Messages

Good idea on the fuel shut off valve, WT. I will put one in.

In a pinch, I bought some spray that claims to get rid of oil, gas and diesel from the local Auto Zone. So, today, I cleaned it up the best I could. Had some black mold growing way back up in there. Cleaned that up with Star Bright. Love that stuff! I ran my carbon filter with inline fan, too, to help scrub the air.

Off topic....I sprayed the areas around my bilge as far up as I could get with the Star Bright mildew remover. I had so much black, algae type stuff all over the place under there. The areas way up there were completely covered in black algae. I hope it helps my boat smell better, too. Moving on the boat FT end of June and don't want to live on a stinky boat. 

Fred.....the leak from the black tank vent out the stanchion leaked all over my electrical for who knows how long before I bought the boat. I fixed that problem today. Took the leaky hose off and plugged the bottom of the stanchion. I put some duct tape as a temporary fix over the vent hole in the stanchion. Since I have a compost head now, I don't need that vent, as I plan to vent the compost out of the pump out on port side. I will be taking it out and putting a mushroom vent in it's place this week.

Mystery leak in bathroom....water is running along the trim behind the head. It is actually behind the trim and drips down onto the seat next to the head. I have no idea where this water is coming in.

I pumped out the shower drain water with the old pump ( I haven't installed the whale gulper yet), only to have it siphon back. Ran the pump again, and it seems to be gone for now.

I haven't used the shower, but I have a mystery leak that drains from the walls on port side to the shower floor. Stern shouldn't be weighed down too much. I do have a mattress in aft cabin that is heavy, but it shouldn't be enough to weigh it down. All the water was there before I put the mattress in, too.

Hello. As I am working aft right now, I see there is some water under the prop shaft that has seeped over into the area under the sink, as well as seeping through the wall between the engine and head sink (I can see the water under the bottom part of the stairs by the wall. I see water sitting in the shower drain, too. My question is: Are these areas supposed to drain into the bilge? I ran the shower pump before removing head, but the water is still in there. I can get pictures later after work, if needed.

Thanks for any help

1988 C34

I have been looking at the Racor filters and read good reviews about them. Will probably order one tomorrow. Yes, the drain knob is leaking, as well as the upper portion of the filter around the seal, possibly the off white round unit right above the seal (sorry, I don't know what it is).

Sadly, I took the cushions out and cleaned them twice with an upholstery cleaner before I found the fuel leak. I'll have to take them out again for another cleaning once I sort out the leak and smell.

1988 Catalina 34
Universal diesel

I don't see a name on the filter.

Hello. I have the leak. It's leaking from the top of the unit at the gasket and also bottom at the valve. Tried to tighten valve. No luck. Tried to tighten unit, no luck. It's been leaking for awhile and I bought my boat in February 2018. So the fuel has had time to really penetrate everything on the boat.

The unit is short and is not like the longer, more expensive units I see online for our boats. It is compact and screws into a metal base mounted in the area under the head sink. The valve is plastic.

This has moved to the top of my list (even over all of the cabin leaks) and I am shopping for a replacement filter.

1. Suggestions on a replacement.
2. Do I need to relieve pressure in the system first? (I'm a lady with limited knowledge on diesels and sailboats, but I can do the job if correctly directed. Lol. )
3. What to use to clean out the fuel that has leaked and stagnated on the surface for who knows how long. Need something that will eliminate the odor.
Stayed overnight on the boat a couple days ago and could barely stand the odor.

Thanks for any help. :)

I don't want through holes, so that right there would be a deal breaker for a ceiling mount. When it rains, I've got water leaks from every window, hatch, failed mast boot, some factory ceiling through bolts, both dorades, mystery leaks in the head, and two small holes the po drilled through the deck but forgot to fill back in. Where I want to mount on the ceiling is one of only leak free zones on my boat. But I hope to remedy the leaks soon.

Unit will be removed anytime I take it off the dock or anchor.

KW...50" screen seems to fit well. It's light and rolls up out of the way. Great for PS4 and DVD movies when I want to zombie out and stare at a TV screen.

sv, one of the approaches I have always taken with my boat is to try to figure out alternatives to drilling holes before I do anything.  In addition, one of the other things we have always counseled for new-to-them boat owners is to WAIT for a while before they make modifications for any reason - Live with things first before making changes.

Given those concepts, and your description of your equipment, you might want to begin to consider if (I say, if) there is any way you could find a somewhere that you could place the projector so that is would be high enough to project on the screen.  For example, the counter just aft of the nav station is the highest horizontal surface in the saloon.  Would it be possible for you to test it as a location by simply placing it there on a stack of books, for example, to see if it would work?  If so, you could fashion some kind of more permanent support for it.

Good luck.

Yep. That is why I am hesitant to drill into the ceiling to mount the thing. Don't want to unless I really have to. The screen, which is 50", sits nicely on top of the cushion behind the galley counter. I can prop it up with a water jug or something similar behind it on the counter to keep it stable. I haven't tried to set it on the cushion closest to forward....I will try it this week. Then I could put the projector on the counter.

Ron...I haven't checked that out, but I sure will try to find the tech note as a shelf would be nice.

I must ask why projector and why 15lbs ?

The swivel mount is the heaviest part to the unit. It's metal, not plastic. I have an Optoma short throw gaming projector which enables me to mount the projector closer to the screen, if necessary. It's not a huge projector, but not compact, either. I like the set up because I can take the projector and screen down out of the way when I need to. Easy storage.

Ron, good to know about the core. I assumed it was balsa.
Thank you for the email link, Jon. I will try to contact him. I am learning about my boat. It is my first sailboat and my first experience with sailing.
I'll be living on it full-time end of June.

Hi. I have an 88 Catalina 34 and I want to mount a projector on the ceiling. Unit and mount are approximately 15 lbs total weight. What am I drilling into? Balsa? Plywood? Best screw for what I want to mount? 
Thanks for any help.