Seacock Quality... Replace?—Currently on the hard.
- Thread starter testingthewaters91
- Start date
If you do it yourself you are responsible.
If the marina does it and things later go south, they could be held responsible.
Whether now or later, consider the Marelon OEM Series 93 thru hull with valve, which includes the thru hull. It has a built in flange (3" I believe. They call it a king nut) They are used by many boat builders.
They are easy to install, come with mushroom head thru hulls or flush thru hulls. I put mine on 3 1/2" G10 1/8" thick backing plates for extra strength and to have a smooth surface for the king nut. Backing plates are easy to cut out of a sheet of G10 using a hole saw. Then drill the correct size hole for the thru hull in the backing plate and epoxy it into place.
A lot of traditionalist want bronze but there are a lot of boats, used and new with Marelon. I haven't heard anything bad about the Marelon OEM Series 93 thru hull.
As I also have a 30' boat, I'll mention that all of my thru hulls, sink drains and water intakes are 3/4".
They are easy to install, come with mushroom head thru hulls or flush thru hulls. I put mine on 3 1/2" G10 1/8" thick backing plates for extra strength and to have a smooth surface for the king nut. Backing plates are easy to cut out of a sheet of G10 using a hole saw. Then drill the correct size hole for the thru hull in the backing plate and epoxy it into place.
A lot of traditionalist want bronze but there are a lot of boats, used and new with Marelon. I haven't heard anything bad about the Marelon OEM Series 93 thru hull.
As I also have a 30' boat, I'll mention that all of my thru hulls, sink drains and water intakes are 3/4".
I’ll definitely keep that in mind. This guy didn’t even check my thru-hulls—he just said, “they’ll last longer than we will,” and painted right over them without inspecting anything. I get the feeling he just wants to get paid and move on.
Next time, I’ll try to find a more professional boatyard.
What a learning experience.
Paint looks good. Just wondering about the two pictures here. What is the purpose of painting the rudder? Just curious about the process.
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In the first picture it looks like the bottom was painted while the boat was in slings, and the area under the slings not touched up. No big deal; you might just want to make sure to sand that section a little extra before repainting the bottom when you do.
In the second picture you’ll want to replace the anode before relaunching. That’s fast and easy. The existing one looks a bit deteriorated, and it looks like it has some bottom paint on it which will reduce its effectiveness. Be sure to sand the prop shaft a bit to get good connectivity before installing the new one.
The rudder needs paint like everything else on the bottom to prevent fouling growth. If barnacles or excessive slime are allowed to grow anywhere on the bottom the boat will be slowed. If they grow on the rudder steerage will also be a bit compromised.
Good luck with that. Be careful about taking an adversarial approach.
A softer approach would be ask if he guarantees his work, and if so ask for his guaranty in writing, or just ask for this in an email or text and his reply in writing is sufficient. You need to work with people who provide services, not against them. Keep it friendly and agreeable whenever possible. If you seem like a troublemaker they will avoid you and will be “too busy” or they’ll give you their worst (“I don’t want your business”) price.
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Okay, that's a great idea. I'll just ask for it through text casually. I just hope it goes smoothly.Good luck with that. Be careful about taking an adversarial approach.
A softer approach would be ask if he guarantees his work, and if so ask for his guaranty in writing, or just ask for this in an email or text and his reply in writing is sufficient. You need to work with people who provide services, not against them. Keep it friendly and agreeable whenever possible. If you seem like a troublemaker they will avoid you and will be “too busy” or they’ll give you their worst (“I don’t want your business”) price.
I have a new idea and the situation.
I’m not using my marine head or head sink right now, and my friend suggests I could just plug those thru-hulls and go back in the water until a proper marina gets on it. This boatyard wants me out and doesn’t want to do the replacements properly, so I’m thinking of splashing the boat, living aboard, and moving her later to a yard that’ll do the job right. I don't use any of the systems in question.
Is temporarily plugging the thru-hulls a safe plan for a few weeks? And if so, what’s the best way to plug them securely so I’m watertight and safe until I redo everything properly?
Thanks for any advice.
I’m not using my marine head or head sink right now, and my friend suggests I could just plug those thru-hulls and go back in the water until a proper marina gets on it. This boatyard wants me out and doesn’t want to do the replacements properly, so I’m thinking of splashing the boat, living aboard, and moving her later to a yard that’ll do the job right. I don't use any of the systems in question.
Is temporarily plugging the thru-hulls a safe plan for a few weeks? And if so, what’s the best way to plug them securely so I’m watertight and safe until I redo everything properly?
Thanks for any advice.
My boat is finally out of his yard and I'm trying to get it to a DIY yard to employ the wonderful advice from this thread.
Here is some of the work.
Here is some of the work.
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I don’t mean to be critical (and if the boat yard did this, it is terrible), but those photos are very concerning to me…
The white hose with the hose clamp is NOT on an appropriate barbed fitting (they just put it on the skin fitting).
The Groco fittings with the triangular bases are not engaged with the skin fittings properly and the bases are supposed to be down on the backing plates…
Greg
The white hose with the hose clamp is NOT on an appropriate barbed fitting (they just put it on the skin fitting).
The Groco fittings with the triangular bases are not engaged with the skin fittings properly and the bases are supposed to be down on the backing plates…
Greg
Something was lost in the translation.
This is better than what you started with but can still be improved.
For a “proper” installation that Groco FPV1500 sea cock’s triangular base should be snug to the backing block, and the nut that is currently snug to the backing block should be eliminated. See Replacing Thru-Hulls and Seacocks - Marine How To
To make that change you need to remove it, remove the nut, grind the outside mushroom head off the thru-hull and start over with a new thru-hull. Measure the thread length of the thru-hull “tail” from the backing block to the end, and measure the length of thread inside the sea cock. If necessary, cut the tail of the thru-hull leaving about 1/4 to 1/8” less than the threaded length of the inside of the sea cock to allow the sea cock to be fully seated and still have as many threads engaged as possible. When seating the sea cock, use teflon tape on the threads, and put sealant on the backing block beneath the base. You will need to apply 4200 sealant and have an assistant screw in the thru—hull from outside using a step-wrench.
Other suggestion for improvement - use better quality hose clamps (solid not perforated) as mentioned elsewhere in this thread. When using double clamps, position the adjusting screws opposite each other when possible.
on what @Tally Ho wrotePS - when cutting the tail of the thru-hull do the cut with the nut still screwed on. Then spin it off and discard it. When it’s removed the nut will help straighten any thread distortion caused by damage from making the cut. The sea cock will serve as the nut when properly installed. A cut-off wheel on a grinder will make a smoother cut than a hack saw. Dry fit your parts together for test with your assistant BEFORE using sealant for final assembly.
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There are so many violations of 'best practice' and of 'common sense' in those photos, that one's mind boggles...
IF, an editor were selecting photos of dangerous installations to illustrate an article about boat plumbing, they would likely pass on those as too strange/difficult to believe!
A heartfelt outburst along the lines of" "By Grabthar's Hammer" seems appropriate!!
These photos reinforce my philosophy of learning about boat systems & repairing by “doing it yourself” when possible. I learned quite early after one particular boat yard messed up several repairs and I had to go back & fix properly. Costly mistakes on my part until I wised up! You received sound advice from several experienced members on how to accomplish replacement of the defective ball valves. No one suggested the repair as seen in the photos! I know that the yard was pressuring you; however, you could have purchased replacement valves, tailpieces, & hose and swapped them out in three hours or less without the yard being aware. (Without replacing the thru hull fitting) and requesting that the yard splash the boat. Then do a more thorough repair (replace thru hull fittings) in a few months on future scheduled haul out.
I think the prior 4 four posts are ignoring the above part of the OP's post #111.
He is working toward a good solution. he has replaced the defective ball valves which, I think, were his original problem. In doing so he has used Groco flanged adapters which solve the mismatch between straight and tapered threads. He has said in prior posts that he is working on better backing plates and I assume he will follow through on what he has said and will use those backing plates to properly install the flanged adapters. Personally I think what has been done is a good interim step and better than what he had. You can't second guess him on whether he had the time or ability to do a more complete job in the time the yard he was in would allow.
The hose and through hull without a backing plate or valve is certainly an eye catcher but the through hull is the same as it was before, with what appears to be a new hose. An improvement. I think, (hope) that fitting is for an above the waterline head sink drain.
I assume @testingthewaters91will keep us aware of his progress
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Again, not to be unkind, but the OP thought that these were OK repairs, I would be worried about their skills or knowledge to do one’s own repairs.
I am assuming a yard made these repairs, and they are not acceptable.
But if the OP thinks that they are ok, there will be a very steep learning curve.
Greg
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Not to be argumentative, but where did he say that?
He said today in another post:
Today at 7:37 AM
"I’m going to haul out to a DIY yard soon to install proper seacocks and also tackle some remediation on the pedestal under the compression post."
A shame to spend $$ for a nice seacock, and then screw it on an over-long through-hull. A little better than a brass valve (mostly because these are straight threads, not tapered), but not a whole lot better. There are good tutorials on-line.
Note: You cut the through hull down to length before screwing the flanged seacock on.
I understand about thin hulls. This hull was only 3/16-inch thick, so I bond a fiberglass plate first to make a strong spot. Common practice, won't rot and get loose like plywood can. A flanged seacock then went on the bolts. Bronze bolts are better with a bronze valve (this was a Marlon valve). This was the AC water intake.