That hard spot to reach

[PK]

Yea, I know there's a bunch of them, but here's the one that's bothering me right now.  Some how the handle for the head intake thru hull valve managed to break off.  The handle still functions fine to open and close the valve, but there is no retaining clip or whatever to hold it on the valve.  Last weekend it dislodged itself while someone was trying to open the valve while underway and it slipped off, fell to the floor inside the cabinet and disappeared forever.  I think it's under the floor in the head area and would like to retrieve it since it still works, replacing the thru hull while in the water seems difficult if not impossible, and using vice grips to open and close the valve could get old in a hurry.  I can not see it using a mirror, can't reach it etc... Where does this area go and how can I access it? Will my handle eventually make its way into the aft bilge compartment or is this the black hole of the C34?  Any thoughts?

While on the subject, is there any way to retrieve lost screws from behind the electric panel?  Does this cavity exit anywhere? 

[cmainprize]

I lost the half moon keyway once on my m25 raw water pump.  When I got totally desperate I stuck the vacuum down into the hidden area under the engine in my old Catalina 30.  Desperation makes you do crazy things, but when I checked the vacuum, it was in there.

Mental note:
If you have a m25, next time you order something from universal, order 3 extra keyways for the pump.  Two for yourself and one for the guy with his head stuck in the bilge cursing like crazy.  I would have paid a $100 for it that day.

Cory

[PK]

Thanks Cory, I thought of that one as well and sucked around blindly with the mini shop vac for a while.  No luck, bu tI might try gain next time down when I'mnot quite so frustrated.

[Stu Jackson]

The cavities in Mark I and Mark II boats may be slightly different, but if it was my boat I'd employ that handy-dandy useful tool:  the metal coat hanger.  I keep a few on board (not for hanging use) just for this eventuality.  I also use them for leading pull strings for pulling wires as well as unruly crew control.  

You can keep the end curled and pull towards you, or bend the hanger into any shape that will work to push stuff further away.

You'll have to "visualize" your own hull and interior fittings, but on my boat (other than the shower sump) it's open below the head sole to the keel sump.  

Also remember, for instance, that the engine pans of the two boats are not the same - from way aft of the engine I can see forward and underneath the engine drain pan - I don't think you can do that on the Mark IIs.

[Craig Illman]

PK - One tip I picked up here on the forum was to use your digital camera to take a picture down where you can't stick your head or a mirror. It's definitely a mysterious place under the interior pan. Maybe that's why my boat weighs so much, accumulated dropped fasteners, tie-wraps, clamps, tools, handles, etc. ?

[Ron Hill]

PK : While you are looking for that handle here's what I'd recommend:

Take a handle off of a similar thru hull.  Go to West Marine (or your favorite chandlery) and buy a thru hull with the same handle.  Remove the handle from the new thru hull and mount it on the old thru hull mounted in the boat.  Chances are that the old handle may be broken - maybe that why it came off!!   
A thought

[Stu Jackson]

pk, you may be interested in this thread about Marelon seacocks.  Just see if yours are the same as Vic's were.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2729.0.html

Vic eventually sold his boat.  You can see it here:   www.catalina34.com

[PK]

Just an update.  Thankfully my seacocks are not the same as mentioned below, but I sure lost some sleep that week until I could get back to the boat and check!
I used a little of everything mentioned below and finally retrieved my handle.  Since I couldn't see anything under there, I used the digital camera and took pictures of my progress using the pictures as my eyes to guide my "two coat hangers taped together retrieval hook" into the correct position for retrieval.  Mind you it still took about 3 hours of this, fishing the coat hanger around, take a picture, look at picture to see progress, fish hanger around etc...
It's an interesting place down there, definitely learned a lot about how it looks by checking out the pictures.
I also removed the handle form another seacock and it fit perfectly.  So now if I loose one or the other I have a backup.  Hopefully this will not happen as the new plan involves drilling a small hole in the handle and tying them loosely to the piping attached to the seacock, so if it ever does fall off again, it will be easily retrievable.  Thanks for all the advice!