And in my opinion do it all yourself if possible, that's how you learn and get better.
Amen! Not only is that a lot less expensive, but there are no mechanics at sea...nor any in coastal waters on Sunday either.
So Peggy, what hose are you recommending for 1.5-inch from the head to the tank?
If you're gonna replace the toilet discharge hose, replace ALL the hoses. For toilet -tank and tank discharge plumbing there are only two hoses I recommend--Trident 101/102 (identical except for color--101 is black, 102 has a white "skin" on it)
Trident #101 Sanitation Hose Trident #10 2Sanitation Hose - , a double walled rubber hose that's been on the market for 20+ years without a single reported odor permeation failure....and Raritan SaniFlex
Raritan SaniFlex hose , which hasn't had a single reported odor permeation failure--nor have I ever heard of any either--in the 10 years since Raritan introduced it.
Trident 101/102 has just one major drawback: it's as stiff as an ironing board...making it necessary to cut it and insert inline radius fittings in any bend more than 10-15 degrees. Raritan Saniflex, as you can see in the link, is so flexible it can be bent like a hairpin without kinking...which makes replacing hoses a LOT easier job. Its only drawback is, it's a bit pricier than the Trident...but only a couple $$/ft more if you know where to shop. So which to use depends on how straight the plumbing runs are.
Flex PVC #148 is fine for the vent line and toilet intake line. And as long as you're replacing the vent line, this would be a good time to upgrade to a 1" hose and open bulkhead thru-hull. Easy to do, thanks to a li'l gadget called the Uniseal
UNISEAL
f I had to ask advise in here about how to get the hose off and there were no easy-to-do answers, I think I might consider the job money well spent to avoid a nightmare that I wouldn't want to get into.
Ever heard definition of the difference between cruising and yachting? Cruising is sailing your boat to exotic places to work on it...yachting is sailing your boat to exotic places to pay people to work on it.
Replacing hoses doesn't have to be a nightmare...although it is a lot more pleasant job if you do it in cool weather. Removing the old ones is a lot easier if you warm 'em a bit first...I always used a blow dryer. Same is true for putting 'em onto fittings--warm 'em a bit, smear a diswashing liquid--better yet a little K-Y surgical jelly (it's a lot slipprier)-- on the inside of the hose and the outside of the fitting to lubricate.
But, like most jobs, preparation is essential. Pumpout and THOROUGHLY rinse out the tank and flush gallons of clean water through the system to rinse it out before taking anything apart. Put a plastic garbage bag under each connection to catch any drips.
All this is covered step-by-step in a lot more detail in my book (see link in my signature below).
--Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein