65 LRC - Water Heater Replacement

[sfbayboater]

The 15 year old water heater on our 1985, 65 LRC has reached its end. I thought it would be a simple heating element or thermostat replacement but after emptying out the stateroom closet and pulling off a couple layers of paneling it was obvious the heater's life was over. The fittings on top were rusted and leaking and the tank underneath the outer cover and insulation was badly corroded. The good part is that this disovery lead to the source of three problems I'd noticed over the past couple of months. Leaking electrical current isolated to the water heater circuit, a slow leak somewhere in the water system and the most obvious, poor hot water production. The not so good part is how to replace it.
We have owned the boat for 12 years. It appears the heater was replaced 15 years ago. I want to replace the heater with an identical unit to avoid having to redo the plumbing and since we've been happy with it. The puzzle is how to remove the old unit and drop in the new one. It's clear that the heater will not fit through the doors to the main stateroom and the only other possibility I can see would be to remove three sections of the stairs leading down from the solon under which the heater lives. It appears that's how the current unit was installed. Has anyone on this forum done this on a 65 or 58? If so what advice would you have?
Included are some photos of the location.
Thanks,
Robert

 

[JD5652]

The hot water heater on my 1976 58 LRC is located in the engine room. I have replaced the washer and dryer and a refrigeration unit all of which is located in the hallway from the engine room to the forward stairs. I used the forward hatch in the forward state room as the haul path. I had to remove the forward state room door and door casement (partially) to get the washer and dryer through that area. Take some careful measurements of the door opening without the casement and see if that provides you enough clearance.

Sounds like your hot water heater is in a different location than mine. But if I had to replace mine, that's the same path I would use.

 

[JD5652]

Here's the link to the thread for my door jamb removal...

Thread 'Removal of State Room Door Jamb'

Oct 5, 2019

I'm installing a new washer and dryer in my 1976 58 LRC. I've got the old Kenmore All-In-One unit out by separating them and dissecting the washer. I'll post up a new thread on that whole process.... BUT... right now I'm trying to find the "least destructive" haul path for the new units... they will be separate and then stacked.

Right now it looks like the best path is to bring them in the forward state room hatch. However, the state room door is too narrow.... however it would be wide enough if I removed the door jamb...

Anyone done this before without demolishing the jamb?

• JD5652
• Replies: 23
• Forum: Hatteras Tech Talk

 

[sfbayboater]

The hot water heater on my 1976 58 LRC is located in the engine room. I have replaced the washer and dryer and a refrigeration unit all of which is located in the hallway from the engine room to the forward stairs. I used the forward hatch in the forward state room as the haul path. I had to remove the forward state room door and door casement (partially) to get the washer and dryer through that area. Take some careful measurements of the door opening without the casement and see if that provides you enough clearance.

Sounds like your hot water heater is in a different location than mine. But if I had to replace mine, that's the same path I would use.

Under the stairs leading to the aft statemeroom is the original location of the heater according to the Hatteras drawings and the replacement heater went in the same location. There is evidence that three treads of the stairs were removed and the heater was dropped straight down through the opening. It appears that all the screws holding that section of the stairs to the sides of the stairwell are all accessible.

I considered the engine room option but there is little extra space there since, in addition to the water maker and all the A/C units, there's a diesel boiler for the hydronic heating system which takes up space. I'll pull the carpeting off the stairs today and see if that reveals any more details as to how the steps were removed.

 

[Boatsb]

Remember these boats were evolving when they built them newer models had " better placement " of systems as they learned. Also some of the materials they used are no longer available so use commen sense when replacing things. They did a great job engineering them. Sometimes wher they placed things was optimum because of other items being added or even planned upgrades.

 

[sfbayboater]

As for the location, it's a good use of space. The original was replaced with an off-the-shelf 38 gallon, short, residential electric heater before we became the owners 12 years ago. I discovered that when the heater was installed the installer didn't use dielectric unions between the steel tank and the copper plumbing which I think is why it is failing in the way it is. I will definitely use them when I install the new heater.

I'm well along on prepping to remove three steps, after which I can remove the old unit, install the new one and put everything back together again. My background in construction, particularly plumbing and elcectrical has come in handy owning an older boat. This particular 65 LRC was hull 11 of 13 Hatteras built of this model. It was built in 1985.
Robert