I need to replace the wet exhaust hose on our 1993 H33.5. I can easily get to the engine and the water lift/muffler connections but can't see a way to get to where the hose clamps onto the hull exit. If anybody has done this and can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I would appreciate it even more if one of you would drop by and do it for me! I'll supply lunch and beer!
Replacing exhaust hose
- Thread starter Sutric
- Start date
Not for several more days. I know it runs into the starboard side battery compartment but then it disappears under the floor that the batteries rest on and I assume straight onto the outlet. I just can't find access to where I know it has to be.
I replaced mine last year on a Legend 37... same story, the elbow and muffler connections were easy to get too... but the exhaust hose was routed thru a "tunnel". The tunnel was basically an upside-down channel in the grid, that when it was bonded to the hull made the tunnel. In the middle, there was a wooded block bonded to the tunnel/grid, with a zip-tie screwed to it and around the hose.
I could see the block and zip-tie with a snake camera, and I even managed to get a batten pushed in there and break the 30yr old zip tie... it the wooden block was still creating a pressure point that prevented me from being able to push/pull the old hose.
Finally I just used a hole saw to cut an access hole... the disc I cut-out had the wooden block... and then the old hose pulled out easily.
I didn't use the old hose to pull the new one thru... the hoses were too stiff and there wasn't enough space to connect them in a way that would work... but the new hose pushed thru the tunnel pretty easy... that was the easy half of the job.
I assume the wood block and hose clamp allowed Hunter to pre-assemble the exhaust hose into the grid before it was bonded into place... the only reason I can see to have the hose clamp in the middle of an enclosed space that you can't get to... there would have been no way to put the wood block/screw/zip-tie in that location after the grid and hull were joined.
no idea is the 33.5 is the same... but wouldn't be surprised if something similar. YMMV
I could see the block and zip-tie with a snake camera, and I even managed to get a batten pushed in there and break the 30yr old zip tie... it the wooden block was still creating a pressure point that prevented me from being able to push/pull the old hose.
Finally I just used a hole saw to cut an access hole... the disc I cut-out had the wooden block... and then the old hose pulled out easily.
I didn't use the old hose to pull the new one thru... the hoses were too stiff and there wasn't enough space to connect them in a way that would work... but the new hose pushed thru the tunnel pretty easy... that was the easy half of the job.
I assume the wood block and hose clamp allowed Hunter to pre-assemble the exhaust hose into the grid before it was bonded into place... the only reason I can see to have the hose clamp in the middle of an enclosed space that you can't get to... there would have been no way to put the wood block/screw/zip-tie in that location after the grid and hull were joined.
no idea is the 33.5 is the same... but wouldn't be surprised if something similar. YMMV
Snake a dock line through the existing hose and then pull the hose out leaving the dock line in the tunnel. Run the dock line through the new hose tying a big knot at the end so it won't pull through. One person feeds the hose into the tunnel another pulls the line. And Voilla the new hose is in place.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I've ordered 12' of new hose as well as the necessary clamps and what not. Now all that is left is doing the dirty deed. Still have to figure out how to get to where the hose is clamped to the hull. I have a 8-year-old grandson that might fit down in there......
Are you sure you need to do a full replacement?
What most have said here is WRONG!
Why?
The final hose has a HIGH LOOP in it, so when Sailing...
Water does not flow backward into your Engine Exhaust !!!
I am Guessing now...
The Exhaust Discharge part very seldom fails since it remains Dry except when the Engine it running.
Good Luck
Jim...
What most have said here is WRONG!
Why?
The final hose has a HIGH LOOP in it, so when Sailing...
Water does not flow backward into your Engine Exhaust !!!
I am Guessing now...
The Exhaust Discharge part very seldom fails since it remains Dry except when the Engine it running.
Good Luck
Jim...
The Hunter 33.5 owners manual is available for Download on this Site...
HunterOwners.com downloads
plus a lot of other useful items.
Jim...
HunterOwners.com downloads
plus a lot of other useful items.
Jim...
That hunter manual leaves SO much to be desired. I find it all but practically worthless as 90% of it by volume is product pamphlets from all of the original gear, half of the companies which are no longer in business. Many of the drawings basically show you the bleeding obvious that you can make out yourself just by looking at your boat for 5 minutes. For this example, yes all of us who own a 33.5 can see where the exhaust connects to the elbow, we can even see the line coming up through the STBD lazarette to make the backflow prevention hump, but once it dives back inside there, you have ZERO access to where it connects to the inside of the hull unless you're willing to start sawing through the deck of that STBD lazarette.
So much in the manual leaves nothing but question marks from how the running rigging is actually run and operates, to how the plumbing system works. If you are like me and bought your boat without a previous owner living that could show you how stuff works, you are stuck spending months and years trying to figure out what should have been the most basic things.
Even worse, after 30 years, my 93 H33.5 has had multiple previous owners and not all of them were competent with the repairs or upgrades so it's guaranteed that you're not going to find everything stock the way Hunter made it. I might point out this is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to electrical. (I never had even heard of anyone putting batteries in the stbd central lazarette for that matter, but if you could make it waterproof, I can see how it could work that way.)
I still question myself how I am ever going to find out many of the things about how my boat works or was intended to work by the manufacturer. Slowly but surely as I rebuild it, I am hoping to network with perhaps other 33.5 owners in North Florida I can visit and tour their boats so they can walk me through some things.
You tell me the parts you need, you can contact the Main Owner of this Site or me even.
I had major issues on many parts that can be still be found.
If you need parts on your Hunter 33.5 , I will send you a Private Message so we can talk by phone.
Jim...
I have been purchasing a good number of replacements already as I work on the boat. I work only 15 minutes from the guys and have driven over several times to the shop to pick stuff up. I do highly recommend going through the owners of this site for spare parts and hard to find items.
They also have hard to find data that is/was never put into the boat manuals and given to customers outright.
Thanks, but I really don't need any parts. What I'm looking for is how to access the exhaust hose where it discharges outside the hull. It appears that the only way to access it is either down through the deck the batteries are sitting on (not too easy for a 70-year-old guy with a bad back) or to cut out a section of the aft cabin bulkhead. You can just see it in the attached pic.
A picture of your exhaust exit showing a view of your boat would help us.
You might be able to cut a hole for access, then seal the hole back with a Deck Plate, like your Emergency Tiller Deck Plate.
Jim...
You might be able to cut a hole for access, then seal the hole back with a Deck Plate, like your Emergency Tiller Deck Plate.
Jim...
I finished replacing the hose yesterday and what a PITA! I had to cut a 14" by 18" hole in the aft cabin bulkhead in order to access the point where the hose exits the boat. And after getting the old one out (cut it in half) I had to open up the holes where the hose went through the battery deck in order to get the new hose to align enough to slip onto the exit (you can see the bend in the original one in the picture). Also enlarged the one in the battery deck so I could feed it through back into the engine bay. Somehow though, in all the pushing, pulling and cursing I managed to kill the power leading to the instrument panel. Oh well, something for tomorrow.....
Attachments
Well done. I am looking at about the same job that I want to accomplish on my 33.5. I just am very hesitant to go cutting a massive hole in that bulkhead though. Still wondering, now that I get a view of inside that inaccessible space, if it wouldn't be better to just cut a hole down from above in the lazarette. Then you can make a proper drop in board for any future access. I believe you state on your boat that you have batteries in there. On mine, the previous owner was using it as a storage lazarette for the various needed stuff like bumpers, lines, fuel can, and life jackets. I had never thought that one could put a house bank in there, but that does present a possibility rather than adding the house bank under the port settee in the main cabin.
Still have to deal with the 30+ year old exhaust hose...
Still have to deal with the 30+ year old exhaust hose...
I found I had to have the access hole in order to be able to work the hose off the exit. Then, if you look at the second picture, you;'ll see the hose has a "S" bend in it and there was no way to get that thing to align with the exit. Made it a lot easier to access the hose clamps too. If nothing else it matches the one on the port side that we had to put in in order to get the fuel tank out. It was a PITA, make no mistake!
I merely meant, instead of coming in from the side through the vertical bulkhead on the aft of the berth area, come down through the wooden decking inside that lazarette and approach from above. The part shown as the upper section in your 2nd photo. All works out in the end I suppose, unless you aren't too partial in poking giant holes in the bulkhead there. I'm unsure, but the more I look at it, the far less structural that element looks now as it seems to be just plywood with the usual laminate on the outside face.
That said, if you ever need to access the fuel tank, it's on the other side and many have had to cut the access hole there as well. I still must have the original 42gal tank in my boat as there are no cutouts at all in that bulkhead for my boat.
I understood where you were coming from, and I had that thought too when first looking at it, but I still needed to get to the hose clamps holding it as well as being able to wrestle the hose off. I saved the coupon from the cut out and after putting some backing onto the existing bulkhead screwed it back in place. Making some trim to cover the saw cut and put it all back together.