Olson 34 head sink overflow while underway

We were coming back from Long Beach to San Pedro. A guest went into the head and indicated that there was water on the floor. I went below and discovered that on a starboard tack with the drain cock open, the sink floods water. What a mess to clean up!

markalan said:

We were coming back from Long Beach to San Pedro. A guest went into the head and indicated that there was water on the floor. I went below and discovered that on a starboard tack with the drain cock open, the sink floods water. What a mess to clean up!

Click to expand...

Ah Yup! :0
We found a saturated roll of TP and some loose water on the head counter one time during our first full year of ownership, on our first "big air thrash" to weather... rail under sometimes... jib was really too big for the conditions but we were new owners and loved the power driving to weather.

That head sink and drain is outboard far enough on port side to allow a little gusher every time the hull gets pushed down. Ever since then we close that thru hull when sailing in medium or heavy air.

Good thing that the galley sink drain is close to center, and never has had to be closed when under way.

Love the O-34 aft head location and head orientation, but everything's a compromise.
When under way, bet you dog down the forward hatch, also.

Sorry taken so long to get back. Having trouble submitting (try number 3).
That head sink created a couple hours of cleanup although no damage reported. Most of the water ended up in the shower drain and into the bilge. We did loose a box of Kleenex and some Band-Aids. I had some sponging to mop up some water in bulge. Note that's the first time I have had the head sink valve open while under way.

I do leave the galley thru hull drain open with out issue.
Is it possible to drain the refrigeration into sink drain just above the ball valve? As that would keep small amounts of water out of the bilge.

We always keep hatches closed while in choppy waters and will occasionally put hatch boards in place to seal up the companion way.
Mark
Olson 34 hull #35
San Pedro CA

Loren Beach said:

Ah Yup! :0
We found a saturated roll of TP and some loose water on the head counter one time during our first full year of ownership, on our first "big air thrash" to weather... rail under sometimes... jib was really too big for the conditions but we were new owners and loved the power driving to weather.

That head sink and drain is outboard far enough on port side to allow a little gusher every time the hull gets pushed down. Ever since then we close that thru hull when sailing in medium or heavy air.

Good thing that the galley sink drain is close to center, and never has had to be closed when under way.

Love the O-34 aft head location and head orientation, but everything's a compromise.
When under way, bet you dog down the forward hatch, also.

Click to expand...

when the rail is down, the sink is under water. Therefore the drain will act in reverse and bring water into the boat. This is why the galley sink is nearly centered on the hull. Many boats have this problem including those with the sink forward. My E-34 certainly has this. I put a little note to use the galley sink when under weigh. Actually, this only happens when the port rail is down hard on he wind.

Offshore I don't close the head seacock even in bad weather. Uh, for convenience. Water has no so far come in on this boat, but it did on several boats past.

I always keep the head door open and the toilet seat up for at-a-glance reassurance. Paranoia, I guess. "Drowned by his toilet" is not a great epitaph.

I'll get around to an anti-siphon loop one of these days.

Hmm... maybe why my boat came without a lavatory sink, though one is shown on the drawings. Of course I couldn't leave well-enough alone. But I almost always have that valve closed while underway. Though I was very lazy and plumbed the discharge from both the water maker and the AC into that sink tailpiece. I'm sure it will come back to bite me one of these days.

Don’t discount the galley sink drain

Ive seen my sink partially filled with seawater from sporty days on the water. Close the seacocks for both the head and the galley sinks.

I always close both. I might be a little paranoid but I also spent a year rebuilding Terra Nova when she made a serious attempt at sinking ( water over the top of the dinette table) complements of the galley sink drain failing. If the seacock had been closed, there would have been no damage. Closing the seacocks may be a bit of a bother but it is nothing compared to rebuilding basically the whole boat.