When it came time for me to replace the old seacocks on one of my project boats, I thought I’d do it up right, replacing the thru-hulls as well as the seacocks. Based on my experience with another, older, boat, I was prepared to have to cut the thru-hulls out. I didn’t think I would have any problems getting new, bronze, thru-hull like the ones currently installed on the boat. After all, they haven’t changed the thread sizes lately have they? ¾”, 1”, 1-1/4” and 1-1/2” pipe threads are still the standards.
My first surprise came when I tried to remove the old
thru-hull the proper way. I placed my thru-hull tool in the thru-hull opening.
The slots on the side of the tool properly engaged the ears inside the
thru-hull opening as they should. Next, I fitted the pipe wrench to the thru-hull
tool and then slipped a 4’ length of pipe over the pipe wrench handle for extra
leverage. To my complete and utter surprise, the thru-hull unscrewed itself
without undue effort.
Then came my second surprise. The head of the new thru-hull was significantly smaller than the old one I had removed. I guess making the head smaller saved a few pennies per fitting.
In my case, I was lucky; the old thru-hull came loose with no damage. All I had to do was cleanup the old sealant and screw it back into the new seacock, with plenty of new sealant. Had the old thru-hull been damaged, I would have to fill in much of the old hull opening and cut or mold a new tapered hole to match the smaller thru-hull head.
The thru-hull tool is made by Buck-Algonquin; I purchased mine from Jamestown Distributors. The moral of the story, check before you butcher a fitting, you may need to reuse it.
Capt’n Pauley
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