During one of our several two week cruises this season, the admiral and I were having our morning joe at the Ganges, BC government dock when the water pump took off. We were connected to shore power with the water pump on, but no demand so no cycling until then.

I shut the water pump off and began trouble shooting. All the fittings that I could see and/or touch were dry. Since the fresh water that was filling up the bilge was very warm, I narrowed the problem to the 23 year old Seaward hot water tank. No visible leaks so I figured it was leaking through the bottom of the tank where we could not see. Rather than change our cruising plans I disconnected the hot water source from the system and capped it off so that we at least had potable water.

After installing the new Seaward tank, the same thing happened when I turned the water pump on; it was as if one of the fixtures was wide open. Only one thing to do, start by opening everything up. After several hours still no visible leak in the system. Very frustrating.

Our buddy boater helper left and I was contemplating next steps. I had just switched over from the mid to the forward tank, which sits higher. There was one place I wanted to double check again since it had a slow drip at the tee fitting that I had fixed when we purchased Belle-Vie in 2002. With my brightest flashlight, I checked that small opening in the engine room where you can see the sit tub pan. This time I see a fast drip (gravity feed I suspect), so I have the admiral turn the water pump on. Eureka, I can see a strong stream of water coming from the tee fitting. Whew! Now the real fun begins.

Hunter used 1/2 inch Zurn (Quest) Pex Quicktite brand polybutylene plastic for the fresh water system on our 1991 P42. It has worked well for us over the years and was trouble free. It is also very reliable when installed correctly. To gain access to the sit tub pan area I had to remove the lower 165 pound AGM 8D. Using one hand (only room for one), it took three hours to repair that one hot water tee fitting. What happened was that whoever put the fitting together did so incorrectly, which caused water pressure to eventually blow the tubing out of the fitting.

Each connection has three parts; the female threaded individual nut coupler, a rubber compression cone and a SS retainer grip ring. The compression cone gives the connection a water tight seal and the SS retainer grip ring locks the tube inside the fitting to the individual nut coupler. In our case the SS grip ring was not used at this particular fitting.

Needless to say the fitting has been repaired and our system is once again leak free. Lots of pros and cons about the Zurn Pex product. It seems that later model boat builders are using a different product. Parts can still be obtained, however, but a bit difficult to find. A Bing search will provide a list of a few sources. I have obtained a few spare fittings in the event I need them.

At this point it would be silly to replace the water system, IMHO. Its that old adage, If it aint broke dont fix it. Ill talk more later about how Hunter installed the water system on our boat. Perhaps someone has a schematic they can share, we do not.

Terry Cox

P.S. Here is one source: https://www.plumbingsupply.com/polyb.html