Carver Owners Forum

I just bought a 1999 Carver 530 Voyager and am new to this forum. The forward bilge pump discharge hose is brittle and broken, therefore the pump just recirculates the water in the bilge. Access to the hose, which is too brittle to clamp a splice to, is impossible without cutting a hole underneath the drawer at the foot of the master stateroom bed. I did that but the hose is obviously shot and needs to be replaced for it's entire length. Therein lies the problem. It can't be pulled out and I tried running an electrician's wire snake through but it only goes 4-5' before hitting a snag, probably a bend in the line. Has anyone encountered this and found a way to replace that hose? The easiest would be to connect it to the grey water system but I called the factory and they said that wasn't a good idea.
Thanks, Chris

If the current hose is not broken entirely in half somewhere, then you might be able to use a shopvac and pull a rope through it. Just have someone with the shopvac at one end while someone at the other end feeds a soft flexible rope (maybe 1/4" line) into the hose end. Then you tape that rope and what remains of the old hose to the new hose and pull that through the spaces you don't have access to.

Chris, did you call Carver? Call with hull#, and they should be able to help. 920-822-7248 Sometimes there are access panels hidden in storage lockers. Almost impossible to see unless your attention is focused on that exact spot. er

Just inside of the boat near the thru hull there should be a loop of the pipe that rises above the thru hull level and is firmly attached to the boat. This prevents water from outside running back into your bilge. You will need to find this and access it to replace the line.

cguild45 wrote:Source of the post The easiest would be to connect it to the grey water system but I called the factory and they said that wasn't a good idea.

When you spoke to them did they give you any info as to how to access the hose for replacement ? With a large boat like yours I would guess there are probably some access to areas by removing panels.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I did call the factory and was told that there are no access openings to that hose and it's anchored in spots so can't be pulled out. Our call was interrupted towards the end but basically I was told all I could do was trace it as best I could and cut access holes where needed. Not really feasible to cut 4-5 holes in the sole and through stringers in the boat. If I can snake a new smaller diameter hose through the old hose that might work but it makes 90 degree turns so I'm skeptical. It's frustrating.

Is this in an area that you can access the discharge thru-hull fitting? Are you able to reroute a new hose to a different area, even if you have to route further aft? The idea is to reroute to an area where you can access the hull side and install a new thru-hull discharge fitting in a different spot. You would still need to access the old thru-hull fitting as it needs to be capped off. Short of doing a lot of cutting, perhaps removing carpet and cabinetry, etc., in the bow, this may be an option. Having said that, cutting access holes in areas that will be hidden anyway is done all the time.

If the old hose is broken up, I doubt you'll be able to run a smaller hose through it. Putting a smaller hose than that required by your current pump is also not a good idea. Don't be tempted here to route a new hose to your shower sump.

Here is a totally last resort idea. Probably not a good idea, but at least something. Flex Seal makes a tape product that is supposed to provide water tight seal. Several options from a roll of tape to 4" X 6" single patch pieces. If you can reach each end of the hose, maybe you could just wrap the areas near each connection with this patch stuff. That is where the most likely break would occur if the hose compromised itself. While it may not be water tight, but Flex Seal says it will be, at least you could keep flow of water moving at some rate. Like you, I do not like to sound of saws cutting holes in my boat. Good luck. er

fusion tape

You stated earlier that you were contemplating routing the bilge water to the grey water tank. That implies that you can access the grey water tank. If you can access the outlet hose to the thru hull, you can install a check valve after the grey water pump and Tee the bilge pump hose into the grey water hose maybe. On the 506 that I'm buying I noticed that none of the bilge pump hoses are equipped with check valves so when the pumps stop then the water in the hose just flows back into the bulge. I will be installing check valves a few inches down stream of each pump to keep that water from reentering the bilge.