Thru-HolyS#@!

*Devian* · 11-02-2009, 09:29 pm

So a thru hold valve failed sometime in the recent future and it almost sunk my boat today. 28" of standing water in a 28' boat! I have it plugged right now but in the SF Bay Area, what would it cost to have a thru hole replaced?

*higgs* · 11-03-2009, 04:54 am

I have heard of people replacing these with the boat in the water. I'm pretty handy with this type of thing, but I would not try it. You will have to get an estimate from someone in your area, but i would figure at least a couple hours labor plus a new thru hull. Whatever you do DO NOT go to the local hardware and buy a gate valve. Spend the money for a legit bronze seacock.

If it were me, I would haul the boat where I could spend the time to do the job right, which includes a wood backing plate bonded to the inside of the hull.

Good luck.

*higgs* · 11-03-2009, 04:58 am

This is a good time to get Don Casey's book "This Old Boat", which covers the how to do the job in pretty good detail.

*MKirk51* · 11-03-2009, 06:32 am

If you want an excellent discussion of thru-hulls, check out MaineSail's site. As usual, his info is as good as it gets. I sleep much better without the wood backing plates and plastic valves now.
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/boat_projects

*zeehag* · 11-03-2009, 12:04 pm

i had my engine intake thru HULL fitting replaced in thewater--the estimate was 280---and just a few hours--was redefined as worst case scenario--took 3 days and 4 guys diving to do it--but was original 1979 equipment--had had mickey mouse replacements done and 5 yrs ago when i bought the boat , there was a film of water inside on the hull requiring the replacement-----for normal in the water service, count on 85 dollars per hour and about 3 hours - 4 hours work.....if you dive and have a friend who also dives--have the friend hold a plunger on the thru hull under water as you do the inside work----works great every time....keeps water out of the boat while you do the inside work......

*sailingdog* · 11-03-2009, 01:17 pm

Why not learn to do the work yourself. It is something that will be useful as a boat owner and far less expensive than having the yard do it. Maine Sail's website gives excellent instructions on how to do so.

*Devian* · 11-04-2009, 06:09 pm

Well so far I have a temporary fix. A wooden plug hammered into the thru-hull. I'm off to check on it once again. Wish me luck.

*Prime Time* · 11-04-2009, 08:26 pm

You can easily do this yourself on a short haul. Why did the old one fail? Any issue with electrolysis? Check your others!

*zeehag* · 11-05-2009, 09:47 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Why not learn to do the work yourself. It is something that will be useful as a boat owner and far less expensive than having the yard do it. Maine Sail's website gives excellent instructions on how to do so.

certain folks must find helpers to do work for them---some disabilities preclude doing own work under certain situations---do not presume someone is able to do own work---in my case, i know how to do the work but my hands are disabled so i am not able to do it myself.....have fun and good luck.....i wish i could still do my own work--would save me a boatload of dough LOL..i also know where to get work done for la lot less than 85 or more dollars per hour...LOL....is called survival and practicality -- i donot use yards unless i am forced to !!!! they are outrageously overpriced ...kinda even worse than worst marine LOL........

*Bill Roosa* · 11-05-2009, 11:46 am

You say you have a plug in it now. Is the actual fitting going through the hull leaking or is it a ball valve (gasp gate valve) that screws into the thru-hull fitting that went bad?
If it is just the valve then you could get that repaired (temp, should be a seacock but I've seen a lot of thru-hulls done this way) pretty easily. If it is the thru-hull fitting the you have your work cut out for you and good luck.

*bffatcat* · 11-05-2009, 02:18 pm

a 40 + year old Columbia probably had original equipment gate valves Replace it with a bronze sea cock. I replaced a defective sea cock on a pearson 10 M a few years back
it was a pretty cut and dry job but the boat was not in the water. I would not have tried it
on my own. You might be better off to haul the boat, and fix it on land

*Devian* · 11-05-2009, 07:22 pm

I'm gonna be on the boat all day Sat. to clean it out. As for the thru-hull, it might just be the valve. I'll have to investigate further.

*Steve Dion* · 11-05-2009, 07:25 pm

Just a heads up. Be careful that the marina management does not throw you out (with the sea water). If they think that there is pollution from the engine they may feel that there is a liability.

Be sure to contact your insurance carrier and notify them. They may also want to help with any pollution issues.

*Devian* · 11-05-2009, 08:22 pm

At this point there is only residue of oil inside the boat coating the walls, battery, and what not. When they were draining it to begin with there were no visible signs of oil. Do you think I should really still call my insurance company?

*BobM* · 11-06-2009, 03:05 pm

Regarding insurance...given the age of your boat it is unlikey you have anything but liability...but it is worth verifying. If salt water and oil got to your main circuit breaker panel repair will be painful. You might try mineral spirits for cleaning up the oil. That is the main component of goo gone and a gallon will be pretty inexpensive.

*Devian* · 11-07-2009, 08:08 pm

So this mess is going to take a lot longer to clean up than I thought but the good new is, the electrical systems work! Its pretty astonishing how much work it is to clean up motor oil though.

*BobM* · 11-13-2009, 07:20 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devian

So this mess is going to take a lot longer to clean up than I thought but the good new is, the electrical systems work! Its pretty astonishing how much work it is to clean up motor oil though.

The electrical systems may work now...but their exposure to salt water will hasten their demise, especially if they are not tinned, which unfortunately was common. You could trade a flood for a fire, so be careful.

*Ron McCoy* · 11-13-2009, 12:40 pm

IMHO, you're not only playing with fire when you think you can properly replace a thru-hull while the boat is in the water. You're risking the entire boat if anything, anything goes wrong, not to mention the large amount of water that you'll have throughout the sole. Go up north (of SF) and find a local marina and haul the boat for a few hours. Otherwise, if the boat does sink, you're facing tough environmental consequences and you boat is for nevermore! Let's think responsible, not, is it possible?