Our 1986 Hunter 28.5 has a freshwater coolant leak that I suspect (strongly--see below) is coming from the vicinity of the hot water heater. The system loses about 1.5 liters of water in an hour of operation but also loses about a liter over a two week period standing still with no engine operation. I have no detectable leakage in the engine compartment and I do have rust colored water seeping out from under the hot water heater. There is no rusty water in the bilge or aft of the engine compartment as viewed from the quarter berth access. The HWH is in the aft portion of the lazarette. If I wipe away the water it will reappear, though not at a rate commensurate with the amount being consumed. Our fresh water fill is a hose in the lazarette that is above the engine and I suspect that the water loss with the engine not operating is due to gravity. This amount *seems* to be about what it would take to fill the fresh water fill tube to the level where the HWH hose leaves the engine. I cannot see where the coolant hoses from the engine enter the HWH and have zero access to the back of the heater as there is an air conditioner unit mounted outboard and slightly above the heater. It appears that the HWH is held in place by an angle bracket screwed to the inboard wall of the lazarette but removing the heater from this direction will require removing the fuel filler hose which I'd rather not do if there is an alternative. Q: Has anybody else experienced this problem and, if so, any advice would be welcome. Or, has anybody removed the HWH for any other reason. How big a job is it and, again, any tips would be welcome. I am particularly worried about the hoses being too short to allow the HWH to be pulled forward (though I guess I can work around that by disconnecting them from the engine end). I can always disconnect the hoses at the engine end and plug the hoses and the connection ports on the engine. We don't use the HWH with heat generated underway much but I would like for the thing to work correctly if I can manage it without the project wrecking either the boat or my sanity. Thanks. Larry