Messages

I have a leak from one of the connections of the engine coolant hoses to the water heater on our MKll.  It is difficult to get at, having to remove both my battery banks, removing hold down screws and sliding the tank forward enough to tighten the hose clamp by feel(cant see it except with a mirror).  Did that, put it all back together... still leaks.  Did it all again and completely disconnected the coolant hose which looked bad on the end. Fun, with coolant going all over the place until I could get plugs in the hose and heater tube!  Cut off the end, added a new section of hose (of course after cutting it off it's too short!) connected with new hose clamps.  After putting it all back together and running the engine, I am still getting some weeping out of the bottom corner of the square metal tank enclosure.  Could possibly be residual coolant draining out of the tank enclosure after coolant pouring out from disconnecting the hose, but it has been 3 days.

Question, could there be a leak at the heat exchange tube going into the water tank?  What is that connection, welded, screwed in etc, as I can not see it without completely pulling the tank.  Any one had a similar problem?  Looks like a difficult operation to remove the tank in a MK ll.  Anyone done it?  I have the Seaward 6 gallon tank in the square enclosure with heat exchanger connections on the back.  Assume it is standard in the MK ll's.

Jack

I have been replacing my Sherwood about every 150 hours.  I know what I am doing next change! 

One other comment I would make is to make sure that your thru hull for the shower/refer drain is open when you turn the pump on.  If it is closed you will overheat the pump and the breaker will shut off.  Been there and done that, makes one feel rather silly when the pump stops and the water level flows over the door sill onto the galley floor!

Jack

Burton,

There is a very active C34 fleet on Lake lanier, and I am sure they would be delighted to fill you in on their experiences.  Their Fleet Captain is Dorothy Toney and can be reached at toneydot@me.com.

Jack
C34 Associate Editor

Jeff, I have my Espar fuel line coming off an extra port on my Racor Filter, so the fuel is already filtered.  Local installer said I needed to install a new pick-up  tube into my fuel tank, filter it and add an additional pump to make it work.  I have the heater located in the aft port lazerette up high above the fuel tank, but within the height limit above the fuel tank as suggested by the heater manufacturer.  I have never had a problem with it working.  By the way, I purchased the heater from a truck supply company, as they were actually developed as truck heaters, and saved considerably.

Jack

I have the same anchor light on our 2001 MK ll.  I simply replaced it with an LED that I picked up from the boat show.  Simply matched the bottom of the lamp I had.  Only problem I have is that when the Coast Guard gives me my annual safety inspection, they have a difficult time seeing the light from the dock.

Jack

I knew we would see Craig back in a Catalina!  Once the bug bites you.... is there anything better?  Good job Craig!

Jack

Is your seawater intake thru hull and hose free (unclogged)?  That sounds like what happens when I try to flush when the stopper in my head sink drain is closed.  I flush with fresh water tee'd off the sink drain and when it is closed what you describe happens.  It creates a vacuum so tight I have trouble getting the sink stopper out.

Jack

Juan,

My TrueCharge 20 did a fine job for me for 13 years, even though I recently changed to 4 - 6 volt house batteries and a single 12 volt reserve/starting battery.  The main reason I upgraded to a 40 amp charger is that we seem to be routinely hanging out on the hook for 3 days without charging the main bank, so when we hit a marina I want to be sure we have a full charge when we leave the next morning.  Our main draw on the boat is our refrigerator as we don't have a TV or computer and have a LED for the anchor light.  When sailing we only have the Garmin plotter and speed/depth running that take any power.

Jack

Kent, I have had the same problem with the mess the spin on filter replacement caused until I just rapped a 1 gallon zip lock bag over the whole thing, unscrewed it and let it all dribble and fall into the bag.  No mess, but still inconvenient.  Our 27 had the top loading primary filter and I have thought about replacing mine as well.  A lot easier and less expensive to change, that is for sure.   Did you locate the new filter in the same location?

Jack

Ron, it does not have a fan as it is an older 20 Amp unit I installed under the sink where the original was 13 years ago.  Plenty of air around it, nice and close to the batteries and used the same wiring.  I have tried everything I know of and found it puts out about 8 volts no matter what the setting.  Since it was undersized for my newer 6 volt main battery bank, I just went ahead and ordered a ProNautica P, 40 Amp charger as a replacement. 

Jack

Located the exact panel indicator light close to our back yard, exact replacement.  Sure Marine Services in Seattle, who is the main seller and repair shop for Seaward Marine/Whale products in the Northwest.  They are LED by the way.

Jack

I took the advice on the board and replaced the Charles charger with a Xantrex Truecharge 20 right after we bought our boat in 2001, and it has worked flawlessly for the last 13 years. Kept my original 4d's going for 10 years, which seems good. 

Plugged in and turned it on after our trip and all i get is the 20 amp light flashing with no ready or recharging lights on or flashing.  Owners manual says this indicates overheating or underheat.  Batteries are cold to the touch, both banks.  (4 golf carts in house bank, and 1 - 12 volt start/reserve, all flooded)  I have checked all wiring and connections are clean and bright.  Fuses in the wires to the batteries are good.

Turning the unit on it goes thru it's start up cycle and just reverts to the 20A light flashing and no charging.  Tried disconnecting either or both battery banks, same thing.  Assuming at this point the charger is toast unless any of you have any other ideas.  Reading thru the info on chargers here I noted that starting with shore power and the charger on may kill the charger.  I may have done that as I was anxious to get going this year, but do not remember for sure.  I usually unplug prior to starting.

Time for replacement?  Looking at reviews for Xantrex chargers on West Marine site does not give me much confidence.  Should I be looking at something else if I need to replace?

Jack

Did the spit, slap, kick thing and nothing happened (at least the rest of the panel still works).  Pulled out the light by removing the gob of silicone sealant on the back.  It says 14 volt, Mexico on the lamp body.  Just looking around the web I see 12 -24 volt LED lamps.  This is LED right?

Jack

Thank you Roc

Jack