Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Sorry to hear about your woes.

Seems to me that 14 years is beyond the useful life of sanitation hoses. You might want to go through Peggy's threads to see what renovation of the system might be needed, and then do whatever treatment might help clean up accumulated sludge in the bottom of the tank. Just a thought.
 
Also, can this boat handle an all chain rode or will it be too much weight in the bow?

Not sure how I missed this thread. We have hull #3 and like others have reported, our bow rides high despite 150 feet of chain in the locker, especially with a full water tank.

Our 3 big house batteries are in the starboard corner of the lazarette. That means we not only ride bow high, but listing to starboard with most combinations of fuel level.
 
Have never spent so much money and gotten a boat with so many issues that need fixing, and, as many of you are aware, there is a shortage of qualified workers. so what will be the next shoe to drop? The sailboat I sold was in perfect operating condition. sigh...

We have hull #3 and have had quite the opposite experience, though perhaps it's just perspective as this is our first bigger boat. The forward head had to be replaced within the first season and that was no fun, but in hindsight it was no big deal. Did you get your pump out woes resolved?
 
We have hull #3 and have had quite the opposite experience, though perhaps it's just perspective as this is our first bigger boat. The forward head had to be replaced within the first season and that was no fun, but in hindsight it was no big deal. Did you get your pump out woes resolved?

Not yet. But we're quite sure the original forespar Y valve is shot, as it rotates 360 degrees, so somehow air is getting in the system, we think. We bought a different style (Sea-lect" by Bosworth) but have not installed it yet. But we did replace the macerator today and bought a spare. turns out the old macerator, where the 4 screws hold on where the bigger tubing enters from the holding tank were worthless. two were corroded and broken in half and one was gone, and only one intact. Think we'll take an old spare porta potty as well as an emergency pumping system that could be used for holding tank or in case of taking on water. slowly getting things figured out, but also so used to the great handling characteristics of a sailboat. Todays cocktail hour was much better. thanks for asking. still am surprised there is no overall factory boat manual with plumbing and tankage diagrams. Hope to get a couple of months out cruising. Sure hope the heads don't give up.
 
still am surprised there is no overall factory boat manual with plumbing and tankage diagrams.

I was too! This was our first big boat and I was not accustomed to something so large and complex having no manual. I figure the learning curve will remain steep for another couple years.

We replaced our forward head with the same Raritan Sea Era model as in the day head. Seems far more serviceable than the "porcelain to the floor" Jabsco model. Seems to me like the joker valve should be able to be replaced and the macerator serviced without removing the whole thing.

I also did some modifying to our holding tank vent. It had some kind of air filter that I am sure was plugged. It is not a simple run of ½" hose up to the vent. Has not been a problem since.

As we are in the Great Lakes, our macerator pump is also likely rusted and struggling. The Y valve is locked out. Rather than service it and replace what does not work, I am thinking about removing all that extra complexity should the need arise.
 
What year was yours again? Are you saying there is a joker valve? Does it flush with water from your tanks or from outside? We have the Techma brand heads that are suppose to be reliable. So your Y valve is stuck but to the deck pump out? Were in the PNW and in Canada you can empty via macerator if three miles off shore, which is vital since there are very few pumpouts in the northern BC waters.
 
We have hull #3 and it is called a 2007. Not sure about the original heads, but I suspect the Jabsco in the forward head was a replacement. It suffered from hose kink that ultimately leaked and created an ugly few hours. The full porcelain design means you can't access the mechanisms without removing the head from the base. It looks nice, but is completely unserviceable. Form follows function for me. The Raritan design leaves everything out there to be serviced and works perfectly. Of course, it's brand new now...

I don't know that our Y valve is stuck, but it wouldn't surprise me. It is physically locked as that is the requirement here in on the US side of the Great Lakes. It is locked so that the pump out branch of the valve is open, and that all works fine. The macerator motor turned when we surveyed it, but it has not been tested under fire, so to speak.
 
All of the problems that I've experience with my waste system and holding tank were caused by a clogged vent line. I had partially cleared the line by blowing through it, but the final solution was removing the vent house at the tank and clearing the tank fitting.

The tank fitting was clogged with a crystallized substance, which I assume resulted from overfilling the tank. Once the vent was opened, my system began functioning properly- quicker head flushes, quicker pump outs, no odor in the boat, and so on.
 
Thank you. That is very helpful. I probed the vent line with a smaller plastic tubing. I measured and know it got to the vent elbow at the top of the tank but thought maybe it was not strong enough to get past the flange lip. I did forcefully pump a large amount of air with our dinghy hand pump, certainly a lot more than what would fill the hose, and when I released it, a lot of air blew back, which I figured had compressed in the tank. I tried to get the vent hose off at the step (tank top) but only had a hair dryer and could not get it to budge). And with the forespar Y valve that can do a full 360 degree spin, thought that was the issue. Decided to hire a pro scheduled for the 27th to come out, install a new Y valve (Bosworth) and while he's at it maybe a heat gun would allow him to get the vent line off at the elbow at the top of the tank. As an alternative, I had bought a 5/8" barbed coupling, figuring worst case I could cut it about 6" away from the elbow and use something rigid to probe and maybe even squirt water in there to clear any possible obstruction. Your crystal substance makes alot of sense, so with the waste system guy comes out I'll have him check that too. I definitely need a fully functioning system! I did buy a spare macerator as well. while I'm at it, speaking of spares, did you have the original ships waterpump (ours is a Jabsco Sensor Max 17 model 31755-0000). Its a 4.5 GPM. I prefer having a spare but can't find it- out of production. Have you replaced yours? If so, with what. When we're out for 2 months at a time I prefer having spares for a lot of what can go wrong.
 
Have you checked the holding tank vent filter? Do you even have a filter on the vent line. There appear to be two schools of thought on filtering the "air" that comes out of the holding tank vent line: filter or not filter. Guessing that the filter idea is among those who have not yet had a clogged vent line.

The picture below shows the circuitous route our vent hose took from the fitting on the top of the holding tank to the through hull vent fitting. Now the filter is gone and it's a straight run with minimal bends. No problems since.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_7634.jpeg
    IMG_7634.jpeg
    145 KB · Views: 17
Our Formula has a vent filter from the factory. The filter is 24 years old since it looks original. Thankfully Formula mounted it high enough so that no sewage could get into it. But they mounted it so high up it is inaccessible, maybe why it is original. I don’t like filters for 2 reasons, they can get clogged and they inhibit air flow into and out of the tank. So I added 2 1.5” vents, one to each side of the boat to get air flow through the tank. With good air flow you don’t anerobic bacteria growing in the tank. Anerobic bacteria is the one that stinks badly.
 
Ours does not have a vent filter (assuming it's the orange cannister upper left of your pic). Our vent line follows exact same route as yours except it goes direct to the vent instead of up to the vent filter and back to the vent. Sure hope the guy I've scheduled with does come out to do the Y valve and will have him use his heat gun to get the vent line on the top of the tank off the elbow to check. If not, I will cut the vent line close enough to the tank to have good probe access and then re-connect with the coupling I bought.
 
Trinity Loop

Congrats on the new boat. Re your gaskets over the screws, I believe they are called 'screw covers' and using that term might make them easier to find.
 
Capran.
I also struggled with pump out problems. Try the vent issues before you get brave and open the top of the holding tank looking for sludge. On my fiberglass tank the lines (pipes) going into the tank were stainless steel and were of different lengths, the longest being the pump out which went close to the bottom. The pipes were eaten up with corrosion and full of holes. Once the fluid level went down to the first hole, any pumping ended. Threw it all away and switched to pvc. Good luck.
 
end of year cruise update

Have you checked the holding tank vent filter? Do you even have a filter on the vent line. There appear to be two schools of thought on filtering the "air" that comes out of the holding tank vent line: filter or not filter. Guessing that the filter idea is among those who have not yet had a clogged vent line.

The picture below shows the circuitous route our vent hose took from the fitting on the top of the holding tank to the through hull vent fitting. Now the filter is gone and it's a straight run with minimal bends. No problems since.

Greetings. I did have the original Forespar Y valve replaced with the Bosworth. (the original literally rotated 360 degrees) They used a heat gun which was the missing key for me. I tested it with a dock pump out and it worked great. However when we used it the first time to use the macerator side it blew air. replaced the macerator with the spare thinking maybe the first was defective (which we had just replaced) and that was also blowing air bubbles. after a close look at their installation of the y valve, turned out the helper technician that did the 2 camps on the Y valve side going to the macerator side put the outer clamp on the hose only, so as it got tightened on the hose were there was no Y valve nipple to clamp on to, so it created an opportunity for air to enter the system. I moved both clamps lower on the nipple and tightened and then the macerator pumpout side worked fine, which we used 4 or 5 times during the whole summer.
 
There is a very good chance we will never use the macerator, Y valve, or associated through hull as we are in the Great Lakes and plan to be coastal folks during our time in salt water. If those components were in the way or removing them wasn't such a hassle, I'd pull them out and glass over the hole.

Or perhaps I missing something? How often do you Great Lakes, inland rivers, east coast, and Florida folks discharge overboard?
 
There is a very good chance we will never use the macerator, Y valve, or associated through hull as we are in the Great Lakes and plan to be coastal folks during our time in salt water. If those components were in the way or removing them wasn't such a hassle, I'd pull them out and glass over the hole.

Or perhaps I missing something? How often do you Great Lakes, inland rivers, east coast, and Florida folks discharge overboard?

Over the years we spent a total of 13 summers in the Bahamas- 86-93 and 2000-2004 (and kept our boat in Florida). At that time, pump outs were very rare, so folks all went offshore. Not sure what the status is now. BC Canada has an interesting approach. They say if pump outs are available you should use them, and otherwise go into deep water. The majority of places that do have pump outs often charge $7 to $15, but even they are few and far between.
 
That makes sense.

I've been in the Caribbean twice in the summer and the humidity got to me. Are the Bahamas far enough north to stay comfortable at night without air conditioning?
 
That makes sense.

I've been in the Caribbean twice in the summer and the humidity got to me. Are the Bahamas far enough north to stay comfortable at night without air conditioning?

The first year I spent 6 months there. March, April May was great. Warm days, but not real humid. June, July and August were hot and humid. But that was what our work schedule gave us (school schedule) so that was it. And that was in a sailboat. I would think all the windows on the Mariner would make it unbearable without running AC. I know this past summer, our first, we had 2 weeks in the mid 80s which even with makeshift window shades for the front and pilot house door windows, it was still 90 inside and the fridge couldn't keep up.
 
Mariner seville 37 Pilothouse @ Sea

Guy behind us snapped this photo of us coming through the famous Whale Cut , Abacos yesterday. We are at the bottom of the trough. Thought you other Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse owners would enjoy. More at. helmsman38 on Instagram
 

Attachments

  • C7C69E84-88CD-4B1E-82A8-9F6DD49543CC.jpg
    C7C69E84-88CD-4B1E-82A8-9F6DD49543CC.jpg
    116.9 KB · Views: 35
Guy behind us snapped this photo of us coming through the famous Whale Cut , Abacos yesterday. We are at the bottom of the trough. Thought you other Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse owners would enjoy. More at. helmsman38 on Instagram

Congrats. The night of our first gulf stream crossing a boat was lost on whale Cay Pass. It's stern was poking out of the reef after it pitchpoled. But subsequently cruised a total of 13 summers plus the March, April May of the first year and loved it. Be sure to stop inside Double Breasted Cays if you haven't already. You must have a generator aboard to run Air Conditioning? Last summer we had weeks of unseasonably warm weather (in the 90's) for several weeks in the PNW and our fridge barely kept things cool. Can't imagine all those windows heating up the boat in the Bahamas.
 
Interesting photo. Doesn't look like a comfortable ride. I appreciate the fictional nature of the Bahamas being portrayed on YouTube as almost always great weather and flat seas. How often do you have to make crossings in uncomfortable beam seas?
 
Interesting photo. Doesn't look like a comfortable ride. I appreciate the fictional nature of the Bahamas being portrayed on YouTube as almost always great weather and flat seas. How often do you have to make crossings in uncomfortable beam seas?

Never just don’t leave the dock until the sea conditions meet your expectations.
 
Interesting photo. Doesn't look like a comfortable ride. I appreciate the fictional nature of the Bahamas being portrayed on YouTube as almost always great weather and flat seas. How often do you have to make crossings in uncomfortable beam seas?

I can't speak for the OP, but we have made 13 round trip crossings (so crossed the Gulf Stream 26 times) from FL to the Bahamas. However, all those were made on sailboats. But usually going across, because your course is SE to compensate for the northward Gulf Stream, you are more apt to be headed into the waves. Beam seas going to the Bahamas would be rare unless you had a much faster boat which would allow for not heading as much SE to compensate for the stream. And where he was at (at Whale Cay Pass) beam seas would not often be an issue. But, I totally get your concern. I was very, very disappointed in the handling of the Helmsman in beam seas last year (our first with the boat). I have probably crossed the Strait of Georgia 40 times and never had to alter course because of beam seas, until last year. Beam seas of only 3 to 4' made heading to Nanaimo dangerous, so altered course to SSE.
 
Chop builds quickly here in the western basin of Lake Erie. The islands and dense boat traffic commonly make for a confused sea state. The Mariner 37 is a lot of things, but comfortable in beam seas is not one of them.

My question about cruising the Bahamas was less about crossing the Gulf Stream than about cruising from anchorage to anchorage once in the islands. Waiting for a crossing is one thing, but waiting for days to hop from island to island would seem to dramatically reduce the scope of one's visit.
 
Chop builds quickly here in the western basin of Lake Erie. The islands and dense boat traffic commonly make for a confused sea state. The Mariner 37 is a lot of things, but comfortable in beam seas is not one of them.

My question about cruising the Bahamas was less about crossing the Gulf Stream than about cruising from anchorage to anchorage once in the islands. Waiting for a crossing is one thing, but waiting for days to hop from island to island would seem to dramatically reduce the scope of one's visit.

We have spent a total of 34 months cruising over there, so have a pretty good idea. The northern group is the Abacos. Most often we'd cross to West End, then enter the "Bank" at either Indian Cay or at Memory Rock. Then head NE up to Grand Cays. Once you are on the Bank, seas are rarely 3, mostly 2 with prevailing winds from the SE. We never had to wait out inter-island movement. Like I said, in a sailboat, never even thought about it. If it was windier, you could head east to Mangrove and Great Sale, which would be easy. You can literally go from Walkers Cay all the way to Little Harbor without leaving the shallow Bank, although most will exit once at Whale Cay Pass out into the open ocean briefly. (there's a tricky part called "Don't rock" pass that is available if one didn't want to do Whale Cay Pass). North winds are to be avoided. But the rest of the time there is virtually no need to wait going between Islands of the Abacos, as there is not much wave action due to shallows and not much fetch. Going from FL to Bimini, and then on to the Berry Islands and Nassau, usually wind is on the nose. One time it was much bigger seas than normal after we left the Berries heading to Nassau, 8' seas on the nose. Not fun. Once at Nassau, heading SE toward the northern Exumas. seas on the nose, from the SE, and as you near the Exumas, not much seas, as the islands block most of the waves, so all the way to Georgetown not an issue. We never did venture further East of south of the Exumas. coming from Georgetown going north to Eleuthera, seas on the quarter, generally rolling gently, and ditto Spanish Wells up to Little Harbor, although you could have some beam seas as you turn into north bar channel. For me, I don't see how a Helmsman would not be unbearably hot. And with Sail, I always felt like I could move if something broke down. Maybe it's age, but I worry alot more now with a trawler about that.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom