Through hull backing plates

[ChrisL]

I have a 2009 Hunter 33. All eight through-hull fittings are made of plywood, and all eight are water-saturated and leaking. These all have to be replaced ASAP since I'm getting lots of water in the bilge. Has anyone had the same experience? Will Hunter fix this?

Thanks,
Chris L.

 

[Alan]

Plywood is an excellent product for backing plates. If they are wet and leaking it is not the fault of these plates. The thru hull was installed incorrectly. A sealant is needed to install thru hulls and this is what makes the water tight seal. Your boat will have to be pulled and the thru hulls removed and re-bedded. This definitely sounds like a defect in workmanship not a product failure.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Mine are 1/4" plywood thoroughly saturated with WEST epoxy and then bonded, with the t-hull, with 5200. Also my t-hulls are Forespar's OEM type and are not through-bolted.

Starting from where you are I would scrape them clean of the hull, make new, saturate correctly, dry the hull area thoroughly, then bond with 5200. Then make the hole with a holesaw, treat the edges with epoxy, and mount and bed the t-hull using 5200.

I would consider going to Marelon seacocks/t-hulls as well. Ultimately they are cheaper, lighter, and safer than bronze.

 

[Alex Dare]

backing plates

One or two leaking sounds possible but all eight sounds suspicious. Couple thoughts/possibilities:

The wetness you're seeing is from the hot moist air condensing on the much cooler thru-hull. The water in the bilge being from another source such as the shaft log or AC condensate.
Somebody at the factory screwed up and didn't use the caulk gun.
Hose clamps are loose and water is seeping onto the backing plates.

 

[sonny21566]

Hi ChrisL,
I have a 2008 year model like yours and I brought it brand new. From day one the water was leaking from the aft starboard cabin's port. It has completely damaged and destroyed the plywood underlay liner even before the boat was put on water. The leak was coming through the rub rail into the joint of upper and lower deck, it took me couple of months to trace the leak. They have miss out the caulk in a certain section. It is poor built quality and control. Anyway Hunter did pay for the damages and other items which I made claims.