Thru hull " volcano", Catalina 30,1983

[John]

The stem on a plastic ball valve broke in the closed position used for the overboard discharge from the holding tank. In examining with a mirror the glassed tube does not appear to have threads. Do these original design tubes (volcanoes) not have threads? The boat is in the water and I could put a plug on the outside. However my fear is that I will break the tube and have big problems in replacing the valve. Please help. The archives are closed down.

 

[Gene]

1981 Catalina 27

Not absolutely sure, but feel Catalina used the same type fittings on all their boats in this time period. I just finished replacing the volcanos on my 27 and they were brass pipe with the valve end threaded. But they used brass gate valves, not plastic. Someone may have replaced the orginal valves with PVC valves. If so this would explain why you can't see the threads. When screwing plastic valves on metal pipe the plastic is soft and will let you screw the valve all the way on the threads.

 

[John]

Thanks

Yes the previous owner replaced the orignal gate valves. Do you know how the brass pipe is attached to the hull. Can I put a wrench on the plastic valve and get it off without sinking the boat?

 

[Garry]

Volcanoes

You are in dangerous country. If the pipe turns in the volcano you may find that your volcano has turned into a geyser. Wait for the archives to open up and look at the traffic on thru hulls. Best to do the job right and sleep at night.

 

[Chris Gonzales]

Did mine. Check the ARCHIVES!

I did mine while in the water. I made sure the pipe did not loosen up while wrenching the ball valve off of it. Look in the archives. Check the link below.