Once again... the glam side of sailboats

Still waiting for mechanic Bill to show up so decided to do what we could to get the project a little bit further. As far as I'm concerned this project was misrepresented. I heard "Hey honey can you help me push a hose through?"  There was no mention of the other 2 hoses, where they were situated (in the bilge!), nor that the 3 old ones had to be pulled out before the new ones went in.

If this space looks like a large accessible area - you are oh so wrong. You have to either kneel or lay on your stomach on this hard hardwood and watch you don't hit your head on entry and exit.

So here I am trying to pull out a giant exhaust hose while Gerry pushes from the other end. This thing has been in there for years and is wedged in and around a myriad of other hoses, wires, etc.  and does not want to come out. A quick job was turning into a long long job and disgustingly filthy, but there is more filth to come. We finally get it out and he now tells me there are 2 others. These are smaller but equally wedged and equally stiff. One good yank gets one out of hole but no one had told me it had "stuff" in it and the "stuff" sprayed all over the place - all over my arms and face - good thing I was wearing black. Needless to say I was much more careful with the last hose. Time for a break so I get cleaned up as best I can without any water and spy a big box of disposable gloves - why didn't I think to put a pair on? 

Back to work, wearing gloves. Gerry once more in the back locker me in the bilge - thought I had graduated from bilge rat. All 3 new hoses had to be pushed through the hole that Gerry could not see so it was quite the trick getting them all through. I carefully fed the exhaust hose up the middle of the bilge but the smaller ones needed to go up one side. I swear I did this carefully - I did not want to be blamed for something getting pulled off or broken and yet suddenly there was liquid gushing and the smell!! A hose connected to the holding tank was putting water into the bilge - just great!  Such a lovely smell and of course it's a T fitting right between the openings under and to the right of the white pipe you can see in the photo. Just barely accessible but Gerry got it fixed, we think.

Gerry trying to find exactly which of the T connections is leaking.

So what should have been a quick half hour to hour job took half the day.