Messages

Sorry for the delay.  I've been with my mom, who has cancer.

We found a leak under the fuel manifold.  Apparently underneath the bottom of the filter is some sort of outlet that seems to have come unscrewed.  We tightened it and it appears to have stopped.  I'm gonna keep an eye on that and see if that gets all of it.

Our boat is an '88 34MKII, sail #808 we've had it for almost a year now.  We weren't sure if the fuel gauge worked or not as it has shown F since we bought her but we've never had a good way to check.  We used her a good bit last year and in early Feb. decided to top off the fuel and see how much we put in.  We MAY have put in a couple gallons but she must have been right at full.  Had a little spill off at the pump but we were now confident that it was a full tank. 

At times there has been a mild fuel aroma that I thought also could have been the air freshener we were using mixing with the regular boat smells but I've never been too sure.  I came to the boat today and decided I definitely smelled something so I popped open the bilge to check.  It was at it's typical amount of liquid but the tampons were WELL used and so I decided to vacuum it out and see what was what.  This is what it looks like.  I took these pics after it has settled a while.  I don't see an unusual amount of oil separating but I also don't know why it is so muddy looking.  There is some separation and I syphoned a bit of that area out.  It is clear and looks like that might be fuel (half moon outer ringin the shallow pail pic - kinda hard to see in pic) but as you can see it is more in the middle of the pack of separation. 

I'm just looking for some confidence in identifying what I've got here.  Is it fuel?  Is the oil just so mixed that it isn't looking separate from the water and making it look muddy?  Is there some transmission fluid here or something else I haven't thought about?  Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

BradinPCB

Yes you have the old style Size 1.  The old ones have the turn latches, new ones have the slide-snap latches.

Are yours leaking from the lenses or thru the frames?  Have you considered refurbishing them?  Replacement smoke and clear lenses, new seals, and decorative trim rings are all available.  I just supplied sets for a C30 and the owner saved significant bucks.

I would use NO silicone on ports and hatch frames, only butyl tape or caulk.  Dow 795 is a VERY strong ADHESIVE -- you don't need that on the frames.

If you go new, PM me is you want to look at saving some bucks with dealer direct pricing.

Cheers
ken

I can't honestly say if it is through the lens or frames.  I think both/and on various ones.  Usually, H20 gathers and drips from the cup where the dog latch slides into when turned.  That makes me think its from the dog through the frame on those. 

The portside front cabin port is of concern because in changing the old cabin light to a new LED light and unscrewing it, water poured out of the screwhole (thread here:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9596.0.html).  I'm afraid of what I may find once I remove the portlight; such as it has been leaking into the core and rotting stuff. 

Secondly, the starboard side 2nd portlight doesn't seem to even be making contact with the body fully.  If the photo attached shows it, in two areas you can see daylight through the crack.  It's actually worse than the photo portrays.  Could it be that this just isn't bedded very well or has someone at some point possibly enlarged the portlight cavity? 

I love the idea of not buying new ones.  I also love the idea of getting new glass.  Bear in mind that I haven't ever popped one of these open so I'm learning as I go.  I'll send you my contact info.  Many thanks!

Well, I've read all that I can find via search (lots of broken or unworking links, btw).  Mostly the info I found was on the Beckson ports.  I'm sure I missed some so apologies for yet another portlight thread but what can I say....I tried. 

All my '88 C34 MKI Lewmar portlights leak.  Some dribble in heavy rain, some leak on sunny days.  They're all crazed and missing the outer cosmetic frames and look yucky so I want to replace them.  Unless I'm wrong, they are the old style (photo attached). 

Unless anyone has better option suggestions, I was going with this:  https://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm/product/2448_380/opening-port-lewmar-7-12-x-14-716.cfm

I've read somewhere that there's a known leak design defect with Lewmar ports but I cannot find information on that anymore and don't know if these are the ones talked about and if that has been corrected.  Can anyone share any wisdom about these as replacements? Any how-to vids that are Cat34 specific would be too sweet. 

I plan to use Butyl tape and Dow 795 as sealant/adhesives.   

Awesome, thanks so much all.  That helps instill a lot of confidence about it for me. 

I don't know as there is a chainplate on both sides of the light so I think one could be the culprit.

I'm switching standard lights to LEDs in my '88 Cat34 and when unscrewing the port side light closest to the Vbearth (under portlight and chainplates), several ounces of water began pouring out.   Its leaked on that side sinceWould you suspect a portlight leak into the body or a chainplate?  Photo attached if it helps.

I searched but couldn't find anything.  To remove the teak under the table, do I simply unscrew the pedestal base?  I don't want to begin something and get into a quagmire of something I didn't know about beforehand.  Thanks. :)

100% certain. LOL  Thanks for the support folks. :)

And I SOOO look forward to working on it when not having this ignorant, in-over-my-head, desperate feeling.  That will be welcomed. 

Yep, sorry.  Didn't even think about that.  She's a Cat '88, H#CTYP0808F888, Universal M25XP.  None of my official documentation mentions any sort of MK anything.  Hope that helps and thanks. 

They're mostly leaking from the turnbuckle where it there's a little cup groove for it to turn and lock into.  I have read there are seals in there.  How on earth they could leak out without being broken is a mystery to me.

So TS Cindy blew through to west and caused a ton of rain in my area.  My boat, which only had 3 minor leaks under normal conditions, showed her true colors and leaked from about every port light, hatch, and even some other areas that causes me concern. 

The water in the bucket under the port v-berth port light had these in it.  That's a scuba mask case they're in so they're incredibly small, unbroken, a bit firm but still squishy.  If seals, I would've thought they'd be broken or dry-rotted. 

*sigh* As a new boat owner way out of my depth, I'm starting to get a little more than discouraged..... 

Brad : On the fuel tank I'd just dribble fuel in the tank until it starts to come out the overflow OR tak a wooden dowel as mentioned .

On the charge I'd junk it and get a smart charge which will be kind to your batteries!!

a few thoughts

Many thanks to you and to all others for your advice.  I'm gonna take it! :)

What have you done to "troubleshoot and "the battery boil off issue? As I said, you likely have a bad cell.

I've used the ball type meter and if I test a cell 5 times, I get 8 different answers (hyperbole of course, but you get the point) - none which show a significantly weak cell.  So I've purchased one of the bigger units and will be testing with that and I've chatted with other knowledgable folks who do not suspect it is a bad cell as there is no sign of battery weakness to this point. These are actually very new batteries and all signs point to an overcharge (to other experienced sailors at my dock), not a bad cell.  Could be but as I don't have a remedy yet, I'm still looking for any answers.  I have scant information about this battery charger and need a bit more wisdom about that regardless, so if anyone knows about what I posted a picture of, that'd be great! :)

UGHHH...make that four questions.  I forgot this one - here is my battery charger.  Is this a really old one?  I see nothing like it on C-Charger's website and can only find one doing a google image search and I have to scroll a LONG way to get to it.  I'm still troubleshooting the battery boil-off problem and wonder if I need to scrap this thing all the way around.