Carver Owners Forum

At one end of the tank, you should find the plumbing. There should be two 1 1/4 lines (pump out line near bottom and line in from head near the top) and a smaller 3/4 line near the top... that's your vent.

Thank you

Thanks for the carver link. I've looked everywhere, even there, and our layout is different. The link you attached has several different choices but none of them are right either. The paperwork That came with the boat (355) is close, but not exact. I'm frustrated but I'm not going to give up!! Thanks everybody for helping me. I love our Carver

If you can, take a couple more pics of that rear tank from some different angles , maybe show the ends......because that pic you have there shows what appears to be a very large tank ( maybe water )...head tanks should be on the boats centreline ...18 gallons or option 30 gal.....that might help us help you.It seems from the factory drawings that there are quite a few option choices and Viper is correct in some of those options the "Y" valve could stop you from pumping out ( according to those schematics ) if you had that particular system and configuration ( very confusing).

You on salt water, or did the boat come from salt ?? Oh and is it vacuflush or electric macerator ?

One more thing ...on the colour matter, some waxes will alter the colour slightly...all normal...dont sweat it.

The tank shown in the picture under the rear berth is the water tank. The holding tank is under the floor just outside of the head compartment. The carpet should lift up for access. if you have standard electric or manual flush and not vacuflush, it will not make a difference if your vent is clogged it will pull air through the toilet. So, if your pumping out, have some one inside, they should hear the vacuum in the toilet. If not, look at the 3 way valve as others have suggested.

Yes, I finally got the right diagram of our boat. I feel STUPID! There is a leak in the system and the holding tank compartment has some liquid in it. I guess I found our smell problem. Thanks everyone for all of your advice

Roxanne, the shower sump should be just behind the holding tank. The sump is not sealed. They often become fouled with hair and soap./ When this happens the shower water and the a/c condensate drain into that area of the bilge causing very unpleasant odors. You may want to open and clean it first unless you have found the leak already.

That is awesone info. Thanks!! We love this boat but figuring out some of these thing has been frustrating. Thanks so much I'll check.

UPDATE: With the layout of the boat I located the REAL holding tank! I'm not sure why our diagram isnt on the Carver website or the case of paperwork that came with our boat but anyway... There has obviously been leaking in the past. The compartment has about 1 inch of YUCK water in the bottom and old stains around the top. I checked the shower and that pump is running fine. I decided to unhook the filter because I had read that if the tank is more than 3/4 full and you take the boat out, it can back fill into the filter. We took the boat over to pump out and I unhooked the filter. OMG I almost lost my lunch at that point. Liquid poured out of the filter. We pumped out and I put 5 gal of soap water through the toilet to go back to the tank hoping to clean it out a little. When we got back to the dock I used the shop vac and cleaned out the compartment. Then (after I priced new filters $130 x 2) I decided to DIY. I cut the SeaLand filter in half, another vomit point, and unpacked the solid wet contents. After I cleaned it out real well I used liquid cement to add a connection that I bought at home depot into the center. I made a small filter at the ends out of a kitchen sponge I had and filled in with activated charcoal from Pet Smart. screwed it together and put it back in. When I put it back in the compartment I put it in up on top of the plumbing instead of down at the bottom hoping that it would be harder for the tank to back up into it. I learned that you guys are amazing and if I keep reading and asking questions I can fix just about anything (that doesn't involve a chainsaw, I'm not allowed to play with that anymore dont ask) The suction of the vacuum doesn't work well with the toilet when the filter is off. Duh. The leaking came from a lose connection around the filter (the tank side) and I made sure I tightened everything before I put it all back. This also solved the vacuum coming on every 20 minutes. We had gotten to the point where we turned it off after every flush just to avoid the noise and the possible motor damage. I also made a filter for the front tank. That filter is above the tank under the dinette and was not in a position that tank contents could back up into it so it was mostly still pieces of charcoal . (I guess?? Unless someone REALLY over filled the tank? and maybe it has no other place to go but out the vent hole and into the filter? Can that happen?? Also I did notice that the tank pumped out more contents with the filter unhooked. Our tank doesnt have a "release" valve and I am guessing that with a clogged filter it was hard to get all of the contents out of the tank. So So glad to sleep in a room with no toilet smell tonight. Thank you THANK YOU for helping me figure this all out.. I am happy (a little embarrassed that I thought the water tank was the holding tank) a little more educated about our new investment, a little more confident about taking her out on my own and the best part is this group of smarties! [image][image][/image][/image]

Good going. We are all a "work in progress " on these "new to us" boats. There is a ton of satisfaction in figuring it all out and becoming a master of your boat. MASTER AND COMMANDER!!