Thru hull fittings

[bert]

<div>Here is one that people might want to think about. I had a
problem with a frozen valve on the salt water intake thru hull
serving the head and pressure water system on my 383. So,
during our haul out this year (In California it is not snowing
and with spring only a couple of weeks away it is time to get
ready!) I got my first look at how these fittings were installed.On my boat the thru hulls are one piece internally with the
valve incorporated into the inboard fitting of the thru hull
itself. The base of the valve is then glassed into the hull
with an ugly glob of resin. Undoubtedly sturdy but a bad idea
if you ever have a problem with the valve and you are a long way
from a boat yard. Getting the old one out took about three
hours with a grinder and could not have been done in the water.I replaced the entire thru hull with a proper bronze fitting
threaded to a new valve. Thus, should there be a problem down
the line, I can easily plug the hole from the outside and be
able to work with the valve while still in the water.It is an ugly job but before we head for the deep blue next year
I am going to replace all of these fittings.
</div>

 

[bobclark]

Jimmie,
If you have a cored hull (some of us do) you might have created a problem by compressing the threaded fitting together. You need to take out some of the core material and fill the void with fiberglass in order that the two plates being screwed together have a solid wall to compress against.
Larry

 

[bert]

My hull is cored starting at the waterline so there is no problem with compression.