New Head

[HydroTherapy]

Hello,

I need to replace the head on my C34 #366.  My current head is the original.  Does anybody know which replacement will fit the footprint of my current head so all I have to do remove the bolts securing it to the floor and replace?

Thanks..........David

[Mike Smith]

Daviv -

I did a search on "replace head" and came up with this link:

http://www.c34.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1621&highlight=head+replace

Mike

[Ron Hill]

David : Why not replace the old head with a new one of the same brand?

That's what most of us have done.  I found that it's cheaper to buy an entire new head (on sale) than it is to purchase the VERY expensive repair kits.  Then I recycle the Usable old head parts as spares.  

[RON SCHERER]

David-When I saw your hull #366 I had to jump in on this one because my hull# is 367. Looks like the heads were good for a long time because I just replaced mine 30 days ago. The guys are right the parts are expensive to replace so I bought a Jabsco mod # JABSC# 29090-2000. It has a little different foot print but your drill will take care of the new bolt holes and I put one of the new decals over the one hole that showed. I highly recommend this head because it works wonderful compared to the old one. Good Luck and by the way where is Hull # 366 located in this country of ours? My boat is in San Diego. Ron Scherer

[RON SCHERER]

David---I forgot to mention that I bought the Jabsco @ W. Marine and the selling price was right at $150. Ron S.

[Stu Jackson]

David

We have a Wilcox Crittenden Head Mate II.  One came with the boat when we bought her in 1998.  I've since first, serviced, and then replaced the entire pump assembly and valves, still have the same china seat.  It works just fine.  Others came with Jabsco or Groco.

Peggy Hall highly recommends the Raritan PHII as the "best."  While there is usually no "best" of anything, she's done her homework and written a book about heads which is very good.  One of her earlier articles is on our FAQ page:  http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/headodor.pdf

Redoing the head, if you go to a different model, requires investigation of not only the base (which is easy, there are only lag bolts into the deck, no problem), but more importantly, the hose connections and locations.  If your outlet black hose is OK, then it's probably not worth changing brands if you'd have to replace it.  OTOH, if you redo the hoses, it may be worth looking into changing the brand of head.

[Mike Vaccaro]

David,

With a bit of engineering, darn near anything will fit on the shelf in the 34.  Ron's right, the easist replacement is always an identical part.  We switched to a PHII which we're very happy with, but it required re-routing the discharge hose through the bulkhead as well as a different hole pattern for the base.

Only thing to be careful of is the distance between the liner and the hull--you can't drill with complete impunity in this part of the boat, or you may find yourself drilling through the hull.

Cheers,

Mike

[HydroTherapy]

Hello Everybody,

Thank you for the feedback.  I Think I am going to replace the head with a new one from West Marine by the same manufacturer.

Hey Ron (#367),

We sail out of Stamford, CT.  For the most part we day sail.  We have had her for four seasons and I have done a lot of work on her.  
1 - New Sanitation hoses
2 - New Water Heater
3 - New  Muffler
4 - Sound Proofed Engine
5 - New Head (soon)

We really enjoy her.

Thanks again to all.............David