Cape Dory 30 water manifold

[Kickin Bears]

Hey all ... I recently picked up a CD30 and am having issues with the water system. It’s an ‘82 and has a water manifold with two gate valves (w/ waste) running to a tee

The issue is that only the starboard side tank works (both pumps work in this scenario); the port side tank is sucking air into the line running to the tank, so when the galley sink foot pump or baby foot head is used we only get air

Interestingly, when I remove the head sink baby foot line from the manifold and cap the manifold off with my finger, I’m able to use the galley sink foot pump However, when I stop pumping with the galley sink foot pump in this scenario and keep the line feeding the head sink capped, I can hear (and see) air bubbles working into the line running to the port side tank

I made a new manifold in 1/2” inner diameter (ID) to see if a new manifold would fix the issue, only to realize the manifold that’s in place is a smaller ID, and now I am having a helluva time finding 3/8” ID parts to replace the current one to eliminate variables and solve the problem

See attached picture

Questions:

- what size water lines (Inner Diameter) are used with the ‘82 CDs?
- any ideas where I can get parts to remake the water manifold / valve system?
- any one else have water manifold problems with the CD30 water tank setup, with similar issues?

For now, I can continue to remove the head sink baby foot line and cap off so that we can pump the water from port side tank, but air is still getting into the line

The previous owner said the system never worked properly, so he just ignored it. That’s not t he type of boat owner I am though, so I’m on a mission to fix. Would love to have access to the other 30gallon tank so we can use the entire system

[Kickin Bears]

One more pic to help with understanding of manifold setup

PT = port tank
ST = starboard tank
GS = galley sink
HS = head sink

Edited on my iPhone; sorry for chicken scratch handwriting lol

[jbenagh]

That's what my manifold looks like ('83 CD30 #269). I don't think the manifold is the problem. Here's mine:



The right side, with the check valve, goes to the hand pump at the galley. The left side goes to a screen filter and the pressure pump.

Are the valves higher than the output? I think you're on the right track with isolating each component.

Jeff

[Frenchy]

A problem I had was that the old gate valve didn't seat properly and allowed all the water in the higher bow tank
to leak into the lower settee tank. Others have had the same problem. Refer to "Vexing Problem" post by M.R. Bober.
If I was better with computers I would create a link to that post. You'll have to use the search function. - Jean

[Steve Laume]

I also doubt that the manifold is the problem.

You have a leak in a connection somewhere. I know my pressure pump will not function if it is drawing any air into the system. Finding a suction leak is much harder than one that occurs on the pressure side. If you can see air bubbles moving in a line then that gives you some focus into which line is the culprit. There is a pretty good chance that it is at the, port, tank pickup connection.

If you have enough hose then trim the end and re clamp the port, tank, pickup line, Steve.

[Kickin Bears]

Thx all! Really loving this community akready! Almost to Hartge so will do sone additional diagnostics to see where the leak is occurring

This gives me some direction to troubleshoot. There’s no leak into the bilge (I’ve left the tanks full, and water level hasn’t dropped.

Will check / verify:

- the water line connecting to manifold connection
- unhook the head sink baby foot (cork the line @ manifold), then pump the line with the galley sink pump, and see if I can figure out where the air bubbles are originating at
- do same as above step but reverse the pump unhook
- unhook both foot pumps, cork one line @ manifold, attach tube to other line and manually suck water into the line, then cap off

Question on manifold layout

Is the manifold I have installed properly?

I noticed that the pic of Jbenagh’a manifold gate valves are setup horizontally where mine is set vertically. Not sure if that increases chances of introducing air into the line (maybe a stretch, but could use a sanity chwck)

[Chrisa006]

I was looking at the picture of the valves and one has a newer cap on the body of the valve. Was it replaced without the rubber insert in it. The purpose in home plumbing is to break vacuums when draining a system by opening. If not sealed you can draw air in there. If the rubber is missing you can stuff some teflon tape in the cap and tighten as a temp. fix. Use a channel lock and give a little pull after it is very finger tight.

[Kickin Bears]

^^^ That’s exactly where I started when I saw the waste valves. The top waste valve (PT) doesn’t look seated as well as the bottom valve (ST). However, when I took the waste valve off and capped with my finger there was no change. I also swapped the waste valves and still no change, so I don’t think the waste valves are the cause.

Took the family put yesterday and didn’t get a chance to play with it. I plan on heading over later this week to continue work on a few projects by myself

Will follow up as I make progress (or not).

Thx again for the support!

[Kickin Bears]

I worked on the water system again this wknd. I tightened up the hose clamps which seemed to solve the air leak issue (I had to tighten with a lot of force ... will likely double clamp the hose down the line).

This allows me to use the galley sink with both tanks, but the head sink will only work with the starboard tank. When I try to use the baby foot pump in the head the port tank line seems to lockup. That is, the head baby foot takes a few pumps and then the pedal stays in as if there’s a vacuum in the line. This does not occur when set to starboard tank though; the baby foot works fine when set to starboard tank.

To reiterate, the galley sink works fine for both tanks. The baby foot pump in the head works with starboard tank, but not port tank

Any suggestions on further troubleshooting ideas?

Though the head sink rarely (i.e. never) gets used, for purposes of general boat maintenance and my OCD / sanity I’d really like to get full functionality of the water system.

[Kickin Bears]

Any chance some other CD30C owners can plz post pictures / diagrams of how their water system is setup?

I’m out of ideas on how to diagnose / solve so our water system is 100%. Even if your system has been upgraded with auto-pumps ... I’m hopeful that I can cross-reference / compare other systems with ours to isolate potential causes.

[Paul D.]

If all the components are 36 years old then it is very likely there are multiple problems. Perhaps the head sink hose or foot pump connection or pump itself is introducing air. The strainer also could be a culprit letting in just enough to work with one line but not another.

I've never been able to really understand my H2O system, even when I have fixed it before. Usually I've had to noodle and tweak and follow a line here and there tightening things up or lubing the pump. Having a hard winter here. I always get quality time with the system flushing out the pink stuff during spring fitting out.

Good luck,

[Kickin Bears]

^^^^ I’ve solved the air leak issue. Now the problem seems to be a vacuum lock for the head baby foot pump for port side tank only.

Super bizarre. The good news is no one uses the head sink for anything anyway. Just trying to overcome my ocd in maintaining a 100% fully functioning system, but if this is the concession we need to make to use the h2o system, we can live with it.

Still very interested in how other CD30 owners have their water systems setup (and some info on how they perform).