Water leak

[Brad Woodward]

There are several threads on this subject but thought I would add mine. I bought a 86 Catalina 30 over a year ago. The PO kept it at a dock in front of his condo and only sailed it in the harbor. The water system and galley were seldom use. When I got it it took a few weeks to repare the water system, cleaning tanks, replacing valves, and replacing 26 yr old leaky pump. To old to get parts. But the water pump would turn on for a couple of seconds every few minutes. I searched off and on for over a year trying to locate the leak. I read as many posts on boating blogs as I could find for insite on where to look. The a few weeks ago I washe up after a great day of sailing bur forgot and left the pump on. I think I had around 15 gals of water on board. 5 days later I want back tot the boat and heard a humming when I boarded. Not a good thing. Shut off the pump and prayed it wasn't burned out. Filled the water tanks and tried the pump again. I expected it to run a bit to refill the system and spit a lot of air. It did. But when it finally pressurized it was cycling every few seconds. I also noticed it took a bit to get the hot water system to flow. Started to take off covers around the engine to look for leaks. Sue enough water was leaking from under the galley. Removed the drawers and noticed the water was coming from the lazarette, (water heater). The area around the heater will hold about half a gallon of water before it goes through the holes in the bulkhead for the water hoses. Apparently the water pump wasn't on long enough to over flow if enough to find the leak. A rag and the heater insulation soaked up the water too. Half the casing was rusted away and the rag hid most of the damage. A new water heater ans some hose and for the first time since I have owned the boat the pump only is on when I want water. My fear now is that I will leave the water on more often. The other good news is my auto bilge float switch works great!
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[onecoolair]

Brad .... I installed a second lighted switch to water pump under galley sink and third in the head next to lav area . These switches are only on when pump is in use. The breaker at the nav acts a the main cut off and can be left on. No more forgetting.
Btw ..... The feed cut off under galley for cockpit shower is only turned on when it is being used otherwise it remains shut off. Also put extra cut off valves right at water heater and made sure that any water that did leak from water heater would freely drain to bilge and fill up sump bilge under engine or what does not drain away sit and rot out the aft cabin bulkhead or cabin sole and turn to mush the defective balsa wood subfloor that hunter used for the entire cabin sole below decks!!!

 

[jrhamp]

I have a Cat 30/1982..Replaced the water pressure pump and all the clamps in the piping system on the boat..except where the water tank on the starboard tank is located.

That said, I get about a cup of water per day leaking into the bulge. I suspect the clamp on the starboard side water tank is bad..access requires taking out the batteries to get to the clamp. So..I just live with it for now...turning the water on when I need it...the comment about installing a switch the sink is a good idea..and one which I shall do.

 

[jrowan]

Water heaters typically last less then 8-10 years on a boat as they suffer rust corrosion from inside & out. We had one on our O'Day 34 & it was rarely used & more trouble then it was worth. Also adds a lot of extra weight. For the increased chance of plumbing leaks, electrical demand, & money investment, we ripped ours out whe it started to rust away. Don't miss it. Unless you're in a really cold climate like the Northwest, its really not even necessary to have down south in the summer. Our water tanks are already at room temp. from May to October. The only time I would use a water heater is in the winter, when most of us already have our boats buttoned up & winterized anyway. But that's just my 2 cents.