330 Express scuppers

[Lucky13]

anyone replace the plastic scupper inserts in the deck of the cockpit on a 330 express. if so is it an easy fix or do you have to replace the hoses too? If the hoses have to be done also is it a pain in the ass like i would suspect?

Thanks

 

[everwhom]

Search the forum - others have done it. I had my marina do mine last year and I replaced the hoses too -- worth doing because if those hoses leak it can sink your boat. My marina ended up cutting two access holes on the transom and putting pie plates in. I think some others may have managed with the existing access, but it didn't sound easy.

 

[Lucky13]

Search the forum - others have done it. I had my marina do mine last year and I replaced the hoses too -- worth doing because if those hoses leak it can sink your boat. My marina ended up cutting two access holes on the transom and putting pie plates in. I think some others may have managed with the existing access, but it didn't sound easy.

if you don't mind sharing what did that job cost? think I want to do those and the main fresh water system lines

 

[ocdansar]

I just did mine. I replaced with the exact same ones that were in it. Not a bad job on the 33. I did it on my marlin way more difficult.

 

[Flot]

I just did mine. I replaced with the exact same ones that were in it. Not a bad job on the 33. I did it on my marlin way more difficult.

I can see how the battery side can be done without too much pain (well, removing the batteries) - can you share how you did the starboard side? I assume you cut an access panel somewhere?

 

[ocdansar]

Nope crawled down in the bilge and got to it. I’m not a fan of cutting holes if I don’t have to.
rather than fight to get the old floor drains out I just snapped them off . I used a heat gun to warm up the pieces and the broke fitting came right out . I installed the new floor drains I had access to the proper adjustable wrench to tighten. Again warmed up the hose and it slid right on. You are correct on the battery side. I just removed the screws from the switch panel and was able to move it out if the way.
One thing I have learned from doing this is to not fight the fittings gettting them out. They are brittle just snap them off.
I looked for awhile and couldn’t find a drain I liked so I just put back what was already there. They lasted 17 years and that’s probably longer than I have left so next guy can worry with them.

 

[Rlloyd]

On a different thread here, I've mentioned that my surveyor suggested that I should put ball valves on those deck drain lines because of the possibility of flooding the boat if one of those lines breaks. Has anybody done that? I certainly agree that replacing the aging/brittle deck drains is a must. Perhaps the ball valves aren't necessary if you replace the hoses, clamps, and deck drains - and obviously the ball valves are only useful if you're on the boat when it happens. FYI, mine is a 2003 Gulfstream.

 

[Lucky13]

Nope crawled down in the bilge and got to it. I’m not a fan of cutting holes if I don’t have to.
rather than fight to get the old floor drains out I just snapped them off . I used a heat gun to warm up the pieces and the broke fitting came right out . I installed the new floor drains I had access to the proper adjustable wrench to tighten. Again warmed up the hose and it slid right on. You are correct on the battery side. I just removed the screws from the switch panel and was able to move it out if the way.
One thing I have learned from doing this is to not fight the fittings gettting them out. They are brittle just snap them off.
I looked for awhile and couldn’t find a drain I liked so I just put back what was already there. They lasted 17 years and that’s probably longer than I have left so next guy can worry with them.

have any pictures?

 

[ocdansar]

I’ll look on my phone but I’m not real good with taking pictures

 

[Flot]

ocdan, so you replaced the deck drains but not the hoses leading to them?

I've got the new style replacement deck drains, but in my head it wasn't worth replacing those if I didn't also replace the hoses running to the sides. I could buy the argument that the plastic fittings are way more likely to fail than the hoses, but still...

 

[ocdansar]

I just replaced the floor drains nothing wrong with the hoses or the clamps and the thruhulls are metal

 

[Flot]

Ok I'm not getting anywhere fast with this project on my 2002 330. I'm 6 hours in and have lost at least 10 lbs sweating it out and a pint of blood. I've got a generator and diesel tank that I can basically lay on top of, but I definitely can't "get in" the bilge. I can reach about halfway under the transom door from my vantage point laying on the genny.

My plastic deck fittings are brittle and I can (and did) knock them right out. However, the barbed ends may as well be welded into the hose.

Starboard side inner: I was able to break off under the deck, and the hose was long enough to reach out of the starboardmost splashwell hatch. Even there with good access, I couldn't pry the plastic remnants out of the hose without absolutely destoying the hose. Ended up cutting 1.5" off the hose and had JUST enough leeway to get it back into place. I temporarily replaced the inner fitting without changing the hose.

Starboard side outer: I can snap this off from the deck (I haven't yet) and in theory I can just barely reach it from the bilge. However, I can't see how I'll get the plastic out of the hose from where I have access. This one also doesn't look like it has enough slack to push it back into place if I need to cut. So I am holding off on that for now. The only practical thing I can think of here is cutting an access hatch into the "transom wing" that the dive door slams into. Then maybe I can reach down to get to the actual thru hull connections.

Port side: I gave up trying to salvage anything. I punched the fittings through the deck, but couldn't make any headway on removing what was left in the 6" access I had in front of the batteries. By the time I fought with it for two hours, I just removed the batteries and laid in there where I can just reach the thru-hulls. I was able to cut the old hoses off of the metal thru-hulls. The hoses on that side were in pretty poor condition although I think still watertight.

By tonight I should have three of the four replaced, the port side will be done "right" at least with new hose. But the starboard side is halfway at best. Help appreciated!

 

[ocdansar]

I used a heat gun to get the barbs out. They are plastic heat them up and shove a flat blade screwdriver in there and pry them out. A very little heat applied to the hose and shove it in the fitting after the fitting is in place. Make sure your clamps are slid on the hose and in the correct orientation before you put the hose on.
My 33 is an 03 and I did not cut any hose. Use the HEAT gun the fitting will come out. I didn’t cut any access holes.

 

[Flot]

I used a heat gun to get the barbs out. They are plastic heat them up and shove a flat blade screwdriver in there and pry them out. A very little heat applied to the hose and shove it in the fitting after the fitting is in place. Make sure your clamps are slid on the hose and in the correct orientation before you put the hose on.
My 33 is an 03 and I did not cut any hose. Use the HEAT gun the fitting will come out. I didn’t cut any access holes.

Well, I've got one hose sitting on my patio now so I can at least give this a shot with the heat gun and see how it goes first. My hoses were in pretty rough shape on the battery side, and to be honest, given the fight I was having trying to work in front of the battery area - it was practically easier to replace the whole thing vs trying to get the plastic fitting out. That's the side with the 330 list so I feel a lot better about having it completely replaced.

On the other side, I hear where you're coming from - there's definitely no way to replace the starboard hoses without cutting a hatch somewhere. And I'm fairly confident (but not 100%) that if I can remove from the thru hulls via a hatch, I'd be able to replace everything with new. But, I'll look again in the morning and see where I think I can get to with the original hose. According to the spec sheet it's 9" shorter than the inner hose, which cuts down my access significantly.

The good news is, my worst ones are replaced. The bad news is, now that I know how brittle the original fittings are... I really want to get that last one out.

 

[ocdansar]

I’m not trying to beat you up just saying heat is your friend when dealing with plastic. I have heated the end of a screw driver to cut through plastic to remove it if I have to .
I think on the starboard side I removed both and replaced the outside fitting first. The inside one is going to be in your way. With it removed the outside one was just close enough to work with getting the fitting out.

 

[Flot]

I’m not trying to beat you up just saying heat is your friend when dealing with plastic. I have heated the end of a screw driver to cut through plastic to remove it if I have to .
I think on the starboard side I removed both and replaced the outside fitting first. The inside one is going to be in your way. With it removed the outside one was just close enough to work with getting the fitting out.

No worries, I follow you 100%. I strategically didn't silicone in the inner fitting so I could try this again. If I could have found my heat gun in the half hour I dug through my tools this am I would have given it a shot. Previous comments in other threads about removing the plastic fittings by cutting the deck flanges with an oscillating saw were spot on - I made four cuts, whacked with a hammer and screwdriver, and the fittings fell right apart. Just looking for anything to make the job easier.

 

[Bayhouse]

On the Starboard side, you need to cut an access port in the wing and the bigger the better. You'll have barely enough room to reach down and access the thru-hull fittings and you'll probably lose some more blood. As much as it pains you, go with a BIG hole as it will give more room to bend your arm the 3 ways it was never intended to be bent to access the fitting.

I needed to replace the hoses when I did the job so i just cut them off. I don't own the boat anymore but will look around for a pic and post.

 

[Flot]

A year later I still haven't managed to replace my starboard side drain. Today I decided to cut an access hole in the swim step "wing." Nope. I can now touch the generator exhaust, but definitely can't reach the thru-hulls. On the plus side, I have gotten almost every OTHER thru-hull out as I'm prepping the boat to be painted.

Local grady dealer "declined to do the job" said after 20 years of doing about one a year, they started just cutting a square hatch in the outside hull and that it was by far the easiest way to do it, even considering the glass work.

I'm impressed at all the folks who pulled this off, this one really has me stumped. My swim platform will look like swiss cheese if I keep this up so trying to plan my next move carefully.

 

[choogenboom]

Nope crawled down in the bilge and got to it. I’m not a fan of cutting holes if I don’t have to.
rather than fight to get the old floor drains out I just snapped them off . I used a heat gun to warm up the pieces and the broke fitting came right out . I installed the new floor drains I had access to the proper adjustable wrench to tighten. Again warmed up the hose and it slid right on. You are correct on the battery side. I just removed the screws from the switch panel and was able to move it out if the way.
One thing I have learned from doing this is to not fight the fittings gettting them out. They are brittle just snap them off.
I looked for awhile and couldn’t find a drain I liked so I just put back what was already there. They lasted 17 years and that’s probably longer than I have left so next guy can worry with them.

I have to ask, what are your physical dimensions? And does your grady have the diesel generator and fuel tank?
I am about to attempt this and see no way to fit a body into the bilge.

 

[ocdansar]

I have to ask, what are your physical dimensions? And does your grady have the diesel generator and fuel tank?
I am about to attempt this and see no way to fit a body into the bilge.

At the time I did this I was 5’7” 210 . I have the 5 kw kohler gas generator so no fuel tank. Believe me I crawled down in there and changed them bas@$&ds . It was not fun but I got it done.
I don’t know if you have the rear floor section in front of the generator removed. Mine was out as was my batteries. I was completely redoing the boat it was on a trailer and in a barn.
I don’t seal that rear floor section. I keep it so I can pull it up it makes it so much easier working back there .