P42 hot water leak

Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
We have a '90 Passage 42. Does anyone know how the hot water lines are run on this model? All I can see is it exits the water heater and disappears under the hull pan. Somewhere, the line has blown open and we're pumping water under the pan which then flows in to the keel sump through limber holes. I fear I will have to cut the liner to get to the hoses for repairs but would like to know where the hoses run before I break out the angle grinder.

Thank you in advance,
John
 

KD3PC

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Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
On our '91, the hot water ran across the boat, under the liner from port side at the hot water heater to the salon head sink, and then to the salon shower. From there it went to the galley sink and then to the aft cabin head shower, then the aft cabin head sink. The cold lines (make sure which one you have as one of mine was swapped) went the same way, except the aft one went on to the stern for washdown.

If you have a helper, you can blow out the gray line and then use a vacuum or compressor to suck or push a small twine to/from a fixture - that will at least narrow down the line you need to focus on...you may be able to "hear" or feel the air, or your helper could.

I only had one gray line that was firmly attached to the boat, as I used the gray line to pull pex when I replumbed my boat.
 
Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
You replumbed the whole boat? I'm sorry

With my wife's help I found the hot nod cold go from the water heater directly across the boat to the cabinet with the three stacked drawers. There they T going to the forward head and aft to the galley sink. Unfortunately the T behind the cabinet is unreachable without cutting some access in that cabinet, hidden by the starboard settie at least. That may be my only option but I'm going to invest in an inspection scope and send it under the pan to try and locate the leak before I cut anything.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
That may be my only option but I'm going to invest in an inspection scope and send it under the pan to try and locate the leak before I cut anything.
Wise choice. Unlikely the PEX hose is leaking; strong stuff. More likely a fitting failure like ours. As mentioned above the lines drop beneath the hot water heater into a cross beam to the starboard side of the boat. These tee to the forward cabin and galley sink, then through a starboard longitude stringer beneath the engine to the aft head.

Our hot water leak was an improperly assembled fitting beneath the sit tub faucet. If you shine a bright light across the top of the main engine, there is a square opening in the bulkhead, starboard side of the transmission where you can see some of these fittings. To gain access you must remove the lower 8D battery.

I wrote an article about this and it is here: http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/mods.php?task=article&mid=45&aid=8246&mn=42

Please let us know what you find and the steps in your repair. It seems whoever assembled that particular fitting decided to skip the SS retainer ring. It is a very difficult place to access, but in our case had to be done.
 
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Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
Terry,
You article reads almost word for word what we have been through including the idea the water tank was leaking from below. It will be a few weeks before we get back to the boat but I promise I will look first at the tub fitting. Oddly, I recall another P42 owner posting on FB he recently had to work in that area of the plumbing and his comments about how tight the spot is. Good thing I have long arms. Bad thing I have a big belly. I'll post an update in a few weeks.

Thank you,
John
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Hi John, great. The two PEX lines (hot & cold) that come from the galley exit the starboard side of the stringer right at that sit tub opening. When we first purchased our 1991 P42 in 2002 one of those fittings had been dripping for some time, which caused the water pump to burp about every ten seconds. Later, when I replaced the batteries, I tightened that dripping fitting and the pump stopped cycling. I do not remember whether it was a hot or cold fitting but they both converge there before crossing over to the aft sink then back to the transom shower.
 

KD3PC

.
Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
Our water lines, were the gray mobile home stuff...PEX is what I ran, after a month of leaky connections and a "factory" kink that finally cracked. A long weekend, bit no more leaks.
 
Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
Thank you guys. You have both been very helpful.

I would not new surprised at all if the hot line at the sit tub T has been leaking since before we bought the boat in 2014. The pump used to cycle about once a minute but I always assumed it was the water heater as it has signs of leakage. With the water heater capped off currently, there is no cycling. I took a cursory look in the engine compartment when we were at the boat last and noted a lot of rust around the foot of the aft starboard leg of the genset rack. Now that I understand this is the same general area as the fresh water plumping, a long term leak could explain the rust. I will also take a look for any kinks. I have very good water pressure throughout the boat, except the aft head sink. Both hot and cold pressure are low. I suspected the faucet to blame but disconnected the water lines from it and the open lines were still low on pressure.

FYI, I found a better/cheaper source for the Qest fittings. Take a look at http://www.mobilehomedepotmi.com/plumbing/qest.html
A fully assembled nut/ring/cone set for 1/2" OD tubing is $0.86 vs $1.11 for a bare nut at plumbingsupply.com. I've already ordered once from Mobile Home Depot and found them to not only be reasonable, but extremely helpful after I ordered some elbows of the incorrect size. Joella is extremely nice and knows her products.

I will carry a full compliment of spare fittings and a good length of 1/2" OD tubing when we set out cruising. I doubt this will be the last time I have to work on the plumbing in this boat. I'm just not up to replumbing the whole thing right now.

Thank you,
John
 
Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
I'm a happy boy!!!!
The fitting nut on the hot water line attatching it to the T fitting is completely broken. I located the line as Terry described it. Repair will be to replace the nut though I am certain the batteries will have to come out and possibly the muffler to gain access. No matter, I know what needs to be done and that's a huge win in my book right now.

IMG_2697.JPG
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
I owe him a large libation of his choosing!
Glad you found it, John and thanks for the offer. That was where ours broke, too. Not sure why, but I did find that whoever put them together originally, did so incorrectly, which I think caused the tube to blow out. I was able to repair ours, with one hand, by removing just the lower battery. Difficult, but patience prevails.

Ditto on replacing the whole system. I figure that one fitting failure since 1991 is pretty good performance. I also have a compliment of spares, but likely will be some number of years before another failure. Please let us know the details of the fitting repair. Always a hoot to read another person's travails. :dancing:
 
Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
Hmm, I wrote this about 14 hrs ago but apparently did not click "post reply".

Just finished replacing the broken fitting. Tight access is a pretty good description. Petit sailors will likely have an easier time than us big boys. I removed both battery boxes for ease of access. Would have liked to remove the lower exhaust hose 90 degree elbow as well but decided against it as I was able to push the head hoses aside sufficiently. While I was in there I checked the cold line fitting, pictured, and decided replacing it was a good idea though, believe it or not, it had not yet started leaking. My fittings were assembled correctly. Both had the metal retaining ring installed correctly. Perhaps they were just over tightened at the factory? The other 4 nut/cone fittings on the T's are all still intact, which I do not understand. There must be something unique with these two particular fittings causing them to fail but not others.

Yes, that was the requisite blood offering on my thumb.
IMG_2699.JPG
 
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Dec 25, 2000
5,704
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Yes, that was the requisite blood offering on my thumb.
Nice job, John and congrats. As I recall had the same sacrificial offering of red stuff doing that repair, too. I suspect that the failure resulted from over tightening the fitting, since we have had no other failures like the one in that location. Our hot water tee had one busted coupler like yours, but had all the parts, and the other two had no SS retainer ring with good couplers. It was one of the couplers with no SS retainer that blew out.

I check that location periodically and all is still good. No pump cycling either, an early symptom. That is one chore I hope never to repeat.