Septic smell on a 27

[Scott]

I am considering the purchase of a 1989 27. She is in good condition, however I am concerned about 3 items.1. There is a very strong(I MEAN STRONG!!)smell of septic in the cabin. The owner said the tank may need pumping and he said when using the head, while sailing you have to add water to flush. Is the smell normal and is the adding of the water normal?2. The bilge (under the cabin sole) has about 1/2" of water in it. He said this is normal as well. he also explained the shower drains to the bilge and the ice box drains to the bilge is this normal?3. The Starboard side front cleat is loose, beyond simple tightening the two philips head screws. Is this a problem?In general the boat is in good condition, are there any other items to look for? Thank You

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Catalina Owners]

Answers

For your first question, you should ask this over in the Head Mistress Forum on this site. Peggie knows all things head related! But in the meantime, what I suspect Peggie will say (or at least *some* of what she'll say) is that an enclosed system should smell like that. She'll probably suggest that the hoses are permeated and will need to be replaced and/or the hose for the tank vent is plugged. As far as adding water, I suspect what he means is that if the boat is heeled over and the intake through-hull is above the water line, you'll have to add water into the bowl. Just to be clear, water should ALWAYS be used in flushing - you open a through-hull, flip the little lever on the head and pump water & waste into the tank. Bilges often have a little water in them. 1/2" isn't a big deal as long as it's only icebox/shower runoff. The downside to this is the water from both sources can get quite smelly. This is also another possibility for nasty odors, as Peggie will tell you. Either clean it out regularly or find another way to remove the water from both sources.Please tell me the cleat isn't fastened just with screws! All cleats need to be through-bolted with backing plates (or substantial washers). Tremendous loads get placed on cleats and you don't want them popping off at an inopportune moment! Have someone crawl into the V-berth and see if there are nuts (and a backing plate!) on the underside. But don't just tighten them! You need to rebed the entire unit to prevent any leaks. If the "screws" are loose, you'll have major leakage with the first rain. Remove the cleat & rebed with LifeCaulk or 3M 4200. You actually might want to do this with all the deck hardware (at least all the cleats). Leaks don't always drip - sometimes they seep into the deck coring causing major problems down the line.Other things to look at would be that deck coring I just mentioned. If that cleat is that loose, I'd be suspect about his maintenance of the rest of the boat. I'd HIGHLY recommend having a thorough survey done. It's not cheap but worth it if the boat's a mess - you can either walk away or you can negotiate a better price.LaDonna

 

[Don]

Septic smell, etc

LaDonna covered #1-2. All marine head systems require some routine maintenance and care. One small leak can cause a very big smell. As for water in the bilge, many things could cause that. Rain water can come in thru engine vents or cockpit drains (on an 89 model), stuffing box for prop or rudder. The shower does drain into the bilge. Once you discover the source, then you can determine the severity. Usually, not hard to fix.For itiem #3, the bow cleats on models with an anchor well appear to have been installed by Catalina before the inner liner was installed. In other words, it is a bear to get to the nuts. If there is a way, I couldn't find it. I cut holes in the anchor well and installed deck plates for future access to the nuts. I don't believe that area is cored, it is solid fiberglass. Not enough room for backing plates either. I retained the original fender washers, which, IMHO, are adequate considering the thickness of the glass.