Garden hoses, what do you use

[Perfect Ride]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

I am sick of having all the kinks in my garden hose. They just get worse, I can never coil the hose properly. I have tried all sorts of hoses.
I have tried those expanding hoses you see on TV, but at least the ones I have tried disintegrated in a short period of time. Ideally I want something that is 50'.
So what have you found to work, or do all solutions wind up like what I currently have.

I use the following from a forward hose bib. 50' hose for a 44' cat. Extra hose to wander through the boat. I do not leave in the sun. This is for deck wash-down not dock attachment. Spray nozzle keeps brass fittings off deck with a little awareness.

https://www.amazon.com/Flexi-Hose-Up...dp/B0785JVT1S/

[C Skip R]

Flexzilla great hoses. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=...Q9aACCDg&adurl=

[Montanan]

Hoses are made from various materials. Rubber is the choice for minimizing kinks. Vinyl is an less expensive choice and usually is reinforced with fibers, but is much more prone to kinking and will not last as long.

There is a product called Flexzilla which slinky hose is nearly impossible to kink or break, it lies flat when you unroll it (the material has no “memory” of its coiled state), and its light weight and flexibility make it easy and comfortable to coil up at the end of the day. One drawback is its potential to show dirt or develop moldy patches, but that’s an issue you can control by storing it under shelter.

[samoorelex]

Second that for the Zero

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...kcRM3KjdbJ_GaY

[tjamaco]

I hate hoses. They kink, tangle, are bulky, hard to coil and get dirty. I use this as a shore water supply line on my 36' Endeavor Trawlercat boat and it is the best hose ever. I've tried all kinds of hose on the boat. The firehose type on a reel leaked and couldn't handle normal water pressure. The RV type white hoses scuff the boat surface and leave black marks, is difficult to coil and is heavy. The self-coiling type kink and get caught on rails and corners when trying to pull them. Most of they "As seen on TV" are junk. But his hose, I love.

It is light weight and has a 'springy' texture that doesn't mark the boat or get caught. It has nicely machined metal fittings on the end, and, Best of All, I can completely coil all 50' neatly inside of an XL Cord-Pro holder Cord Organizer, 15 5/8 Dia, Yellow and it fits nicely inside of a hatch without uncoiling all over. It stays neat, clean, is perfect for potable water supply when filling the boat's water tank.

I've cruised my boat thousands of miles and gone into hundreds of marinas. I wish I'd found this hose years ago. It would have saved a lot of frustration and annoyance wrangling those other types of hose.

https://smile.amazon.com/Water-Right...web_3050135011

[sweetjohn]

This year I tried a Stanley fat max garden hose. I think it’s the best hose I have ever used. Reacts like rubber but not half the weight.

[CarlF]

For those using the Zero-G hose do you use the 5/8" Garden version with the grey cover or the 1/2" Marine version with the blue cover?

If the latter, do you find that the 1/2" diameter still gives you enough pressure/volume for wash down as well as tank filling?

[CapnCrunch]

Originally Posted by Bartleby

The common cleat-seeking hose is the most passive aggressive of sailing implements, though some are less hateful than others.

LMAO at "Cleat-seeking" and "passive aggressive." I have a couple of those.

[Mr O]

Apex Zero G works great for me. Light, easy to stow. Sun exposure is not an issue because I don't leave it out. It is used to fill the tank and wash the deck then emptied and stored in a mesh bag. If your situation is to leave it hooked up or on the dock, get a heavy duty drinking water safe hose that can handle sun exposure. Do not drink from any other type of hose, especially if it sits in the sun and leaches out all those nasty chemicals.

[sailor sully]

Tried a lot of hoses over the years and finally ordered a 50ft “Flexzilla” hose that seems to have solved the kinking problem.

[spj8864]

I use Flexzilla Garden hose. It is drinking safe, and remains flexible even below freezing.

The only time I could not coil it back up, was when I left the water sitting in it a couple of minutes to long, in January. The water in the hose froze solid.!!

[dnight]

Tricoflex 19mm all the way. It's what we use on superyachts, when I'm off working that is. Lasts for ever and stays looking great. My crew use them every day for a living so they should know, and they are used on every "yacht".

[Amaleo]

The only garden on my boat is green mold during the tropical wet season, so no garden hoses but I do keep a flat hose that stows nicely just for filling the potable water tank. It does not impart a rubber taste to the water and I have had it for several years, It is white with a blue stripe.

[guitarrich]

For the record the “flip thing” is known as the “Frenchman’s curl”, according to the Aussie fisherman who first showed me. It’s a very pleasing technique, and revolutionises hose and shoreline stowage.

In case, dear reader you have yet to discover this...

Lay the first coil in the usual way, then throw down the second coil so that the free end emerges from underneath. Then throw down the third coil normally, and then an inverted coil once more - and repeat until it’s all coiled.

A hose coiled in this way “uncoils” without any twists. It’s magical!

Two points: a bit like a tying a bowline, you sometimes need to be standing in a certain way to get your head around it! Although quite simple in principle, it can have you twisting it this way and that to try and work it out!!
Secondly, if you miss one or two coils, it won’t matter too much.

It’s really worth learning this technique, (on a quiet jetty perhaps!) as the tiny extra effort involved delivers significant advantages.

[seatotaler]

A couple pointers about the collapsible hoses. Don't penny pinch on them. You get what you pay for. I got a X Hose Pro Dac-5. The one I got has an outer covering that looks like it's a loose weave of nylon, as opposed to the smooth finish type. Perhaps the Dac stands for Dacron. I got the 75 ft. one and it was around $80 ( Canadian) I bought a cheaper one first and it burst after about 4 uses. This one is on it's third year. But you really have to be careful with them. Don't drag it across the docks. Don't leave it for an extended period of time under pressure. Don't leave it out in the sun. Drain the water out of it after each use. If any of it slips into the water, which happens almost every time because of how it expands and slithers like a snake, make sure you wash all the salt water off of it before putting it away. I stow mine in a plastic bucket about 7 in. in diameter and about a foot high in the lazarette.