Hunter 34 Exhaust hose replacement

Ralph Johnstone · Jul 18, 2022

You replace it.

Do you have a specific question about the replacement ?

dkinzer · Jul 18, 2022

One of the items noted in our October 2021 pre-sale survey was that the exhaust hose on our boat was showing some cracking, the recommendation being that it should be replaced. Our boat has 3" I.D. series 252 wet exhaust hose so I measured it out and bought some Trident 252-3000 from greatlakesskipper.com. They, and several others, sell it on eBay but I bought it directly from their website because the total cost was less compared to buying it on eBay.

I've never done this before but I expect there to be a fair amount of water in the muffler and exhaust hose. My plan it to use a 12VDC powered pump to pump out as much of that as I can before I disconnect the existing exhaust hose from the muffler and exhaust elbow. We'll see how that goes.

Other than the mess created by the water in the system, I think the biggest challenge, is going to be bending the new hose to form the siphon break just before the exhaust through hull fitting.

Mike Oldak · Jul 19, 2022

jk kudera said:
I have a leak in the exhaust system, and strongly suspect he hose between the muffler and the thru hull. If you have done this, what is the best way?

I'm sure I'm like most other sailers that haven't inspected their exhaust hose, which I will do next sail. But what led you to determine that the hose was leaking?

RoyS · Jul 19, 2022

You can buy fiberglass fittings like elbows to make the installation easier. Three inch seems overly large to me.

dkinzer · Jul 19, 2022

RoyS said:
Three inch seems overly large to me.

This boat has the optional 56HP engine. It's possible that the standard 40HP engine had smaller exhaust hose.

RoyS · Jul 19, 2022

As far as water in exhaust system you can just drain it into the bilge and let the bilge pump take it from there. Should be a drain on the muffler.

Charlie98117 · Jul 19, 2022

jk kudera said:
I know it needs to be replaced, I know what and where to buy the hose and mixing elbow, and I know there may be some cleanup. However, I want to know how to access the muffler and rear hose, can it be accessed from the starboard locker, or do bulkhead s need to be removed? tia

You will need to remove the floor in the aft berth which also requires removal of the aft wall panel. The photo shows muffler mounted in a stringer beam and exhaust routing under floor to starboard locker.

kloudie1 · Jul 19, 2022

Then you have to find a small, flexible, tool-savy person to get into the locker (aka The Pit) and fit the new hose. While there, it would be good to replace the cockpit drain hose as well.

Ralph Johnstone · Jul 19, 2022

Before demolishing the boat, can you attach a tracer line to the hose where it attaches to the thru-hull and then pull the tracer back to the muffler ? The tracer can then be used to pull the new hose through to the thru-hull. Somehow I doubt any bulkheads have to be removed as the hose was likely the last thing to be installed in the boat at the factory. Follow @RoyS recommendations in his post #6 for fittings but only if necessary.

@Charlie98117 's photo looks quite doable with a tracer unless the remaining routing is more difficult.

Photograph and send pictures starting at your muffler outlet and going to the thru-hull so we can get a real life picture of what you're dealing with. We don't know the year of your boat and you may have a different setup from the pics we have seen so far.

I did this five years ago and it was an absolute bear of a job to do but just takes time. Work slowly. Use a hair dryer to remove and install the hose on fittings as required. I know it's wire wound but heat can just make the differece between GO and NO GO. Lube the fittings with SupreLube grease. NO PETROLEUM GREASE. All double gear clamps.