Nylon hose barbs below waterline?

[kayakerChuck]

I'm helping a friend with her boat. It's a mid-eighties Catalina 30. She uses it for sunset cruises & such. She'd like hire me as a captain, and I'm kinda picky- I want to be pretty confident whatever boat I'm using will stay on TOP of the water, and also NOT disappear in a ball of fire.

I'm in the process of replacing the transom thru hulls, cooling hoses, some wiring, and more. The boat is on the hard for the winter.

As far I as know, this boat has passed the state DNR charter boat inspection every year for many, many years. It has a current, 2023, DNR approval sticker.

The raw water intake for the motor appears to be a bronze thru hull with a ball valve on top. The hose barb appears to be unreinforced nylon. This is obviously well below the water line. At the Groco strainer, which is more/less at the waterline, there are more unreinforced nylon hose barbs. Is nylon OK in this application? (99.44% sure I know the answer)



Next, we move forward to the sink drain for the head. This fitting is about 12" below the waterline. It also looks like a nylon hose barb, and the thru hull does not instill confidence in me. Opinions?


I found similar installations in my boat, and I replaced all of them with flanged seacocks and Marelon or bronze fittings. I want to check my thinking before recommending (demanding if I'm the capt'n) my friend do the same.

[sailorboy1]

Well by abyc the answer is no

Even though I know I have 1 installed.

[kapnd]

As long as you’re being picky, you should insist on flanged seacocks and substantial backing plates, as well as bronze fittings and reinforced hoses.
The sink drain does look very fragile!

[Nekton73]

Long term (what that means is up to the individual) I would want the sink drain assembly changed out regardless of whether it had passed an inspection. However, since it did pass inspection, and if I was confident that it was in generally good condition, unlikely to suffer damage, and could be easily inspected during a watch cycle, then I don't think I would make an immediate requirement before I was willing to take it out for a sunset cruise.



The raw water intake I would definitely make a requirement to change before setting sail, especially with a fresh water boat that sees months of freezing temperatures out of season. I have seen first hand those non-reinforced fittings crack due to freeze thaw action over winter. It might be fine, it might not, not a chance I would be comfortable with. A bronze or marelon barb would not break the bank and be satisfactory enough (for me) without changing out the whole thing.

[kayakerChuck]

Thanks all.

I'm finding all sorts of things to fix.

Boats are fun.

[SailingHarmonie]

Three times while working in my engine room I have broken off plastic hose fittings by putting weight on them unintentionally.

You could argue that I should be more coordinated, and that might be true, but WHY would anybody think these were a good idea in an application that could sink your boat??? And not just at the dock, but 1000 miles offshore?

None of these were raw water/below waterline applications, but a useful lesson is there to be learned nonetheless.

[skipperpete]

The sink drain in your photo, is it above the waterline? I don’t trust hose barbs that aren’t bronze or stainless steel, they tend to crush if too much pressure from the hose clamps is applied to stop a leak.

[kayakerChuck]

The sink drain is about 12" below the waterline.

Coordinated? Nope, not me- lol. On my own boat, I've put quite a bit of effort into making it harder for me to inadvertently mess things up.