Can't open deckfill.

[Dean Abramson]

Why us? Seriously.

Today we went to get a pumpout. We have a deckplate for the holding tank on the cockpit sole, like that shown below. Good news: the pumpout station was functioning.

Bad news: NOTHING I tried could get the cap to turn. Nothing. I Kroiled. I poured boiling water. I applied tons of torque. I used a screwdriver (at 12 o'clock) and a hammer, and beat the living $#!t out of the thing. No dice.

So, as of now we are technically full of ...

Does anyone have a suggestion? (No, don't want to sell the boat.)

HELP!!!!

[tjr818]

Did you remember "Righty tighty, . . . ."

Seriously though, what material is the cap made of? If it is metal ice would help shrink it and maybe allow you to loosen it. If the vent is clogged pressure will build up inside the tank and make the removal very hard.
Is there a collar that is screwed into the tank that the cap screws into? Maybe that could provide access.

[Joe Myerson]

Tim could well be correct. I had to replace my vent, both the tube and the transom fitting. My original fitting was chrome plated aluminum, and it just collapsed from corrosion. I replaced it with a bronze one from Spartan. It wasn't cheap, but it won't corrode. Always worth it for bronze!

--Joe

[gonesail]

i put my stainless steel fitting into the deckfill slot .. then put a big wrench to the fitting. if you do get it off be sure to put some silicon grease on the threads and gasket if it has one .. before screwing it back on. not too tight.

[Dean Abramson]

Thanks, all!

[jbenagh]

Dean,
when it happened to me I did what gonesail did; insert the SS key, grip it with channel locks, get a crew to apply pressure and tap with hammer and big screwdriver. Also PB blaster. Since then, I add a coat of lanolin and replaced the o-ring and it's been better since. BTW I had to buy 50 o-rings from McMaster-Carr so I have a bunch in the supply cabinet; I think they can maybe go regular mail so PM me if you want a couple.
Jeff

[Dean Abramson]

Dean,
when it happened to me I did what gonesail did; insert the SS key, grip it with channel locks, get a crew to apply pressure and tap with hammer and big screwdriver. Also PB blaster. Since then, I add a coat of lanolin and replaced the o-ring and it's been better since. BTW I had to buy 50 o-rings from McMaster-Carr so I have a bunch in the supply cabinet; I think they can maybe go regular mail so PM me if you want a couple.
Jeff

Hi Jeff. Thanks. We've tried pretty much every trick in the book by now, including the equivalent of what you described.

Because I won't have time to work on this before our next cruise, I'm turning the mess over to the boatyard. White flag is a-wavin'!

Let me see if I have any spare o-rings. If not, I'd love to mooch a couple. I appreciate that.

[ghockaday]

Impact screw driver. It is how I get all big corroded screws out. They come with an assortment of bits, some are pretty large, it may get enough bite. Klein makes a nice one. they are about $60

[John Stone]

Sounds like you have done all the things I would try…except heat. Hit it with a propane torch but not too long. Be careful there is methane in there. also follow it with some ice.

Kroil is great stuff. Tapping is important. A good fitting key is important and a lever arm to apply torque. It will come out. It might take a while though. kroil or PB Blaster takes time to work down into the threads. sometimes days. More Kroil. Apply more heat. More ice…more tapping…more torque. repeat as necessary.

When successful install new o ring. Silicon paste.

Both mine are bronze. I open them frequently and lubricate a couple times a year.

[Tod Mills]

Dry ice (held with tongs and gloves) would offer more extreme cold than frozen water....

If worse comes to worst, you could remove the whole fitting from the deck so that you can use more extreme temperatures or simply replace it.

[Kailua Kid]

I would expect the boatyard to just remove the deck fitting and replace it with a new one. Ideally, the fitting would be moved to somewhere other than the cockpit sole, where it is less likely to corrode, and would be replaced with bronze. It is probably easier to loosen the hose clamps and unscrew the fasteners to pull out the deck fitting at this point than it would be to unstick the corroded threads on the through-deck fitting. And, once those threads have corroded, even cleaning them up and coating them with Lanocoat or Tef-gel or equivalent and replacing the o-ring, is not certain to prevent a repeat at a later date. I would get under the cockpit sole and disconnect the hose clamp(s), remove the fasteners, pull out the offending through-deck fitting, replace it with bronze if possible, new high-quality (316) stainless if not, and if time permits, re-route the whole affair to somewhere (maybe the vertical aspect of the cockpit footwell or a side deck) to make it less likely this ever happens again. While not ideal, you could defer a proper filling of the resulting hole in the cockpit sole by leaving the well-and-truly stuck existing fitting right where it is for the season and just moving the fill pipe up and over to the new location (but I will deny I ever suggested such heresy!).

[John Stone]

And, once those threads have corroded, even cleaning them up and coating them with Lanocoat or Tef-gel or equivalent and replacing the o-ring, is not certain to prevent a repeat at a later date. I would get under the cockpit sole and disconnect the hose clamp(s), remove …. replace it with bronze if possible, new high-quality (316) stainless if not, and if time permits, re-route the whole affair to somewhere (maybe the vertical aspect of the cockpit footwell or a side deck) to make it less likely this ever happens again.

I agree the foot-well is not ideal. I installed mine in the bridge-deck. The hole in the cockpit sole is a simple job. 2-3 hours total spread a over a couple days. If it’s bronze though I am very confident it will clean up perfectly. Quality bronze is essentially forever—absent electrolysis. And I would not replace a bronze deck fitting with SS regardless the quality. I have deck fills that are 40 years old and work perfect. If you can’t get the cap off removing it by separating the tail from the fill hose under the cockpit is very doable. You’ll need to tape up the hose or temporarily cap it off cause it is going to smell terrible. Plus you need to keep water out of the boat. You can take it home and work on it there. Once you get the cap off you can clean it up. Soak it in a vinegar, flour, salt solution. Use a dremel with a buffing wheel, little wedges of sand paper and a pick. At least you’ll be able to inspect the threads and see if there is damage. Maybe it got cross-threaded at some point. Once you sort it out you can reuse it or purchase a new one. You might find one on Ebay. Replace the O ring and then keep it lubricated you’ll never have a problem with it. Never. SS on SS can suffer galling. You see it with trunbuckles…and revolvers.

Anyway, CD 31 is a hell of a nice boat. I’d sure be reluctant to save $30-$40 by replacing it with SS.

[Jim Walsh]

Happened to me once and never again. I drilled a couple holes so I can now use a Groco water strainer wrench to open it if need be. I used a little J-B Weld on the underside of the cap so the holes don’t threaten the cap integrity.

[John Stone]

Outstanding.

[John Stone]

So Dean, what did you do? Any luck getting the cap off?