Thru Hull fitting coming out, How to repair hole?

[imonna 19 6]

Hello all,

During my gastank replacement i found wet foam and under that wet foam I found a cheaply installed fish hold drain hose had cracked and separated from the thru hull fitting and water had penetrated.  Foam came out, fitting came out, and now I have a hole that measures 1  3/8 round and 3/8 deep.   it is located starboard side, two feet below the fuel tank vent, just above the waterline.

the inside edge of the hole is solid and i have good access to the back side.





Inside





I know of two options

1) fill with epoxy, but may be too big for that

2) full on fiberglass repair

I feel like I am missing options...  anything i am not considering.

is this hole too big to be filled by a thickened 2 part west epoxy.  I have those supplies on hand.

[fitz73222]

Same repair as the water tank thread. Replace the fitting with a new flanged threaded fitting that uses the single big nut on the back side and cap it off with the same thread plug if you don't want to use it. Just cut off the big hose barb where it meets the thread and screw on a PVC cap or make a splice from the original drain hose if usable and reconnect the drain to the barb if you don't cut it off. Those plastic fittings are straight thread and not tapered pipe thread so you may have to hunt at Lowes, Home Depot or a marine store to find the cap. Use PVC pipe dope on the cap.

[imonna 19 6]

Ill go find the water tank thread.  This sounds like an easier solution, as long as i can make it permanent.

[gran398]

Exactly the same idea. Bottom line, get a good seal, and cap it internally.

 For extra peace of mind, let the run extend well above the waterline, and cap it there.

[imonna 19 6]

Good idea.   I am planning on getting a brass or SS fitting and I will 4200 in and around it (if you guys agree that is the best one to use).  I could 5200, but that might be overkill.

[flounderpounder225]

Send SeaBob a PM, he had several thru-hulls he was selling at good deals, see if he has one that size??

[Capt. Bob]

 as long as i can make it permanent.

Permanent to me would be a fiberglass plug and repair.
You say you have good access to both sides.
What's your confidence level working with fiberglass?

If you're sure you are never going to use the thru hull, why stick one back in?

I'm just saying.

Here's some food for thought.

http://www.bertram31.com/proj/tips/hole_patch.htm

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/repairing- ... iberglass/

http://www.livingaboard.com/forum/viewt ... f=4&t=5541

And something to look at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DaveBWillia ... ullRepair#

Good luck.

[imonna 19 6]

thanks Bob.

I am pretty comfortable with glassing.  Did a small amount in high school on a boss's boat, although that was 20 years ago.

what i am not at this point is rich.  I estimated x for the gas tank install and am at x + 300 because  forgot how dang expensive SS hardware was, underestimated the fittings i'd need, etc.  Standard deal.
I mention this because i would be happy to glass the hole if i can do it with what I have on hand plus a small amount of gelcoat I will have to purchase.

i have a couple quarts of west 105
matching amount of 206 slow hardener
a small amount of 205 hardener
 very little 403 microfibers
a lot of 3/4 oz medium weight mat.

Its all at least 5 years old

My neighbor passed this onto me and i am mightly greatful.

i read some of the articles you posted a few days ago and watch a couple videos and the stuff they are mentioning is more complicated than what I have on hand.

For 50 bucks I can buy a nice fitting, slap it in and next year pull it and glass it.  i cant afford 100 or more for more fiberglass supplies.

what do you think.  Is what i have sufficient or do i need other types of fiberglass or resin, etc.

[gran398]

The West keeps pretty good....I've used it three to four years old, no prob.

The hardener gets darker with age, almost the color of dark molasses.

Try a very small batch first to see if it "kicks"...if it does, great...if it doesn't, toss it. Remember its a 3 to 1 ratio,  resin to hardener. Tape the back of the hole and build to the tape....the only thing that needs to look nice is the outside....you can use that glass you have on hand as chop/filler.

Both of your alternatives sound good....if you went with a new thru hull, an owner down the line might want to go original again...just something to chew on.

[fitz73222]

I guess the less intelligent question is; what are you going to do about the fish box drain? It will get water in it and where does the water go?

[gran398]

Yep, you'll need a wet-dry vac or a bunch of old towels. Even if you don't use it for fish, it will still hold rainwater, a little or a lot. Pain in the A$$.

Why not re-plumb it with new hardware, put a pierced sump cover over the internal drain....Perko makes a nice one, chrome on brass. Circular, top quality, reasonably priced.

[imonna 19 6]

I had thought of, but hadnt resolved, what to do with the box drain.   Perhaps given this dilemma the best option will be to just restore it.   Put a nice bronze or SS fitting in with some 4200.  Double clamp a new hose on and let the drain do what it was meant to do

I keep my anchor in there so i definitely will get water in it.

I guess i was so distressed about it failing once and that i dont use it for fish that closing it seemed to make the most sense.

[Capt. Bob]

The best thing about re-installing a new thru hull is that it's relatively inexpensive, buys you time to decide what will work best in the long term and as stated above, allows the box some drainage relief.

Sounds like a win win and then some.

Good luck.