Any tips/tricks for replacing that anode? I am getting stinky water too frequently and Raritan says that worn anode is a probably culprit so I go a new one. I suspect that the old fitting will be hard to remove - I can see the pipe dope on the exposed threads. Will brute force on the pipe wrench do the job or is there a plumber's trick for loosening the connection that doesn't involve burning the boat down?

My first move was to drill a 2" hole in the nearby galley bulkhead so the anode has room to come out. Anyone with a 32' sedan will know what I mean. The galley drawers and the water heater are on the starboard side. The water heater is less than one ft from the bulkhead so drilling the hole was the only water to remove or insert the anode without moving the water heater. That would probably be next to impossible since there may be a hold down bracket on the far side, next to the hull wall, and that would not be reachable without tearing up the boat.

THnx, Peter. My anode is on the side toward the top, but tank removal requires a sub-midget or a highly trained chimp. On the other hand, there may be no bracket behind the tank and I guess I can get a camera behind there to verify that.