Both of the hoses connecting the drain holes in the cockpit to the thru hull holes in the transom of my F25 have cracked and are leaking. A fair bit of the water that lands in the cockpit ends up draining into my bilge, and not out the stern ports.
It looks as though a previous owner has tried to alleviate the problem by gobbing silicone around the split pipe, but this didn’t fix the problem. I need to replace the hoses, but the silicone has made the job more difficult, and the pipes themselves look to be very difficult to get at. I am a big guy with big hands and don’t do well with the “work while hanging upside down and leaning backwards” kind of jobs.
Has anyone out there replaced these hoses, and if so, are there any hints for how to get the job done efficiently? Any suggestions on a good type of hose to use?
It seems important to fix this. Although the drain holes are set above the water line it seems to me that a bunch of stores in the aft lockers and a few people in the cockpit and I would suddenly find myself with a boat leaking water into the bilges.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have. I enjoy working on my boat, but I hate the fiddley reach around corners to work kind of jobs!
I totally replaced these drain pipes by using 1-1/2" thruhull fittings with one-way flappers on their outside. This took care of the deteriorated pipes, plus it cured the water running into the cockpit when too many lard-butts were in the cockpit and a wake slammed into the transom… Reference in West Marine catalog is model 593442.
Hadn’t thought of replacing the whole thing. I have this aversion to making holes in the hull of my boat - even if the hole already exists! I figure that surely the manufacturer can do a better job of making a hole that won’t leak or cause my core to rot than I can.
It appears that item 593442 no longer exists in the WestMarine catalogue. Do you remember the manufacturer name, or the approximate cost of the fitting?
In reading at other sites I have found “crossing the hoses” often mentioned for cockpit drains. It seems to make sence from the perspective of preventing water from coming into the cockpit when the boat is healing, and it would certainly be easier to work with a longer piece of hose than trying to put a tight curve in a short hose and jam it into a confined space.
Try Hamilton Marine (hamiltonmarine.com) for their Thru-transom Scupper Part # SD-520510, Order # 142577, $7.79 each. I wouldn’t feel much trepidation in making holes, PROVIDED you glop up the edges of the hole with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy resin. Then after you remove those GRP pipes from your transom, you’ll discover that they weren’t gel-coated on the INSIDE where the sun beats on them. Hence the deterioration, and eventual failure. Give it a shot, I’m sure others have preceded you in repairing this “factory defect”.
I think I am going to have to take your advice. I managed to cut out the middle section of the hose, but the transom end has been coated inside and out with some kind of sealant, so even after removing the hose clamps I can’t begin to budge the old hose from the fitting. Unfortunately the previous owner applied the same sealant to the cockpit end of the hose. There isn’t even a clamp up there - just big globs of what I am guessing is silicone AND epoxy. I don’t see how I am going to get that end of the old hose off either, and if i put some kind of fitting in there it will leave a lip that will keep the cockpit from draining properly.
It sure would have been better if the previous owner had simply replaced the old pipe rather than trying to stop the leak with sealant!