Good advice, Howard. When I was replacing the tube for my cockpit drain it was a bear to get at it, even after cutting a nice big hole in the aft end of the cockpit. Also, while wrestling with the new hose and trying to get it over the end of the molded in aluminum pipes both in the cockpit sole and the transom, they came loose. Corrosion had undermined the fiberglass resin bond over the 34 year life of the boat. Better they came out there than on the water. Cleaning and applying epoxy fixed the problem but it would have been much easier working from the back of the boat like Henry can do now. Good luck with your renovation. Tom B M17, #258, 78'