Messages

You're welcome.

Between now and when you leave for your trip, perhaps you could look at the manual, which under the plumbing sections shows exactly how the OEM was connected.  Then you'll be able to better understand this slight mod.

Safe journey on your trip.

Hey Stu, sometimes I forget the most basic places to get information! I forgot to read the manual! Hahaha Thanks for the reminder.

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Gus,

Some of us have modified the OEM head inlet connections.  I did this, but never get any air pulling through the sink.

Head Odors 101.1 - "T" into sink drain:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5755.msg38216.html#msg38216

Stu, thank you for your suggestion. Honestly, I am too new to be able to understand the modification. :) Next time I am at the boat I will take detail pictures and draw where the connections are going and coming. I am in the process of getting ready for a a 4-day sail to bring my boat to my home port, which should happen within the next 1-2 weeks. Until then I am about 3 hours away from it.

I am reading the book you suggested, which has been helpful to understand the system.

Thank you!

Gusc,

Before I started messing around with the plumbing I'd make sure the toilet itself was functioning properly. You did a dry flush test with water in the bowl, but did you do a wet test? With water in the bowl and on the wet flush setting, if the toilet is working properly, you should be able to pull seawater into the bowl and the pump should hold that prime. Also when you pump the bowl dry it should start refilling until you flip the lever to dry.

Yes, I tested with the setting on 'wet' and manually filling the bowl with water. The water gets flushed but no additional water is brought in.

Thank you so much for the great insights!!

I did, thank you! :)

Hi guys, I just took possession of my first boat - 1987 C34. I am totally new at this and within the first couple of hours I have my first project: the Groco HF toilet flushes ok if I pour water into the bowl and pump it (dry flush setting), but in wet flush, pumping does not bring water into the bowl.

What could be some root causes? Would the replacement kits fix this issue?

Thank you!

Noah and everyone who contributed to my knowledge here: thank you so much!!
I learned a ton, and, fortunately don't have to put it to use now because the seller found the issue and resolved it for me. He called Catalina and they gave him a couple of leads.

He propped up the rudder, removed the emergency tiller head and saw that the washer under it had a groove dug into it. He flipped the washer, so the smooth end turned down, reattached the head, and the whole system moves with his pinky.

I am thankful for 2 things: 1) the issue was simple, 2) the seller spent several hours fixing little things found in the survey including this sticky steering thing.

I am on my way to owning my first keelboat! 

Gusc- something does NOT sound "right" in your boat description. Your original post said it was a 1987. However, your post this AM you said it had a an "emergency tiller head on cockpit sole." The two don't match. 1987 MkI boats tiller heads are above the sole incorporated into the helm seat fiberglass structure. Possibly just semantics but...

Noah, you are absolutely right, and I apologize for the confusion. I was going by memory and got confused. Yes, the head sits in a little indentation in the fiberglass, not directly on the sole.
This is what it looks like: https://www.catalinadirect.com/images/products/1009/K1598_S02_1430_lg.jpg

A friend pointed me to this similar problem, on the C36 forum: https://www.catalina36.org/comment/38642?fbclid=IwAR1VdBTtfaZqhLNbW1k9GAfuhrbQYx8MLAUU5ETs6O7rIA7hqYyzAlfFa4M

To save you time, the author appears to solve the problem just by pouring a little lubricant oil down the rudder shaft, through the rudder packing gland... Do you see any negative side to trying this with something like PB Blaster or WD40?

Thanks!

Mates

I had a (sounds identical) hard steering issue that I discovered/corrected. But before I go down a rabbit hole I want to ensure I'm picturing this correctly.  Is this the yr/model with a high emergency tiller (ie, lazarette) or cockpit sole tiller plate?

(edited)
This is a wing keel, with emergency tiller head on the cockpit sole in an indentation in the fiberglass aft lazarette behind the wheel.

This might help:

https://www.c34.org/faq-pages/techdata-rudder-packing-gland.html

Stu, thank you so much. This helps having a little clearer idea of how it works, but I am not there 100% yet.  :) (I don't have a boat to compare the drawing to what I actually see, so I have to go by memory and the few pictures I took) :)

How would the packing glad affect my symptom of having extra friction somewhere causing heavier than normal rudder movement?

Thanks!

Have you looked at the rudder packing gland?

Ron, no, I am not sure how to look at that. I am trying to find a diagram of the whole system, but haven't been lucky. Edson has a nice diagram of their parts, but the other pieces of the rudder system I am not so clear how they work.

Is it a radial wheel or a quadrant?

Thank you! I have been saying it wrong all along - it is a radial wheel.

Hi Eric, thank you!
It looks like your fiberglass tube over the quadrant is also touching it, right?

Not sure what's going on there but the fiberglass tube sticking down onto the quadrant head looks a bit odd. For your reference here's a shot of ours when I had the aft cabin torn apart. As you can see, the rudder post doesn't have that tube sticking down. I'd definitely investigate this issue further.

Hi Ron, thank you! Yes, the keel is wing, and the rudder is the original.

My hunch so far points to the compression bearing, as in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtFBbP_iP8k

Does that sounds like a possibility?

Gusc : The stainless tube has to be attached to the cable wheel.  I assume that this hull has a wing keel??

Has the boat a new elliptical rudder or the old OEM rudder??

Have you looked at the rudder packing gland?

A few thoughts