We began by cutting off the remaining lengths of old hot and cold water hose. We would use a completely new route for the new hoses. Then we removed about 7 ft. of old cold water hose from where it exited the accumulator tank and ran to the old water heater and through a "T," to the galley and the head. We didn't remove the hoses from the fresh water pump, or the dockside water connection. All of that was replaced when we installed the new water pump.
All of this old plumbing is mounted on a plywood bulkhead that runs across the boat behind the engines. It might have been neat when the boat was built in 1980, but now there are numerous cables and wires that were zip-tied and taped to that length of cold water hose. We cut all of those clamps and ties away. We love that part!
Our new cold water supply hose would exit the accumulator tank and split using a "T" with one leg going across behind the port engine to supply the water heater, and the other going back behind the starboard engine to meet the new cold water supply hose that will run to the galley and the sink. We made up this series of fittings with the help of our trusty heat gun and then crawled down behind the starboard engine to install it.
We cut off a 7 ft. length of new water hose and ran that over from our new "T" to the water heater. That gives us cold water to the water heater
OK, now the difficult part. We have to snake both a new hot and cold water hose under the cabin floor. We have access to that space under our lower steering station but it's a long way aft to where these hoses have to go. Our solution was to tape both the hot and cold hoses to our boat hook, which, when collapsed to its shortest length, just fits down in that small space. Then we lengthened the boat hook a little at a time until, when it was fully extended, we could poke the hoses through the little opening into the engine space.
Then we crawled back behind the starboard engine, cut the tape to free up our boat hook, and pulled the new hoses into the engine space. One hose went to the "T" on our accumulator tank (cold) and the other (hot) across to the port side to where the water heater will be mounted.
The photo shows a work area that isn't very isn't neat but all that cable shown below the accumulator was eventually cut back and mounted properly.
Next we have to move inside the cabin and route those two hoses through that bulkhead and then back behind the fridge and to the galley sink. This space under the lower steering station will be our home for a few more hours.
The admiral attempted a new recipe this weekend..."root beer pulled pork". Tossing a pork shoulder (not recommended-use boneless loin) into the crockpot and dousing it with root beer was the easy part. Also, the suggested slow cooking time was a bit off. We ended up cooking it for 24 hours not 7, with 2 sliced onions for flavor. The most important factoid is that the shredding for this novice was quite labor intensive, probably because we used the wrong tools... I lobbed a couple of pork chunks into the super chopper, pulsed it a couple of times, came up with baby food consistency and quickly went back to shredding, pulling, hard labor or whatever you want to call it... I told Bill the next time he is in a restaurant and has a hankerin' for a pulled pork sammy, it's worth the $25-$40 tab. By the way, the result was delicious and the Jack in the background is BBQ sauce, not the other kind of sauce.
On Sunday morning, fortified with that delicious pulled pork, we once again visited our winter weekend work site. The first thing we did was drill holes for the new water hoses. We used a 3/4" hole saw because that was the closest size hole saw we had and it was tad tight, but we finally pulled the hoses in.
We'll have to re-route those 12 volt cables that are now behind the hose and replace the access panel that covers that big opening at the left in the photo.
As you can see, the water hoses make a 90 degree turn to port, run along under the cabin sole and then go through another piece of plywood that forms the edge of the galley cabinet. They exit in the space occupied by the fridge.
We'll route the hoses along that wall where the electric and air conditioning lines are fastened. There is about 8" of space between the back of the fridge and that wall, so we should have more than adequate room.
We've now used the entire 50 ft. length of hose that we bought for this job so we'll have to add what looks like another 12 ft. to make it all the way forward to the head.
The final task for Sunday afternoon was to put the water heater in place. Getting it up the ladder to the swim platform and then from there onto the cockpit, used our best ballet skills but we did it without scratching that new paint.
Moving the new water heater down between the engines and then back behind the port engine to its mounting point took more effort than we thought. We measured everything twice before we began but the damn heater is really awkward in a tight space like this. We ended up using a small piece of 1/4-inch plywood balanced on top of the v-drive to slide the heater in rather than trying to lift it.
We pre-installed the fittings and the back flow valve needed on the water heater so now it's just a matter of screwing it down, and connecting the cold water supply and the hot water hoses as well as AC power. Looks nice sitting back there. I wish the fittings on that v-drive looked as good but that's for another day.
Wore out another pair of gloves today and that's fine because we got a lot done.
It certainly is nice to leave while the sun is still shining. Turn on NPR and in 30 minutes, we're home.
This is an interesting mix up- plumbing tips and pulled pork recipes! You're certainly covering all the bases there. It's useful of you to take us through all of the detail of fitting your new water lines, and with pictures as well. It's always generous when people share their experience and know-how like this, makes it easier for everyone else.
ReplyDeleteLevi Eslinger @ Capital Plumbing