Napa carries a heavy hose they call a suction hose but it does not have wire in it like the one I'm replacing. Mine is 15 yrs old and seems stiff compared ,but much thinner walled than the new one.

I bet the napa part isn't meant for salt water. btw, I just replaced mine this year, always stiff.

If you are not going to buy the Merc part check with a rubber supply house. What you want is known as hard suction hose. I buy that type of hoses for fire trucks on occasion but in a larger diameter. The wire will typically be wound inside of the hose and not visible except on the cut ends. Not knowing any better I don't see where salt water would be a problem. How much for the Merc part?

I have the same question as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are replacing the fresh water hose from the pick-up to the strainer then to the coolers/motor?

Any of the boating warehouses want about $7 bucks a foot. If you come up with a cheaper solution, let us know. I have about 24 feet of the stuff in my bildge.

I'd buy the right one if I could get it. I'm in the sticks. Mercstuff.com said they don't have it so I thought I'd try local. The NAPA dealer here is close to the lake and has a little marine stuff. The hose goes from the transom assymbly to the seawater pump. The one I have is like you describe with a wire inside. The one I found has none but its much thicker and wrapped on the outside like the old one. Another NAPA said they have ones with wire but I havn't been there to look at them,they are prob what I need if the size is right.

i bought hose for my boat last year at a industrial hose supply house,its red and re-inforced,they said its usually sold for tanker trucks/oil refinerys,Smitty

Now that I think about it, What keeps the smaller hose in the gimble housing from collapsing? Seems sense it's smaller and not hard it would be the more likely culprit.

BoatUS has it

go to tractor supply store, they have agricultural suction hose that resist chemicals for about .75 a foot for 1 1/2 and it looks cool to.