Legend 35 - Water heater hose replacement?

[walmsleyc]

Hi all,

This question may be somewhat Legend 35 specific (mine is an '87).

I want to replace the 2 hoses that run from the engine, under the liner for a distance, and back up under the galley sink area, and then finally over to the nearby waterheater.

The problem is that tugging them from either the engine compartment (where they go through a hole in the grid system, or from where they emerge under the sink, they don't seem to budge. My concern is that they may be zip tied to the underside of the grid system before assembly and that is will be a real fight to extract them, let alone getting new ones back in. (using a endoscope camera, I was able to see that other things were zip tied under there, like the 120V wiring, and maybe other things.

My thought was that if they moved freely, then I could use a coupler to used the old hoses to pull in the new ones.

 

[Tally Ho]

Probably not specific to any one boat…unfortunately.

It will be a fight.

Greg

 

[JoeWhite]

Is it possible to rotate the hose? If so you ma be able to pull put by rotating it.

 

[Mika1]

It will be a fight.

∆ THIS!
I went through this recently on a friend's powerboat - leaking hose zip tied to the hull during build in a totally inaccessible place. You have two options: break the hoses free so they can be replaced or abandon them in place and fish new hoses through. I personally don't like abandoning hoses, wiring, etc., so when I ran into this the solution involved a hacksaw blade duct taped to an extendable boathook handle. I had a 4" access hole/hose pathway to work through and needed a mirror to see in there so I could see what I was doing. It only took 3 hours (including many breaks because of the awkward working position) to cut through the two zipties in that space. It wasn't fun.

Enjoy!

 

[dlochner]

The hoses are likely wire reinforced which increases the challenges here. You may be able to break the hose by twisting both ends in opposite directions. Once the hose is collapsed it should come out with some effort. Two strong people will be needed to twist the hose.

Another option is to cut inspection ports into the liner where the zip ties are and then cut the zip ties.

 

[walmsleyc]

I figured someone had gone through this. I do have a ediscope, do I will try that to see if I can find zip ties.

I have very little working room on either side and the access holes are just big enough to get the hoses through. So abandoning in place is not viable.

Mmmm

 

[artboas]

You likely have 2 problems ..
Firstly, the 2 hoses are zip tied to each other.
As well, you might have wiring tied in as well.
Other than installing an access plate, I don’t know of any easy solution

 

[walmsleyc]

You likely have 2 problems ..
Firstly, the 2 hoses are zip tied to each other.
As well, you might have wiring tied in as well.
Other than installing an access plate, I don’t know of any easy solution

Thanks. This is all as I expected (but not really what I wanted to hear). The entrance/exit holes for these hoses are not much bigger that than what is needed to pass the two hoses. The holes are situations such that getting a straight line of pull at either end is near impossible) I will try to use an endoscope to see if I can see what's going on. It's not a long distance, but it does snake around a corner in the grid system (which surely adds friction for pulling these hoses). If they're only zip tied together, it may be doable to work them out as a pair, but not if other wire is involved. If the zip ties are close to the holes, then maybe I can figure a way to cut them.

I will explore more!

Chris

 

[walmsleyc]

Hard to see, but that white thing is one zip tie (another at the other end, maybe another in the middle). The house runs by at the lower left. The two zip ties are about 8" from each end. Some grey butylene water hoses are also in the bundle. The zip ties are not tight, but it will be a challenge. No electrical with these.

It's possible I can hook something in the hole to cut one, but probably not the other.

I may have to rethink this job!

Chris

 

[Mika1]

I found this in another forum on this site. I wonder if the Dennis Sapp is still around? Maybe the admins know..

changing hot water heat exchanging hose

 

[Marmalade]

On our '87 Legend 37, the exhaust hose was zip-tied to the grid. They used one of those zip-ties with a screw hole, and it was screwed to a wooden block that had been bonded in the grid.

I used an endoscope as well, found the tie and even managed to break the zip-tie with a long screw driver, but the block of wood and the screw in it created a point/pinch load on the old hose, and that prevented me from pushing/pulling the hose. The block of wood was bonded to the "top" of the grid, so I ended-up having to drill a 2" hole at the location through the grid... got it just right, the block of wood and screw were in the piece removed by my hole-saw.

I suspect they put the hoses in the grid before they lowered it into and bonded to the hull. The screwed zip tie kept the hose in the "tunnel" of the grid when doing this.

No idea if they did the same on the water-heater hoses, but something else to consider.

 

[senang]

Go to a parasail paramotor diving shop. They have V shaped tools to cut parachute or other lines. You might be able to attach one such cutter to a stick and cut the zip tie with a strong pull.

 

[walmsleyc]

Go to a parasail paramotor diving shop. They have V shaped tools to cut parachute or other lines. You might be able to attach one such cutter to a stick and cut the zip tie with a strong pull.

Interesting idea! I was thinking of doing something like that on the end of a coat hanger. But using one of these tools could work nicely and cut better that whatever I would have come up with.. I know I can get at one zip tie from one end. Not sure of the other. But maybe one will help enough.

 

[Windpilot]

I would think those 35+ year old zip ties would easily break if forced enough.

 

[JoeWhite]

Pencil soldering iron taped to the end of a wood dowel can melt the zip ties

 

[Marmalade]

I would think those 35+ year old zip ties would easily break if forced enough.

This! I found I only need to push on the zip-tie with something solid... like a screwdriver... snapped easily.

 

[marcham]

I just replaced mine on a H380 (along with the water heater and water pump). I had 6 or 7 zip ties, screwed into the boat. It required removing all the floorboards from that side of the hull. Only then, was I able to access all of them (including the one that was directly below the middle of the kitchen cabinet. I imagine they were installed before floors and cabinets were in. Anyway, took a bit of time but I also got to clean a lot of the parts of bilge I never see..... how does the dog hair get into these crevices??

I left a an extra loop of 1 or 2 feet in the bilge in case I every have to cut a hose.

 

[walmsleyc]

I just replaced mine on a H380 (along with the water heater and water pump). I had 6 or 7 zip ties, screwed into the boat. It required removing all the floorboards from that side of the hull. Only then, was I able to access all of them (including the one that was directly below the middle of the kitchen cabinet. I imagine they were installed before floors and cabinets were in. Anyway, took a bit of time but I also got to clean a lot of the parts of bilge I never see..... how does the dog hair get into these crevices??

I left a an extra loop of 1 or 2 feet in the bilge in case I every have to cut a hose.

It sounds like your hoses weren't all run within the floor grid?

Chris

 

[marcham]

They were on top of the grid, but going through maybe 2 cross sections. About 65% visible once all floor boards removed. I did have to take apart the bench tops to reach one zip tip and to remove the hot water tank. 4 hour project turned into a 4 day project

If passing inside the grid, I would be shocked if they were attached to anything, except maybe zip tied to each other. It would only be secured to the boat in areas they could access after the grid was laid down and glued.

Have you removed all the floorboards to have a better look?

To pull the new hoses (21 feet each), I duct taped them to the old ones.