Through hull/sea cock removal - Help requested

[Rick Parish]

My 33 year old Typhoon has leaking through hull fittings. The beading/sealing compound between the through hull fitting flange and the exterior of the hull has failed. The details of the original installation are as follows (working from the outside in) - through hull flange, hull, plywood backing block, seacock. I can put a wrench on the seacock and turn the entire assembly, including the through hull fitting. This is like turning the head of a bolt and having the nut turn too. Easy work but not very productive. I have been unable to find a tool or jury rigged tool that will let me hold the through hull fitting stationary from the outside of the boat while someone else turns the seacock from the inside of the boat. Thus unthreading the seacock from the through hull fitting. I think the best tool is probably a flat wedge that fits into the through hull from the outside. It is held in place by the internal "tabs" inside the through hull. This gives the wedge something to grip while pressure is applied to the wedge with a wrench. I have tried two local (Tampa) marine retail outlets, a plumbing supply house, and two home centers, but no luck. No such tool seems to exits. Maybe I could get rich inventing one? Hopefully someone else has already found a solution. Trying to grab the exterior flange of the through hull fitting with a pipe wrench will probably result in a chewed up flange. Do any of the "regulars" to this bulletin board have a solution to my problem? Advise would be greatly appreciated.



parish6@ibm.net

[Dana Arenius]

Rick,

Did you see the April 14, 1998 posting from Skip(medeiros@bnl.gov) about the marine step wrenches which are identical to the plumbers
"spud" wrench? According to the posting the Home Depot "Radiator Spud Wrench" #8618 will handle what you need from 1/2" to 2". Skip indicated he used it on his 1-1/2" Spartan seacock.

Dana





darenius@aol.com

[Jim Stull]

My 33 year old Typhoon has leaking through hull fittings. The beading/sealing compound between the through hull fitting flange and the exterior of the hull has failed. The details of the original installation are as follows (working from the outside in) - through hull flange, hull, plywood backing block, seacock. I can put a wrench on the seacock and turn the entire assembly, including the through hull fitting. This is like turning the head of a bolt and having the nut turn too. Easy work but not very productive. I have been unable to find a tool or jury rigged tool that will let me hold the through hull fitting stationary from the outside of the boat

while someone else turns the seacock from the inside of the boat.
Thus unthreading the seacock from the through hull fitting. I think the best tool is probably a flat wedge that fits into the through hull from the outside. It is held in place by the internal "tabs" inside the through hull. This gives the wedge something to grip while pressure is applied to the wedge with a wrench. I have tried two local (Tampa) marine retail outlets, a plumbing supply house, and two home centers, but no luck. No such tool seems to exits. Maybe I could get rich inventing one? Hopefully someone else has already found a solution. Trying to grab the exterior flange of the through hull fitting with a pipe wrench will probably result in a chewed up flange. Do any of the "regulars" to this bulletin board have a solution to my problem? Advise would be greatly appreciated.

Rick
This is not origional, I picked it up from a book I believe. It worked very well for me.
I used a piece of scrap steel, perhaps 3/16 thick and maybe 5 inches long. I don't think the exact dimensions are too critical, I just used a likely looking piece from my scrap box. I ground the width to fit snug into the bottom of the fitting. I ground mine with a slight taper. Creep up on the proper width a couple of trial fits. Again, you want a snug fit (same idea as using the right size wrench on a nut so as not to "round over". I drilled a hole in the bottom of mine to take a phillips screwdriver crossways for leverage if required.
It usually takes me twice as long to do something as a normal person but I don't think I spent more than 20 minutes on the thing.
BTW If you don't have a suitable piece of scrap: An old "flee market" file would work if you heat it red hot then slow cool in dry sand or the like to remove the hard temper so it could be worked to size easily.



jtstull@icubed.com

[Paul]

My 33 year old Typhoon has leaking through hull fittings. The beading/sealing compound between the through hull fitting flange and the exterior of the hull has failed. The details of the original installation are as follows (working from the outside in) - through hull flange, hull, plywood backing block, seacock. I can put a wrench on the seacock and turn the entire assembly, including the through hull fitting. This is like turning the head of a bolt and having the nut turn too. Easy work but not very productive. I have been unable to find a tool or jury rigged tool that will let me hold the through hull fitting stationary from the outside of the boat while someone else turns the seacock from the inside of the boat. Thus unthreading the seacock from the through hull fitting. I think the best tool is probably a flat wedge that fits into the through hull from the outside. It is held in place by the internal "tabs" inside the through hull. This gives the wedge something to grip while pressure is applied to the wedge with a wrench. I have tried two local (Tampa) marine retail outlets, a plumbing supply house, and two home centers, but no luck. No such tool seems to exits. Maybe I could get rich inventing one? Hopefully someone else has already found a solution. Trying to grab the exterior flange of the through hull fitting with a pipe wrench will probably result in a chewed up flange. Do any of the "regulars" to this bulletin board have a solution to my problem? Advise would be greatly appreciated.

IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY I BELIEVE DEFENDER INDUSTRIES CARRIED A STEPPED THRU HULL WRENCH IN THEIR CATALOG. IT MAY HAVE BEEN JAMESTOWN DISTRIBUTORS, I'M NOT SURE WHICH.
YOU CAN GET THEIR CONTACT INFO IN A SAILING DIRECTORY LIKE SAIL MAGAZINES ANNUAL DIRECTORY AT THE NEWSSTAND OR BOOKSTORE. AT ANY RATE A PROPER THRU HULL WRENCH IS MADE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GRIPPING AGAINST THE NIBS LOCATED UP INSIDE THE THRU-HULL. YOU CAN FABRICATE YOUR OWN FROM A PIECE OF FLAT STEEL BUT THE PROPER WRENCH IS A LOT BETTER. IT FITS SEVERAL SIZED THRU-HULLS PERFECTLY AND i BELIEVE THEIR ARE TWO MODELS OF IT TO FIT THRU-HULLS OF DIFFERENT SIZE RANGES.

[Bob]

The April 1998 issue of Cruising World on pg. 98 has an article all about seacocks. It also shows a photo of a step wrench to remove a seacock. The article is by Ed Sherman. That is the tool that you need.

My 33 year old Typhoon has leaking through hull fittings. The beading/sealing compound between the through hull fitting flange and the exterior of the hull has failed. The details of the original installation are as follows (working from the outside in) - through hull flange, hull, plywood backing block, seacock. I can put a wrench on the seacock and turn the entire assembly, including the through hull fitting. This is like turning the head of a bolt and having the nut turn too. Easy work but not very productive. I have been unable to find a tool or jury rigged tool that will let me hold the through hull fitting stationary from the outside of the boat while someone else turns the seacock from the inside of the boat. Thus unthreading the seacock from the through hull fitting. I think the best tool is probably a flat wedge that fits into the through hull from the outside. It is held in place by the internal "tabs" inside the through hull. This gives the wedge something to grip while pressure is applied to the wedge with a wrench. I have tried two local (Tampa) marine retail outlets, a plumbing supply house, and two home centers, but no luck. No such tool seems to exits. Maybe I could get rich inventing one? Hopefully someone else has already found a solution. Trying to grab the exterior flange of the through hull fitting with a pipe wrench will probably result in a chewed up flange. Do any of the "regulars" to this bulletin board have a solution to my problem? Advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cdchartley@aol.com