Dock water connection

[jimgram]

My Grand Banks 36 Classic has its dock water connection via what looks like a normal faucet on the inside wall of the transom. Even though it looks like an outlet to which you can connect a hose for a deck wash down, I connect the dock water source to it to supply water to the boat while we're docked. That's primarily because I haven't found any other place to connect dock water. However, today, for the first time ever, it didn't work. Instead of supplying water to the inside facets, heads, etc. I heard water running full blast and had no idea where it was going. Later, I vaguely recalled something about the transom faucet being able to direct an input of water to the boats water tanks. Or was that a dream? The valve seems to only have two positions- on or off. So what gives?

 

[tiltrider1]

follow the water hose. It will lead you to were the water is going.

 

[Comodave]

Your boat may or may not have a shore water connection. I don’t like using one anyway since a broken hose can cause the boat to flood. If you are going to use it then make sure you don’t have any leaks and do not leave it connected when you are not on the boat.

 

[HopCar]

I would guess your boat doesn’t have an inlet. Every inlet I’ve seen has female threads. I would guess you’re back feeding water through an outlet. Did you make a hose with female threads on both ends? I agree with Comodave, I think that’s dangerous. When you’re at the dock just use the water in your tanks. No chance sinking the boat that way and you keep fresher water in the tanks.

 

[SteveK]

You have been backfeeding water to an outlet.

I heard water running full blast and had no idea where it was going.

Really? Alrighty then, carry on.

If it is not going into your bilge, yes it probably found its way in the fresh water tank and then out the vent.

 

[Mac2]

Couple things. A lot of marinas won't allow city water to be directly connected to the boat due to a hose, or clamp breaking and the boat sinking. I can speak from personal experience when I increased my house pump water pressure from 50 to 60 psi, I had numerous fittings start to leak (hose on barb connections with hose clamp). If you do use city water pressure, you should use a water regulator at the hose fitting to reduce pressure if needed. My sister ship had a hose fitting break under the sink when the owner was on vacation. It filled his boat with several hundred gallons from his tanks. His wood floors were destroyed/warped and his insurance company initially wouldn't cover the repair expense (I think it was 30k). A good reason to turn your water pump off if you're gone from the boat for extended periods. I read somewhere that insurance companies show that more boats sink at the dock then out in open water. In my 25 years of marina use, I can absolutely confirm this from my personal experience.

 

[Comodave]

When we had a class A RV I had it hooked up to shore water in a campground. We went on a day trip and when we got back there wasn’t any water. I went out to the pedestal and the water was turned off. I turned it back on and there was a huge gush of water coming out of the bottom of the RV. Turns out a hose blew off and someone saw the water coming out so they turned off the water. Learned my lesson right then. BUT if it had been our boat it would have been a different story. The neighbor wouldn’t have seen the water flowing out of the hose, until the boat sank…

 

[Mac2]

When we had a class A RV I had it hooked up to shore water in a campground. We went on a day trip and when we got back there wasn’t any water. I went out to the pedestal and the water was turned off. I turned it back on and there was a huge gush of water coming out of the bottom of the RV. Turns out a hose blew off and someone saw the water coming out so they turned off the water. Learned my lesson right then. BUT if it had been our boat it would have been a different story. The neighbor wouldn’t have seen the water flowing out of the hose, until the boat sank…

I would bet nearly 100% of us has had a similar experience with our boat, or a neighbors boat. I can count three times in the last 6 months I have seen three different boats at my marina sinking. How long will your bilge pumps (batteries) keep up? I have a crash pump (110volt) and 100 feet (two sections) of 3 inch hose on standby for backup to my bilge pumps.

 

[jgwinks]

On all my prior boats I had the dock water connections with the built-in regulator so not as likely to blow a hose off. A point to note is since the boat is at the waterfront, it's likely at the lowest elevation point in town. If the city's water system is fed by water towers as most are, the docks will have the highest water pressure in town due to the low elevation. The regulators are important.
My current boat has two dock water connections, one on each side, but they're just male garden hose fittings tapped into a cold water line. No regulators and they're the wrong gender for a garden hose to connect to. The hose end is male so the water inlet should be female. I could make up an adapter but haven't, I prefer to cycle the tank water so it doesn't go stale and there's the risk of flooding if something goes wrong. With a100 gallon tank I don't have to refill that often.

 

[hmason]

I had a Grand Banks 36. The only way to feed water from the dock into the boat is from the outside tap that you described. It's also used for providing water to the cockpit for washing down, etc.. If you were hearing water gushing, I suspect it's from the fitting that the outside tap is connected to. That's where I would check first. I doubt that water is going into the tanks since that fitting is after the pump.

 

[SIBERNUT]

Garden hose timer set to shut off at X gallons

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Even though it looks like an outlet to which you can connect a hose for a deck wash down, I connect the dock water source to it to supply water to the boat while we're docked.

"Garden" hose connections come in two types, male and female. Shore water connection fixtures will be female, not male like you would find for a washdown spigot. Do you need a "washer" hose (one with two female ends) to use the fitting in question?

 

[slowgoesit]

We were new to the boat, and Laura woke me up at 0 dark 30 with question: What is that noise?!? I listened, and said, "That's the high water bilge alarm!" A Whale connector had broken on the fresh water side at the water heater. The fresh water pump then dutifully proceeded to pump 360 gallons of fresh water from the fwd tank (just topped of the day prior) into the engine room bilge, hence the high water alarm . . . . never, Never, NEVER would I utilize the two female connections (one on either beam) to hook up to dock water. I've personally seen one boat sink, and two trying to sink for that exact reason . . . .
Side Note: Shortly after that, I replaced all the Whale "quick connect/disconnect" like the one that failed, on the boat, replacing them with Pex and crimped fittings.

 

[tiltrider1]

I have a permanent fresh water connection but it’s not what you think. First, I have a flow restrictor so that water can not come in any faster than my bilge pump can pump. Next there is a timer valve that shuts off after 10 minutes. This puts water in the tanks and the boats fresh water system is
utilized from there.

The only negative, once every 4 years it gets cold enough that the timer valve freezes and breaks. The failure causes the valve to be permanently closed. At $25 it’s not a big issue.

 

[kthoennes]

I have a garden hose style inlet in the water locker on the swim step of our boat, same as the OP. It has a little screen though and would often get clogged with bits and specks of "stuff" from either my dock hose or the marina's water supply so now I use an RV style cartridge filter to catch the bits. Then the inlet goes through a pretty common pressure reducer to lower the house water pressure. All that aside though, I had a similar experience where I could hear water running but the bilge was dry, couldn't figure it out. I do have a deck fill for the fresh water tank, doesn't use the shore water inlet. The boat was also listing to port though, which was odd. Finally figured it out. The check valve to the 300 gallon water tank on the port side had failed. In other words, when I connected shore water, the city water would fill the port tank to the top through the bad check valve, then the water rose up the tank vent hose to a vent outlet on the hull, and then ran down the side. It didn't drip or splash down the side, the flow was low enough that it run in a stream down the side and I could barely see it unless I put my finger in the stream. Pain in the neck - replaced the check valve and the problem vanished.

 

[BruceK]

Good to see hmason solving the dilemma! Can you post a photo of the "faucet" like fitting you connect to. Odd there was water audibly running but none seen.
BTW, my Island Gypsy 36 had an added water tank in the bow under the berth. When filling via its dedicated deckfill,it overflowed not to an external overflow but into the bilge! First time filling it,I knew something was up when the bilge pumps kicked in.

 

[Turning Point]

I would guess your boat doesn’t have an inlet. Every inlet I’ve seen has female threads. I would guess you’re back feeding water through an outlet. Did you make a hose with female threads on both ends? I agree with Comodave, I think that’s dangerous. When you’re at the dock just use the water in your tanks. No chance sinking the boat that way and you keep fresher water in the tanks.

I had a customer that referred to that fitting as a “ gender bender”

 

[jeffj]

My Grand Banks 36 Classic has its dock water connection via what looks like a normal faucet on the inside wall of the transom. Even though it looks like an outlet to which you can connect a hose for a deck wash down, I connect the dock water source to it to supply water to the boat while we're docked. That's primarily because I haven't found any other place to connect dock water. However, today, for the first time ever, it didn't work. Instead of supplying water to the inside facets, heads, etc. I heard water running full blast and had no idea where it was going. Later, I vaguely recalled something about the transom faucet being able to direct an input of water to the boats water tanks. Or was that a dream? The valve seems to onl have two positions- on or off. So what gives?er

To keep our water tanks fresh, I always filled them from the dock and then used the water in the tanks.
Never left the dock water connected to the boat. Too many possible nightmares. Also water pumps are off when not onboard.

 

[SteveK]

I had a customer that referred to that fitting as a “ gender bender”

there are ini's and there are outi's. Now I know there are gender benders too.