Marina hoses

sighmoon

sighmoon

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About half of the marinas we visited this summer had removed the hoses from the pontoons.

So what's to be done?

The answer would seem to be to buy our own hose, but the trouble is, the taps had different fittings anywhere I noticed. The universal hose fitting connectors are seemingly designed for taps without fittings on, which isn't always what you find. Also, unlike the marina hoses, ours would not be in that regular use, and would perhaps lie festering for months at a time - much increasing the risk of any infection the EU thinks is caught from hose pipes.
 
This is the situation everywhere where we sail in France - there are vitually no hoses supplied. We carry two lengths of flat hose - a shorter one which reaches from our home pontoon water supply to the boat and a longer one in case we need to either a longer reach or in extreme cases join them together. They wind up to a very small size and live in the cockpit locker.

All the pontoon fittings accept the standard Hoselock type screw on fitting and the push on connector on the hose connects to that.

I would expect that the only other fitting you will come across is a standard tap spout and it is fairly easy to get push on fittings with a butterfly type jubilee clamp for these.
 
I've found most garden hoses come with fittings that fit Marina screw on types but have accumulated one or two different plugins along the way. Don't see it as very different to supplying your own electrical lead and have 4 different adaptors for that.

I had a flat hose on a drum for years and will probably get one again when I really need the room in the locker.
 
I got one of these which is a fraction of the price of the standard hose reels in chandlers, much more durable and more compact. Keep the fittings or buy some spares so you can attach to a variety of tap types.
 
We used to have reeled up hose like that but with the high water pressure in French marinas it leaked like a garden watering system. It was also a REAL bind because it has to be completely unwound to use it.
I now use a good quality compact reel of standard garden hose.
 
sighmoon said:
...Also, unlike the marina hoses, ours would not be in that regular use, and would perhaps lie festering for months at a time - much increasing the risk of any infection the EU thinks is caught from hose pipes.
Click to expand...
But at least you will know it hasn't been pushed down the pump-out pipe to flush the holding tank, left dangling in the water when someone pumps out into the marina, peed on by dogs...

They haven't been removed for the health benefit of the end user. It is because marinas won't install non return valves to prevent the risk of syphoning sea water back into the mains supply if the hose is left in the water with the tap on, when there is a loss of pressure caused by a burst main.
 
l'escargot said:
It is because marinas won't install non return valves to prevent the risk of syphoning sea water back into the mains supply if the hose is left in the water with the tap on, when there is a loss of pressure caused by a burst main.
Click to expand...

It may well be that double check valves are not sufficient, and that the powers that be require a break - eg a header tank.
 
I once worked as deckhand / 'engineer' on a hotel barge on the Burgundy canals; every place we stopped at required a different hose connection, and the same went for electrics !

The only answer I can suggest would be to have a range of both in your armoury...
 
Hoolie said:
We used to have reeled up hose like that but with the high water pressure in French marinas it leaked like a garden watering system.
Click to expand...

The first one I bought did just this and fortunately the supplier was local & gave us a refund. The two I have now are food quality ones and I have no problems whatsoever.

Hoolie said:
It was also a REAL bind because it has to be completely unwound to use it. I now use a good quality compact reel of standard garden hose.
Click to expand...

....and that's why I have two - a short one and a longer one.
 
sighmoon said:
much increasing the risk of any infection the EU thinks is caught from hose pipes.
Click to expand...

Don't think it's anything to do with the EU.

I understood it to be a general marina liability-aversion issue - if you catch something nasty from your own hose that's your fault, if you catch something from theirs you might think it's their fault. Blame the legal profession for that one.

L'escargot's water-regs explanation is convincing too, although I'm not sure why it would have changed in the last few years. Measures to prevent backflow in this way have been required more or less forever.

My own marina is fairly easy-going - they've never provided hoses but haven't mentioned any objection to me fitting one to the tap near my berth. Other nearby berthholders are happy to use it, and have upgraded the fittings and repaired the hose over time so it's something of a common resource between us. Next year I'm going to fit a new length of hose for us to share.

On board, we have one of those roller hoses - nearly all the water gets squeezed out as it's rolled up, and I always let it flush through for a bit before filling, so I'm not worried about stuff growing in it. It came with a female hoselock fitting on the hose, and a male fitting for the tap which has a large screw-thread fitting and a plastic bush to adapt it to a small screw-thread. Between those three options, I've not found anywhere it doesn't fit.

For anything longer than a couple of days, part of my water store is in large jerrycans in the forepeak because the tank's quite small. So if necessary I could fill up from anything I can get a can under.

Pete
 
There IS a legal/ blameability side to this; it's been law for a few years now that all house garden hose taps have a one-way 'check' valve so one can't syphon anything nasty back into the mains, no doubt marinas have this or even more severe rules to contend with; maybe MoodyNick can comment.

Most people know not to let the hose dip into the marina / harbour water, but one can never be sure...and I'm a bit wary of long hoses, I always let the water run for a while, which is of course wasteful.

Judging by my experiences in St Peter Port in the 1980's when my water tank ended up filled with weed and we suffered severe 'tummy bugs', such legislation is not a moment too soon !
 
l'escargot said:
They haven't been removed for the health benefit of the end user. It is because marinas won't install non return valves to prevent the risk of syphoning sea water back into the mains supply if the hose is left in the water with the tap on, when there is a loss of pressure caused by a burst main.
Click to expand...

It would have to be a loss of pressure to below atmospheric for water to be "syphoned" upwards from sea level. Not that authorities would think that less likely...

I'm sure that somewhere in my Children's Encclopedia there is an illustration of a norse god who drained the sea because someone put the end of his drinking vessel in it. Even as a child I thought that was lousy science!

Mike.
 
mjcoon said:
It would have to be a loss of pressure to below atmospheric for water to be "syphoned" upwards from sea level. Not that authorities would think that less likely...

I'm sure that somewhere in my Children's Encclopedia there is an illustration of a norse god who drained the sea because someone put the end of his drinking vessel in it. Even as a child I thought that was lousy science!

Mike.
Click to expand...

Bernouille effect is the cause.
 
Talking of arses, one of the reasons I am often happy to provide my own hose is because of what I have watched people doing with marina hoses. Shoving the end down inside one's swimming-trunks seems to be a common habit and I have more than once seen boat-owners using the hose to wash down their dogs' rear end by shoving it into the fur.

We visited 5 different countries this summer and were able to use the standard screw fitting throughout. Maybe France is different.
 
l'escargot said:
But at least you will know it hasn't been pushed down the pump-out pipe to flush the holding tank, left dangling in the water when someone pumps out into the marina, peed on by dogs...

They haven't been removed for the health benefit of the end user. It is because marinas won't install non return valves to prevent the risk of syphoning sea water back into the mains supply if the hose is left in the water with the tap on, when there is a loss of pressure caused by a burst main.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. We were forced to fit double check valves on every tap, every pier-head and on the main supply from the water company. They continue to insist that strict rules are followed for the use of hoses, due to the risk of back flow. In addition to syphoning, another example cited is if the fire service connect a pump on a nearby hydrant, they could conceivably pump the water back through the marina system.

Additionally, hoses left on the marina can also cause trip hazards, as well as getting nicked or damaged.
 
johnalison said:
Talking of arses, one of the reasons I am often happy to provide my own hose is because of what I have watched people doing with marina hoses. Shoving the end down inside one's swimming-trunks seems to be a common habit and I have more than once seen boat-owners using the hose to wash down their dogs' rear end by shoving it into the fur.

We visited 5 different countries this summer and were able to use the standard screw fitting throughout. Maybe France is different.
Click to expand...

France uses the hoselock type but you may need a male > male connector @ the services pod
 
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