely lock the wheel and then hope that when I loosen it catches and the wheel starts moving. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
@AwwShucks
@paulj has some nice pics on page 16 of this post of the internal brake. You have to remove the compass to access it. I'm a bit lost on your post, are you saying the knob that turns the brake in an our is coming completely out of the pedestal housing or just the knob on the shaft into the pedestal?
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
hmm. is there a set screw missing? I'm not on my boat but that is were I would start, if not then look at reinstalling the knob with some red thread lock.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
Thanks JRT - while the screw set is in place I’ll try the tread tape lock.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
Try checking the shaft for a flat spot. That’s where the set screw should lock to the shaft so it doesn’t slip.
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
@Ward H beat me to it, I would look for a flat spot or hole it goes into on the shaft.
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Replaced my joker valve this weekend and it sucked. I have the Raritan PHIII which was installed by the first owner and according to the service records had the joker valve replaced regularly during his ownership. Second owner said he did not replace the valve so it has been 5 years and we were getting some backflow.

I flushed with lots of clean fresh water on dry before I started and thought that the line from the toilet to the tank would be empty. Unfortunately after getting the fitting apart I quickly learned that was not correct as water started to flow back. Realizing at that moment the holding tank must be higher then the head I managed to raise the hose above the toilet and the water flow slowed. Luckily this was all fresh water and nothing funky showed up. I also had the shower sump pump on and ready and all the water went in the shower area so nothing to the bilge. I replaced the valve with a new OEM one and then was faced with getting the hose down and bolted back up. I had bolts, nuts and tools ready, but still got a significant amount water flow, but did finally get her buttoned up. Luckily again all clear water, no TP or solids and no odor.

I did check the vent, and flushed with a water hose, even opened the waste pump out fitting too. Tank was pretty empty when we bought her and have used the head very little. My vent is still original and has the screen on it, I know about the upgrade to 1" and remove the screens, but couldn't figure out how to remove the chrome vent from the hull to remove the screens on them. Any advice or recommendations? We are fresh water and it actually looks just fine, we have spider problems big time here so I wonder if the vent screen is actually helping, I've never noticed any difficultly flushing the toilet or pressure build up either. I use the @Peggie Hall HeadMistress recommended cleaners and holding tank chemicals.

Is this just a fact of life and I need to let the water run out the hose to the shower sump until it is empty next time? I'll admit when the water started flow I got pretty nervous that a surprise was coming my way so I wasn't going to risk letting the hose drain and cause a bigger issue.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
After the bowl was empty, did you give a half-dozen power pumps to force some air into the hoses and to the tank?
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I thought I did but maybe I didn't pump enough air? God knows I'll pump a lot more next time I do this job...
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,708
- - LIttle Rock
My vent is still original and has the screen on it, I know about the upgrade to 1" and remove the screens, but couldn't figure out how to remove the chrome vent from the hull to remove the screens on them. Any advice or recommendations?
Use a screwdriver blade, pliars or whatever works to knock the screen loose.

It's not hard to replace the vent thru-hull with an open bulkhead thru-hull. You need to remove a thru-hull from the INSIDE of the hull. There's a nut on the threaded barb..remove the vent line from the the thru-hull, then back that nut off the barb...you may have to scrape some bedding compound out from under it. Push the vent thru-hull out (there may be bedding compound under it on the outside of the hull too)...stick the new one in...apply new bedding compound on both the inside and the outside...tighten the nut, put the hose back on the new barb...you're done.

One more thing: You said, "Realizing at that moment the holding tank must be higher then the head I managed to raise the hose above the toilet and the water flow slowed".
To do it right the toilet discharge line really should go straight up immediately from the toilet and rise high enough to be just barely above the top of the TANK. That'll require a loop--not a vented loop, just a loop--in that line. This has a couple of advantages: You only have to pump the toilet long enough to push bowl contents over the top of that loop, gravity will get it the rest of the way to the tank (replacing the joker valve annually will ensure that the toilet has enough "oomph" to do that easily). If you learn to follow bowl contents with a little clean water to rinse behind 'em, then use the DRY mode to push that over the top of the loop, there'll be less than 1/2 cup of water to run back to the toilet, plus you'll increase the number of flushes your tank can hold by 50% or even more.

I'm not sure why it would ever be necessary to let ANY water run out the hose (what hose??) to the shower sump until it is empty next time...Is the backflow enough to overflow your bowl?? 'Cuz only the amount of water left in the line between the toilet and the tank can run back to the toilet...and that's not nearly enough to overflow a bowl.

Do you have my book? The title (my publisher's idea) is a bit misleading...'cuz although it does deal with every source of odor on a boat and how to cure, or better yet PREVENT 'em, it's actually a comprehensive "marine toilets and sanitation systems 101" manual that explains the laws, describes all the types of systems and how they work, and will help you learn how to operate and maintain your system to prevent 99% of problems instead of having to cure 'em.
--Peggie
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Thanks @Peggie Hall HeadMistress the discharge line is the one I'm talking about and I don't think it goes up to a loop. So that is a problem I can correct.

The back fill does not overflow the bowel, just a slow leak back in. The joker.valve should be the fix.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,708
- - LIttle Rock
A new joker valve will block backflow only until enough flushes have gone through it to stretch the slit. If you have only very slow seepage, your joker valve is still in as good shape as a new one will be in just a few months of regular weekend use. Learning to use the dry mode to do more than just push the last of the water out of the bowl will keep the backflow to no more than about 1/2 cup even after your joker valve has become worn enough to need replacing...which for most people should be annually as part of spring recommissioning.

Most people think that a joker valve's main function is to block backflow, but they're wrong...that's the LEAST important thing it does. If you have my book, read "Joker Valve 101" in it to find out what it's real job is and why it's actually the most important degradable part in any manual toilet. If you don't have my book, you can find Joker Valve 101 in the archives here.

--Peggie
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I found the 101 posting helpful, overall I believe our head was functioning ok with vacuum in the pump cycles. My thoughts are doing PM now instead of waiting for issues.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Thanks @Peggie Hall HeadMistress the discharge line is the one I'm talking about and I don't think it goes up to a loop. So that is a problem I can correct.

The back fill does not overflow the bowel, just a slow leak back in. The joker.valve should be the fix.
The line from the head to the holding tank goes through a 5 foot run of PVC that holds the line horizontal (it's attached to the underside of the shelf at the foot of the rear berth). Depending on how you run the hose it's a 8-10 foot run. Getting a loop on either end of the line isn't easy because of space. We have a small rise right when it leaves the toilet but the cabinet prevents it from going too high. On the other side of the PVC you have a similar issue with the enclosure around the holding tank.

The easy fix is your dry flushing. Doing 15-20 dry flushes after the bowl is clear will eliminate most backflow issues.
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Ordering new boom vange line, mine seems to have 2 different sizes. The on to the cockpit it is 5/16 the other on the vang seems larger meaaured at 7/16. Larger line seems too big for the sheaves. According to Cataline direct this is suppose to be both 5/16, curious if this was a PO change or is this the same as others.
Mine had two different sizes, as you described, and was original installation. I replaced the lines with the original setup. I think the heavier line has a bit more of a load on it.
 
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JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Thanks @Tom J that was exactly the feedback I wanted since your boat is newer then mine I'll stick with the same size lines it currently has. I was going to order lines from Amazon Prime day because I had a coupon code, but it didn't work so I decided to wait till WM 50% off sale like I did with my traveler lines.