Water tank fill hoses

[Ekutney]

I have 2 hard water tanks, one under the V berth and the other stbd side under the setee.  I also removed the 200 liter water bladder under the aft berth and have not yet decided if I am going to replace it or reinstall.  I am in the process of changing all water supply, vent and water fill hoses on the 2 remaining tanks.  The water supply and vent hoses were simple but the water fill, which are connected to the deck fill ports, seem to be more of a challenge.  I have followed them and they appear to go up to the deck fill via wooden compartments.  I have done a search on this site but have not found any detailed discussion of the best way to get access.  The outside of the hoses are sticky, they old and worn so they are most likely original.  Any assistance from somebody that has done this task would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. 

[Stu Jackson]

Ed, the "trick" with hoses connected to deck fittings is to disconnect them from wherever they are connected down below and to push them up still attached to the deck fitting (after, of course, removing the deck fill unit's screws from the deck).  Is that what you're asking?

[Ekutney]

Stu,

Your response is exactly what I was looking for.  I was not sure if the hose connection at the deck fitting fill port was the place to disconnect them because I was not exactly sure how the deck fittings are attached to the boat.  I did not want to find out the hard way.  It sounds like you are telling me if I disconnect the hose at the tank then remove the screws holding the deck fitting that I should be able to push/pull it out.  My question is then how difficult is it to reroute the hose back down to the tank inlet?

I plan to replace both the V berth and stbd tank fill ports, the hoses are worn and I want to make sure the potable water is safe to drink.

[mregan]

I replaced my hoses and left the deck fittings in place.  There should be a couple of screws holding the v-berth wood box together.  Mine didn't have wood bungs so I just unscrewed them and removed the 2 pieces of wood.  Then I had access to the bottom of the deck fitting.  Unscrewed the hose clamp and pulled the hose off.
I'm pretty sure the aft tank had the same setup.  I might have had to dig out he wood bungs on that one to get at the screws but it wasn't a big deal.
Both hoses came off pretty easily and the new hoses went on pretty easy also.

I didn't want to have to pull the deck fittings off and try to re-seal.

[Stu Jackson]

1.   It sounds like you are telling me if I disconnect the hose at the tank then remove the screws holding the deck fitting that I should be able to push/pull it out. 

2.   My question is then how difficult is it to reroute the hose back down to the tank inlet?

3.   I plan to replace both the V berth and stbd tank fill ports, the hoses are worn and I want to make sure the potable water is safe to drink.

Ed,

1.  I got this idea from Commodore Rick Allen who recently did his fuel tank supply hose.  That's way aft and inaccessible otherwise.

2.  The new hoses, in my experience, are always stiffer than the old ones.  If it's a straight shot, shouldn't be an issue.

3.  V berth:  We don't have this puppy.  In this case, I would follow Matt's advice.  Starboard fill:  That hose runs behind the two wooden "baffles" behind the sliding black doors in the saloon.  When I first got our boat, I took the screws that hold them in out completely and haven't replaced more than one of those screws in 18 years; the wood pieces jam in pretty tight by themselves.  The reason is that I've done a lot of work back behind there mostly for electrical work, on both sides of the cabin.  There are no bungs on my boat, the screws are on the side with easy access.  Take the wood pieces off and have at it, it will all be right in front of your eyes!    There are pictures of just this in the old Projects page, here, scroll down and click on the pictures:  http://www.c34.org/projects/projects-aquavite.html

[Ekutney]

Thanks for the project link, i did a search but could not find that pic.  I"m headed to the boat tomorrow and will see if those wood sections come out without too much trouble.

[Stu Jackson]

....but could not find that pic. 

Ed, it's the second to last vertical lower left picture if you scroll down the entire single page of that link.  You can click on the picture and make it bigger.  It's part of the lighting project.

[Ekutney]

I replaced the fill hoses for the V berth and starboard tanks.  I also replaced the vent hose attached to the stanchion, the vent for the V berth tank is T'd into the starboard tank vent hose and uses the same stanchion vent. It was an easy task because the screws holding the wooden panels were accessible.  I was shocked at the condition of the original hoses, can't emagine drinking the water that went through them.

[Ekutney]

Pictures of the stanchion vent hose.