Bilge pump through-hull fitting

[dbecker68]

I need to replace my bilge pump through-hull fitting on my 1982 H30, but the access is hidden under the port settee. I'm 6'4" and 240 and way too big to cram myself into the area, and even the admiral (5'3", 105 lbs) is too large to get in there. Has anyone had this situation, and if so, how did you solve it.

I have considered pushing a new hose in from the exterior, and then joining it to the existing hose from the bilge pump, but it is not a straight shot, and I'm not sure I would be able to do that.

I do have a slow drip from the shaft packing, so several times a day, the bilge pump does its thing, and I'm afraid of getting water either pumped back into the boat, or of getting water pumped into the fiberglass hull and causing delamination.

Does anyone have any information that may help me?

 

[JoeWhite]

I had a similar problem - If your bilge pump is operating reliably - you may consider running a new hose and hanging it out of a port for the time being until you figure out how to reach the through hull fitting.

 

[Nereussailor]

I've got an 83 H30, and if yours is like mine, it really isn't that bad to get at. I started from the top where the through hull is and fished the hose down through the settee. The through hull was in a really strange place. It came in behind the breaker panel and went down through the back of the settee. then down to the bilge. I ended up getting rid of the corrugated hose that the factory put in and used a reinforced water line. It was a much cleaner installation and was easier to fish down to the bilge. The hardest part was to drill a new hole behind the settee because of the way the hose was routed next to wiring. I'm 6'1 and 275lbs and I didn't really have a problem.

 

[Dalliance]

Relocate or at least replace that through-hull fitting!

I had the same set up as Neurosailor on my '82 H30 and thought that running water behind the electric panel was just asking for trouble, so I moved it to the starboard side near the water tank vent in the dish cabinet behind the cooktop. I replaced the old through-hull fitting with a faux through-hull from Marine East rather than filling the hole and trying to match the gel coat. When I tried to pull the hose off that old plastic through-hull, it sheared off in my hand. I took that as confirmation of my decision to move the through-hull.