Everything on a boat wears out faster than in a house. Maybe it has something to do with the constant motion, even if you’re in a slip half the year. Or the saltwater and salt air. Who knows. Whatever the reason, maintenance on a boat is a continual revolving door. Most of the time we don’t mind the revolving door and reserve a few hours each morning for routine maintenance – especially when we’re actually “out cruising”, it’s easier to maintain something than it is to fix it after it’s broken!
Which brings us to boat hoses. Not any special hose, just boat hoses in general. They all wear out. Why is it that rubber on a boat deteriorates so much faster than rubber in a house? The biggest problem with boat hoses is that depending on their timing, they could cause us to sink. SINK? Sinking is not on my bucket list. Therefore, it’s important to replace hoses now and then.
When fiddling with our refrigerator thermostat, David had to be in the far recesses under the cockpit. While he was there, he decided to work the scupper seacocks – they’re so hard to reach they frequently get missed on our monthly maintenance program. At first the port seacock wouldn’t budge, so he PB Blaster’ed it and worked it free. In the process he happened to brush against the scupper hose.
When the hose disintegrated into black dust, he decided maybe it was time to replace it!
A trip to NAPA and some new stainless hose clamps and we were all set again. Except for the standing on his head in the lazarette locker on the starboard side, this little project produced no unexpected surprises.
While you’re replacing hoses, make sure you replace the supposedly stainless steel hose clamps. I’m not quite sure why these things are made of 300 grade stainless — it just rusts through and breaks. I told David to get higher quality stainless for the replacement clamps. But we learned at least at West Marine, Home Depot the Do It Center and NAPA, 300 grade stainless is top of the line. Maybe it costs too much to manufacture them from a grade of steel that might not rust out?
Another one of living aboard’s frequent puzzlements! 🙂 Enjoy your day! Do you have any hose stories to share? Please leave a comment! THX! J
