[C320-list] Holding Tank Hose Job

[Dave Anderer]

When I bought the boat last fall it had a 'distinctive' odor, so one 
task last winter was pulling the entire black-water system and replacing 
the hoses.  Let's see what I can remember:

- The discharge of the holding tank is slightly above the bottom of the 
tank.  So even when you've sucked the tank empty there is probably still 
some stuff in it.

- Easiest way to get rid of the current hoses was to cut them in 
sections and remove them in pieces.  They're wire-reinforced.  Working 
in tight spaces I found it easiest to cut them with a knife, and then 
use a cutoff wheel in a Dremel for the wire.

- There is adequate room to remove/replace the tank.

- The most difficult section of hose to replace was to the pumpout 
fitting.  To do that I had to remove the medicine cabinet, the fiddle 
around the shelf, the light, the trim under the light, etc.  There is a 
nasty little s-turn the hose needs to make right at the pumpout 
fitting.  My solution to connect the new hose was to remove the fitting 
from the deck, push the new hose up through the deck, secure the 
fitting, and then push the whole assemble back down and rebed.

- I used AVS96 as the replacement hose.  Don't believe it is available 
in this country any more.  It was a bit stiffer than the original and I 
couldn't readily make it bend in the run from the head to the tank.  I 
wound up placing a 90-degree elbow in this run.  Didn't want to do that, 
but figured that since there was already a 90-degree turn to go from the 
host to the tank, an additional one wouldn't hurt.  So far no problems 
at all with this choice.

(Best hose now according to Peggie Hall is Trident 101/102.)

- A little judiciously applied heat from a heat gun made getting the 
hose on fittings easy as pie.

- After pulling the whole system I *still* had a little smell.  
Scrubbing the holding tank area didn't seem to help.  Gave it a washdown 
with some cheap enzyme-based urine remover from the local pet store.  
(Another Peggie Hall suggestion.)  Worked like a charm - no more odor.

All this was well worth the effort.  Nice to have a boat that just 
smells like a boat.