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Just pulled out 11 sea cock/thru hulls from Curve of Time, and getting ready to replace all with matching, brand new Perko bronze units. Pretty sure the ones we ripped out were original equipment, so it was great fun getting everything detached.
Question – what do you all think about re-using the backing plates and bolts? Each one seems perfectly solid, and obviously everything is going to line up perfectly with the replacement pieces. The bolts are obviously old, but every one seems solid, and the nuts came off with no problems. Since the sea cocks are held on structurally mainly by the thru hulls, and the bolts provide added stability, would just re-using the backing plates be ok? We were just going to sand/prep each backing plate surface, and epoxy/bolt the replacements back in.The thought of grinding/cutting the old backing plates out and redoing seems VERY prohibitive!
Any input is welcome!!
Scott
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Scott, not sure what those backing plates look like because when I redid my thru-ulls there was no backing plates and no bolts. Only 2 1/2 to 4 full threads on the thru-hull entered the sea cocks. If they are anything like the backing plates for the stanchion bases, (fiberglass pads) I'd imagine with new bolts you'll get a safe 30 or 40 years out of them.Ken
Taking what comes as I get it, using it all as much as I can and trying hard to leave all the shit behind.
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I emailed a reply yesterday, but it apparently never arrived:
Scott,
From what you describe, I see no reason not to re-use them (although Silverheels’ didn’t have thru-hull bolts, the seacocks being held in place by their own flanges). In fact, when I attacked the thru-hulls shortly after I bought my boat, I also re-used all the original, top quality Groco bronze seacocks after disassembling, inspecting, cleaning up and servicing them. They’re still perfectly sound. (BTW, Groco recommended Dow 111 (non-petroleum) grease for all the rubber parts.)
I also chose to seal up about half of those holes in the hull. Pearson acted like they were getting seacocks for free, the way they stuck them in for every little thing. I forget how many my boat had, but it reminded me of Swiss Cheese – and so unnecessary. By doubling (and tripling and more) up on thru-hulls I got it down a just half-a-dozen below the waterline. It’s lot less seacocks to service each year, and I sleep a little better at night.
Have fun,
Tor
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Silverheels, P-424 #17
http://www.silverheels.us
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Scott
Why did you replace them? If properly installed I would expect these things to outlive me.I have however been considering replacing the engine raw water intake through-hull. It’s too small and gets clogged easily with weed. I’ve been however reluctant to try to remove it. Access from the inside is difficult. I don’t see any through-bolts. I think the through-hull just threads into the seacock. I have no idea how difficult this would be to remove. Someone would have to hold the through-hull from the outside while the seacock is unscrewed. I see a notch cut into the inside lip of the through hull. I’m guessing that you put some kind of wrench in there. Has anyone removed this kind of through hull and what did you do please?
Rich
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Guys – thanks for all the input!
Rich – the bonding system in our boat was a big, partially connected mess when we got her, and most of the below-waterline bronze thru hulls were badly corroded. We decided to replace the sea cocks as well, as the previous installer (looks like an after-market job, as every sea cock has a nice fiberglass backing plate) bedded everything generously with 5200, so unscrewing the thru hulls from outside was not an option. To your question, I used an angle grinder to carefully cut the thru hulls into pie shaped wedges, then used a big chisel and hammer to pry each wedge off, leaving the inside neck of the fitting. We then beat and pried off each sea cock from inside, amazingly leaving each backing plate and the sea cock flange bolts intact.
A pic of 9 of the 11 sea cocks we yanked is attached. $1855 replacement cost all told for 5 1-1/2 and 6 3/4 inch sea cocks and matching thru hull fittings, not counting the straight or 90 degree tail pieces, which are between $10 and $30 a piece.
Thanks again!
ScottAttachments:
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Rich, the “tool” is called a nipple wrench. It's a plumbers tool. If you google it I'm sure one will come up. Without it you can find a piece of steel or whatever and cut or grind it to the inside dia. of the thru-hull and make it long enough to insert and catch hold of the two small tangs that are in the thru-hull. Put an adjustable wrench on the steel plate (or whatever) and a big “monkey” wrench on the inside at the sea cock and you should have problem. Mine actually came out too easy, one of them without even having a wrench on the inside. Scared the bejesus out of me how little was holding them in for all those years. Sorry for the big picture, haven't worked that shit out yet. I feel everyone who “hasn't” removed seacocks should be aware of what I found. This is the aft deck scupper seacock and thru-hull. The one located right under the captains bed. See the brown on the threads? That's it, that was all that was holding it in. Count them …two and one half threads. Check your old thru-hulls!!!!!!!!Ken
Taking what comes as I get it, using it all as much as I can and trying hard to leave all the shit behind.
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My emails aren’t arriving here anymore for some reason. I may give up corresponding with the group for a while and hope the bug goes away. In response to Rich’s post, I sent an email to this thread this morning as follows:
“I removed and serviced all Silverheels’ seacocks soon after buying her (but only re-installed half of them, as I’ve mentioned before). They’re as you describe, Rich. I unscrewed the flange from the outside. This was 9 years ago, so I don’t recall every detail exactly, but I believe I used a scrap of iron – I’m sure I saved it somewhere around here – that fit (or I made to fit) snugly into that notch cut into the inside lip of the flange that you mentioned on the outside of the thru-hull. Then I clamped a big crescent wrench onto the flat piece of iron to gain leverage and unscrewed it. I don’t recall it being particularly difficult.”
I didn’t know about the nipple wrench, Ken, but I suppose that’s what I approximated.
Tor
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Silverheels, P-424 #17
http://www.silverheels.us
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