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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

There's a hole in my boat

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ngrinich
1st Mate

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28 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/18/2005 : 01:06:37

Our new to us '87 Catalina 25 FK/SR has a through hull fitting placed by one of the PO's that was plumbed with a Y valve to pump the head overboard. To clean up an odor problem and make the boat legal, the most recent po removed the Y valve, the now unnecessary hose to the through hull, and plugged the through hull with a cork and silicon sealant. Yep, there is no gate valve to close the through hull, which is located a few feet aft of the bow and right on the hull stripe at the water line. The boat is on the trailer and I'am not to keen on putting the boat in the water without a more secure solution to this fitting. Unfortunately, the 1 1/2 " through hull just has a grooved end for receiving the hose with no way to place a gate valve on it according to the helpful folks at WM that listened to me. I suspect that I will need to remove the current mushroom through hull and install one with a gate valve. Should I then put a plug in the internal end of the through hull as insurance against someone opening it? Or, is there a reasonable way to glass in the hole since I never plan to pump the head overboard, especially at the water line (Ugh).Overall, the rest of the refitting and preparation for getting the boat out on the Columbia River is going great. I've really enjoyed learning about our boat from all the helpful folks on this forum. Thanks for any ideas that you may wish to share. Nick

Nick
C-25 FK/SR '87

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tmhansen
Captain

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USA
397 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 01:23:05

It is possible to glass in the hole from the though hull but it is a bit of work. It involves grinding back the glass around the hole at a 1:12 pitch. The thickness of the hull determines the size of the plug. Then layers of glass are built up in the hole. I also put a layer of glass on the inside for good measure. Then you have to mask off the area and build up a layer of gel coat with an auto body tool. This took me several applications to fill in low spots with lots of sanding between. Finally I sprayed on a few layers of gelcoat and then wet sanded down to a smooth finish. I finished with rubbing compound. Most people would never know there had been a repair in the area. I know because I can feel a slight wave in the hull at the point where I removed two through hulls on my boat. It took me a while to complete but my boat is on my trailer at home so I worked on other things while waiting for each layer to cure. There are free booklets from West System on how to do this repair.

Alternately you could replace the mushroom fitting with one that will accept a ball valve (gate valves do not belong on boats I have been told). The back side of the valve would then need to be capped for extra security.

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 04:35:54

Here is what you can do. West marine has what you need.

New mushroom thru-hull - You will need to figure out if you have a flush or raised.
These are West marine Part numbers

Flush- 113284
Raised- 409641

Cap- 307785

Put it all together with 5200 and you will be in business. You could also fill the new thru hull will an epoxy mixture to keep any debris or junk from growing in the hole. Just make sure not to glue on the cap until the thru hull is installed!

Good luck.

Tom.

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 15:48:48

The most economical way is to put a short piece of heavy duty wirewound hose with two hose clamps onto your existing thruhull. Then purchase or scrounge a 1 and 1/2 inch deck fitting (or any other closed end fitting with the appropriate diameter) and put that into the short hose, also clamping it with two ring clamps. This is NOT the best, nor the recommended solution, but will work PROVIDED you do not have loose gear in the area which could impact the (waving-around) hose. Then at haulout time you can do the complete job of filling in the hole as described prior, fair winds, ron srsk Orion SW FL

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ngrinich
1st Mate

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28 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 02:08:18

One of the things I like about this forum is the advise from folks who have "been there, done that." I would really like to eventually glass in the hole at the boot line. If I ever do want an overboard discharge for use beyond 3 miles, I would put it below the waterline. Since the cork and silicone seem to be holding for now, I may go with the hose assembly fix as a temporary measure. Someone at work today told me that putting a cork in a through hull is a standard fix. I can't believe one would sleep well with it. Thanks for all the help. Nick

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rclift
Navigator

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USA
152 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 02:21:54

Nick, Can't figure out why the po put the thru hull where he did. Seems to me like you will eventually want to get rid of it. I did a similar project last year when I decided to get rid of the overboard discharge. No reason to have it on the river. I simply took off the hoses and tightened down the seacock. I found out soon after launch that the seacock without a hose was leaking substantially but luckly, I spotted it in time and was able to get it back on the trailer. For me the fix was easy. I simply spun off the old seacock and bought a 1 1/2 bronze cap and spacers that fit right on the old thru-hull. If you are in Portland try Sextons on Hayden Island for advice.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 10:12:02

Run a hose from the anchor locker to the waterline thru-hull then fill the original bow drain hole.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.