New owner in Jacksonville need help

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Wbr2974
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New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by Wbr2974 »

Hello all,
I've been lurking here for a while but have now finally purchased a 2005 34 formally Mary Jo and before that Skeeter!,
The formers owners have been great and very helpful however they had already moved out of the state prior to the sale
and are no longer around. I will be going to the boat this weekend and other than the survey have not really spent any time aboard a PDQ. Now I'm realizing there is so much I don't know. For example I don't even know how to transfer fuel from one tank to the other... since I will be taking the boat down to Key Largo I had better ask if there is anyone in the area who might be able to help me get a least a basic knowledge of how things work.
The boat is in good shape and everything checked out during survey, although there doesn't seem to be any pressure water however it worked before and the tanks are full. My sailboat used to get an airlock in the system but eventually worked so I'm hopeful that will only be a minor problem. So I hate for my first post here to be asking for help but I think I need some.
If anyone thinks they might be able to help out a PDQ newbie I sure could use it.

Thanks in advance..
Bill
Ross Bowling
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by Ross Bowling »

Bill-
First of all, welcome to the group. You will find lots of good help here. I have hull 114, and have had the worst time with the pressure water system. Here is what I suggest. Check the switch panel to be sure the pressure water breaker is on. When you ask for water, if you hear the pump running ( mine is under the galley floorboards) and no water is delivered, check the supply valve also under the galley floorboard. This valve is shut off the replace the fresh water pump & some owners shut it when leaving their boats. If closed, no water can reach the pump. If no sound is coming from the pump and the power is on, check the pump to be sure it is getting 12volts (multi meter). If it is and you still get no water when you open the faucet, it sounds like it is time for a new pump. I have replaced our pump more than a dozen times in 10 years. I carry a spare and don't even blink an eye when the pump fails.
I changed from a jabsco to sureflow and these seem to work better. I also downsized to a 4.5 GPM pump from a 5 and that seemed to help.

I will be glad to walk you through this issue if that would help. Feel free to call me at(559) 903-3015, Im in California and thank goodness we have water to fill our tanks!

Good luck.
Ross Bowling
deising
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by deising »

Bill, welcome to the PDQ family.

I will describe the fuel transfer on our boat. Dick Tuschick from Rhumbline Yacht Sales recommends this method and I agree.

At the forward tank, identify the two valves for transferring fuel and open them (and leave them that way 100% of the time). Set the switch on the transfer pump (located with the fwd tank) to transfer rearward (leave it that way - you will almost never want to transfer aft to fwd). Remove the floorboards inside next to the lower helm seat to expose the aft tank. For the duration of the fuel transfer only, open the two transfer valves.

If the fwd tank is near full, you will hear some fuel flowing by gravity alone. This is one good reason to be sure you close those aft valves when done. You can overfill your aft tank by gravity alone if you don't.

Now, turn on the instrument breaker so your fuel tank gauges are active. Next, turn on the fuel transfer breaker. You should hear the pump running and hear fuel sloshing into the aft tank at a decent rate. Watch the gauges! It might take 10 minutes, but don't get distracted; just sit there. I was told that the fuel pickup on the fwd tank may not go down all the way and that if you try to transfer too much out, you risk sucking air and might then have to manually prime the lines. I have found that 1/4 on my fwd gauge still works OK and I stop there. I assume you know that the generator gets its fuel from the fwd tank only, just as the propulsion engines draw from the aft only.

When done, shut off the transfer pump, close the two transfer valves on the aft tank, and replace the floorboards. By leaving the pump switch set for rearward transfer, and the fwd tank transfer valves open, you can transfer fuel without leaving the interior of the boat. On one long passage, I needed to transfer fuel in some snotty conditions and it was nice not having to go fwd on deck.

Hope that helps.
Duane Ising
m/v Diva Di
Punta Gorda, FL
2006 PDQ MV 34 - hull 91, 75HP, 3-blade
Ortolan
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by Ortolan »

Bill,

Congrats on your PDQ purchase! We are heading south, but have already passed Jacksonville- currently in Fort Pierce for the next week before looking for a window to cross to the Bahamas. If we can of any help, please e-mail us at rrlr@att.net. Ours is hull #100, so fairly similar.
Russ
Twin Sisters
PRIOR Owners of a 2006 MV34
www.esc-pod.com
JSLExplores
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by JSLExplores »

Ross Bowling wrote:Bill-
First of all, welcome to the group. You will find lots of good help here. I have hull 114, and have had the worst time with the pressure water system. Here is what I suggest. Check the switch panel to be sure the pressure water breaker is on. When you ask for water, if you hear the pump running ( mine is under the galley floorboards) and no water is delivered, check the supply valve also under the galley floorboard. This valve is shut off the replace the fresh water pump & some owners shut it when leaving their boats. If closed, no water can reach the pump. If no sound is coming from the pump and the power is on, check the pump to be sure it is getting 12volts (multi meter). If it is and you still get no water when you open the faucet, it sounds like it is time for a new pump. I have replaced our pump more than a dozen times in 10 years. I carry a spare and don't even blink an eye when the pump fails.
I changed from a jabsco to sureflow and these seem to work better. I also downsized to a 4.5 GPM pump from a 5 and that seemed to help.

I will be glad to walk you through this issue if that would help. Feel free to call me at(559) 903-3015, Im in California and thank goodness we have water to fill our tanks!

Good luck.
Hi Ross,
I have the same situation with my PDQ 34. However, I pulled the line off the pump and could feel the pump sucking but there is no water in the line to pump. I either have an air lock or something was in the bottom of the tank that got sucked in and is causing a blockage. Any idea of how to re-prime or clear blockages?
John
M/V Float Her
deising
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by deising »

Our boat has a 10 inch cartridge filter housing located under the refrigerator. The water tubing used to lead directly from the tank to the filter, from there to a shutoff valve under the floorboard in the galley, and then to the pump.

I found that a slowing of water flow meant the filter was clogged, and changing the cartridge solved the problem. Except one time it did not. I disconnected the PEX tubing above the filter and had great water flow via gravity. [I later added a shutoff valve right there so I could remove the actual filter housing itself, not just the cartridge, without losing all the tank water to the bilge.]

I found a major clog of tiny gravel and flakes that had made an effective plug. Once cleaned out, everything worked fine again. I have since purchased a fine screen mesh filter with a quick-connect to the hose when filling the tank to prevent adding grit. I also added a battery-powered water flow meter so I could actually record how many gallons I add when filling. Before that, I never really knew since the tank gauges only give you very coarse information.
Duane Ising
m/v Diva Di
Punta Gorda, FL
2006 PDQ MV 34 - hull 91, 75HP, 3-blade
James Power
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by James Power »

I have been told the gravely flakes are aluminum oxide, produced in the tank from a chemical reaction between the aluminum tanks and chlorine / fluoride in the water.
As far as the water pump not priming, make sure the plumbing fittings at the tank pick up are not leaking. Quick way to check is to blow air into the supply tube near the pump and you should hear it bubbling inside the tank.

Hope this helps
James
James Power
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by James Power »

Hi Bill,

If you are passing thru Stuart Florida after the New Year Jackie and I would be happy to meet up and answer any questions we can.

James
772-678-2268
deising
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by deising »

I mean this not to be offensive, but new-owner Bill posted his pleas for help almost two weeks ago and has received a lot of replies. I reached out to him with an email through this forum with no reply, either. Hope he responds here soon...
Duane Ising
m/v Diva Di
Punta Gorda, FL
2006 PDQ MV 34 - hull 91, 75HP, 3-blade
Wbr2974
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by Wbr2974 »

Hello everyone.
First I would like to give a big thanks to everyone here on the forum and apologize for not being able to respond sooner.
Have not been on email since departing Jacksonville. Here is a brief update on what has happened so far...
First of all big thanks to deising and Ross who helped with 2big concerns one being water pressure and the second the fuel transfer both problems resolved and perhaps I can now help John on Float Her....
My water was not a priming issue rather a blockage in the shut off valve near the pump...
I drained the water tank and removed plastic valve which was blocked by calcium deposits or something. Blew out out
cleaned and reinstalled it and water now working perfectly.. the fuel transfer worked exactly as described which I did end up having to do...
All was going fine until Melbourne when I went below to check engine temp and saw the port engine over 200...
I immediately shut it down and limped into an anchorage... the next morning started the port engine and no water pumping out the exhaust... so that was Friday and we are currently at Sebastian river marina. When we finally got the impeller out there was only one blade left... the rest of it ended up in the oil cooler. 30 pieces maybe?? The mechanic is now putting everything back together although I hear a lot of cursing coming from the engine room. They are nice people here and have been very helpful getting us in at the last mi it Friday... So that's where we stand at the moment and again I apologize for not getting back to the group sooner but hope you will all understand....
Thanks again to the group...

Bill
MV Mary Jo

Bill
teamwork
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by teamwork »

Teamwork installed a new water pump annually until I started filtering all water going into tank. Whole house charcoal filter from Lowe’s $34-40 . I haven’t changed a pump in 6 years. Still keep a spare, usually sell to someone that doesn’t filter their water.
Welcome to the PDQ world, lots of help from the old timers that were newbies at one time. Good luck, Roger on Teamwork
Expatriate
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Re: New owner in Jacksonville need help

Post by Expatriate »

The water pump failure seems very strange to me. I have never replaced one in any of the three boats I have owned over a period of twenty years. After reading the forum, I carry a spare. There is a PDQ 34 in Bellingham Washington that is in charter. The owners have put together a nice tutorial for the people that use the boat. It covers all of the new owner first time issues. Not as good as Dick Tushick's "PDQ U", but helpful. I cannot attach it here because it is too large, but here is a link:

sanjuansailing.com/charter-detail/power/all-heart/content/all_heart_owners_notes.pdf

Tim
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