Flushing the water system

[Jordan Rash]

Hello everyone! So I officially have had my C34 for 5 days now and it honestly is a blast.  I need to ask what y'all probably see as a simple question, but I don't know how to tackle it.  The water lines haven't been ran since the last owner (probably a year or so) and I would really like to flush them before I start showering and stuff....my question is, where does the grey water drain.  Does it go into the same tank as the toilet? If that is the case, then I probably won't be able to do it until I can get to a pump out station?  Silly question I know, but I am still very new with all of this.  Also, when I hook the water line up, I remember reading on here somewhere that there is a regulating value to keep it from over filling....is that correct?  My goal is to be able to have my first shower in my boat by the end of the weekend...please help me!!! Happy holidays to all!

[chuck53]

Unless the previous owner made some serious modifications, all your gray water drains overboard.

With a new boat, you need to take some time to get to know your boat inside and out.  Get a good flashlight and open up all your compartments and follow all the hoses you see to find out where they start and where they end and their purpose.  When you do that you will also find out where all your thru hulls are located which is very important.

If your boat's water system hasn't been used in a while, you probably need to do a bleach flush.  Put a small amount of bleach in both water tanks and run the water to make sure the bleach gets into all the hoses.  Let it sit for a day and then flush.  When I do this, after a good flushing, I use white vinegar for a final flush.  It helps clean out the residue bleach taste and smell.  It will leave you with a "tossed salad" taste but it sure beats a bleach taste.

I have a "new" '87 as well and am also in VA.  Where did you find your boat?  Good chance I may have looked at it during my search last spring.  I looked at almost all the 34's on the bay.

[Ken Juul]

Jordan, something you might want to consider is just draining the tanks until spring and using bottled water for cooking and cleaning, marina bath house for your head/shower.  Norfolk usually has a fairly mild winter, but there can be weeks that spend most of the days below freezing.  With your ship's schedule I don't think you want to keep a heater running on your boat while you are not in port.

I know it's a pain, I lived aboard for 2 winters at Pax River.  It gets considerably colder just a little bit north.  I totally winterized, got good at minimizing dishes, even they had to be carried to the bath house to clean.

[Stu Jackson]

Congrats and welcome.

1.  Recommissioning water systems:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5836.0.html

2.  Water fills:  There is no regulating valve.  When you fill your water tanks there are two vents, when the vents overflow the tanks are full.  A trick:  the starboard water tank has a small opening than the rear tank; open the manifold and just fill the rear tank, it will flow into the lower starboard tank and you're done.  Then only run one tank at a time by closing one of the valves.  We use the larger aft tank and use the smaller starboard tank as backup.

Also, if you don't have the manuals, they are available on our Tech wiki, just click on it at the top of this page, download it, and read it.  It has some good diagrams and explains how a lot of things work.

[Jordan Rash]

Thanks to everyone....that all sounds good.  Is the best way to drain to turn on the shower pump and let it go down the sink?  I know these all sound like stupid questions, but I am still having trouble connecting the hose!  I know, I know sad.  Thanks for all the help everyone is offering.

Jordan

[Stu Jackson]

Jordan, start reading the manual, please.  You have three valves under the head sink:  raw water for engine cooling, combined head in and shower out (shower sump pump) and the head sink outlet (unless somebody changed something under there).  Stick your head in there and follow the hoses.  The head sink and shower sump drain hoses do not connect.
Both go outside the boat through the thru hull valves.  Into the water you're floating in.  

[scotty]

Jordan,  Congratulations and welcome aboard!!  As a new owner also, I can relate to how much there is to learn.  One of the first things I did was take out all the seat cushions (and floor/cabinet accesses)  and trace down the plumbing and electrical systems.  Special emphasis on knowing where the thru-hull fittings were, and opening and closing them to be sure they were working (which I do each month).  Did you get a survey?  If so, study it - if not, it might be worth getting one even now.  It's been 4 months now that I have had my boat, and I'm still in a learning stage.  I spend a lot of time just browsing this web site.  Yes, the critical upgrades section kind of scared me, but it's not as overwhelming as it first appears.  Every boat is a project, but that's part of the fun!!  Good luck.

[Peggie Hall]

I think y'all are missing something important here:  I'd bet real money that Jordan has a direct dock water connection...that's why he's asking about a pressure regulator and says he still hasn't figured out how to connect the hose.  The question is, does his just fill the tank? Or is it connected directly to the onboard plumbing?

Jordan, it would really be helpful to you to have someone local--maybe a dockmate?--who's a bit more knowledgeable look at your dock water connection and tell you what kind it is.  I can tell you this:

NEVER leave the boat, even for an hour, with it connected. NEVER turn in for the night with it connected. Don't just turn it off on the dock, disconnect it.  There are only two kinds of pressure regulators--those that have failed and those that will...and when it does, you want to be aboard and awake to hear the FIRST sound of gushing water when the pressure from the shore blows a plumbing connection aboard. I know of one person who woke in the middle of the night to pee and stepped out of his v-berth into calf deep water...another who only took his dog for a run on a Sunday morning--gone only a little over an hour--and came back to find about 6" of water over his cabin sole.    Dock water left on when the owners go home is becoming a leading cause of boats sinking in their slips, starting to rank right up there with open head seacocks.

This is not to discourage your use of a dock water connection...it's a great convenience!  But, like everything else on a boat, it requires attention and caution...'cuz remember: Murphy was actually an optimist! 

And oh...btw, when you're ready to learn how to operate and maintain the toilet and holding tank, I'm the resident guru in charge of "potty training." 

[Ron Hill]

Jordan : I've reread your post a couple of times.  What you need to do is to sit down and read your owners manual and start to learn the on board systems.

You asked about "gray water".  The galley sinks drain directly to a thru hull under the galley sink.  The head sink does the same under the head sink.  The shower drains thru the shower sump pump to a duel use thru hull, also used to supply raw water to the head intake - also under the head sink.  Your head pumps into the holding tank and/or to a "Y valve" overboard - IF a PO has installed one.

Unless a PO was a "live aboard", I seriously doubt if you have a pressure regulator on your inlet fresh water fill. 

To "flush" the fresh water system, I'd add some bleach (a couple of cups full) to each tank that's at least filled half full.  Let the bleach slosh about for a couple of days and then drain thru the faucets.   

[Peggie Hall]

Ron,...<sigh>...If the PO installed a dock water connection, there WLLl be a regulator valve that WON'T be in the owner's manual.

A couple of cupfuls of bleach isn't enough to accomplish anything ...but because bleach is corrosive, it is enough do damage the system if it's left in the system for more than a few hours. You MIGHT want to read the instructions for recomissioning a fresh water system that are in the link Stu posted above...they've been the accepted industry method for 25 years because they work and conform ASTM code covering electrical, plumbing, and heating of recreational vehicles...also "approved and recommended by competent health officials." 

[chuck53]

It would be nice if we heard back from the original poster on this subject.

[Ron Hill]

Peggy, Peggy <sigh> : All I said was that USUALLY a dock water connection denotes that the owner of a boat is/was a live aboard - and probably added a pressure regulator (which of course is NOT listed in the owners manual and has nothing to do with gray water).

I looked at Stu's link and found that I tend to agree wit Ken and that I disagreed with you on bleach even back then.  As I do now,again.

I've never had to replaced any of the parts of my fresh water system and enjoy the tanks "sweet water"!!  Been doing this to my wtare system for only 23 seasons (on this boat) - smile & it's worked !

[Peggie Hall]

23 years...wow, Ron...that's almost half as long as I have!

[Ken Juul]

Jordan is in the Navy, he just got back from a 6 month cruise, bought the boat and is trying to set it up as a live aboard.  The few days off he gets, which may or may not be on the weekend, are busy.  He only has internet connections when he is on his Navy ship, I'm sure we will hear from him in a day or two.

[thereefs]

Id agree with Peggy on this one.In the seven years I've owned my Mk11,the majority of concern and maintanence has been with the on board plumbing.Woke up more than once to hear the pump blasting away and water spraying somewhere.The factory plumbing is pathetic ,at best,tons of hose clamps,short tubing,and all difficult to gain acsess to especially under the galley sink.Keep a bottle of Iodine handy,you'll need it.I'd be very warry of having city water pressure running thru the boats allready marginal system,other than showering,I get a full weeks of water just filling the tanks,and it keeps them sweet,just a thought,Dave