Where are the thru hulls on 1990 hunter 27?

[Gary Atkin]

I have recently returned to being a boat owner after 30 or so years with a 1990 Hunter 27 and need to beg for some help from older, more experienced owners of Hunters. I have noticed that there is a thru hull and seacock under the aft berth which is clearly vertical (closed?) and I am not sure what it actually does and also not sure if there are other standard seacocks I should be checking, whether they are open or closed and, for that matter, whether they should be open or closed or what they do. I apologize for seeming so uninformed but I am trying to familiarize myself with everything on the boat although I only have the generalized 24-27 owners manual from the internet which is not specific to the 1990 27', so it is not much help on this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It is also my first attempt at posting and I hope I am doing this right. Gary (popatkin) Atkin

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Welcome to the forum. I can't give you much help, however, I want to offer a suggestion -

That you don't simply follow the OEM plumbingdiagram or someone's suggestion based on theirboat configuration. The reason being a previous owner may have added/altered/removed or otherwise changed the original equipment plumbing (and electrical) configuration.

Doing you own thorough investigation of everything on a 20 + yr old boat is essential to ensure every fitting and connection is properly double clamped, tight,not leaking and functional. Doing so will also familiarize yourself with where everything is in the event a problem occurs.

There is a wealth of experience and info here but none of it can substitute for you knowing where 'stuff' is.

 

[jviss]

Don is right.
If you can describe the seacock you found it will help getting input. If it's a ball valve or other lever-type seacock, it's open when the handle is lined up with the flow of water, closed when it's perpendicular.
I follow the practice of closing all seacocks when I leave the boat for the week, when I'm not going to be on it. If I'm cruising for a week they all stay open 24/7, but not if I'm not going to be aboard for days on end. A broken hose can sink a boat. Exercising them this way also keeps them in good operating condition.

 

[Gary Atkin]

Thank you, I certainly plan on trying to check everything out to the extent I can get to the locations. My initial concern is that I am unfamiliar (except for what I have been reading here and elsewhere) with seacocks in general. I realize they keep water from coming through the thru hulls but I have no clue as to what the thru hulls are intended to do. The seacock I located is on the bottom of the boat on the port side of the aft berth. The handle (a relatively flat 3-4 inch lever) is perpendicular to the bottom of the boat with hose running both fore and aft from it. I am concerned about turning the lever (which I assume will open it) when I don't know what it will then do. I initially thought it might be something to do with the marine head - to draw water in from the outside. The head has not been used nor have I filled the water tank (since Great Salt Lake does not freeze, the boat will be on the water all winter but it does get well below freezing so water and holding tank had to be drained and nontoxic antifreeze added). Since I have not used either holding tank or water tank, I don't know if that seacock has to be open to use the head or the sinks. Again, I am sorry to bother you with this but the seller moved without providing these details. Gary

 

[jviss]

There are many reasons for through hulls: engine cooling water, head input water, galley sink drain, head sink drain, head overboard discharge, and on some boats even bilge pumps. You should search and familiarize yourself with where they are all located, and what their purpose is.

 

[Ron20324]

... I am concerned about turning the lever (which I assume will open it) when I don't know what it will then do. ...

You should go ahead and turn ALL of them! You need to "exercise" them at least once a year so they don't gall and freeze shut. Same as with your home water lines under the sinks. If you can't turn it one way or the other (off or on) you need to replace it.

 

[Gary Atkin]

I appreciate the need to open and close them as regularly recommended and I also appreciate the need to familiarize myself with all of them and what each of them do. I guess my biggest concern was to try to determine what they did before opening them. Biggest fear is opening a thru hull which dumps holding tank or toilet waste directly into the lake. Any suggestions other than just trying to see where the hoses come from to try to determine what they do or do you just have to go by trial and error? Gary

 

[jviss]

Gary, you're going to have to figure it out. Perhaps a Hunter 27 owner can give you an idea of what to expect, for the "standard layout."

Do you have an inboard engine? Might want to find the through hull for that before running it.

Others: after finding them, try:

• matching up the type of hose with hose sources;
• close them all, and try things to see if they work, like the sink drains, etc.
• it should be pretty easy to trace out where hoses go once you find the through hull.

 

[Gary Atkin]

That was kind of what I was hoping for. However, I am probably going to have to track down an owner at the Marina who can look at the thru hulls and maybe be able to tell me. Thank you for your input. Gary