Need New Thru Hulls on My '95 Adventure 208

[smontgomery]

Howdy.

Got my boat out on dry land for a few weeks.

I'm going to replace all of the thru-hull fittings. Several are cracked and leak. V-e-r-y slowly but they do leak.

Boat lives in the water most of the year.

any tips on doing the job right? Most folks say that I can bust them right with no problems. Uh-huh, right.

I think I'm going to use plastic again unless y'all want to talk me out of it and into stainless or titanium. Not sure which adhesive, I'll take advice on that too.

I'm new to Grady's. I'll take all the free advice I can get.

Thanks.

Steve

 

[Curmudgeon]

If you're gonna replace 'em, why put in something that will have to be replaced again somewhere down the channel? Do it with stainless and no owner of this boat will ever give 'em a second thought. Do it with plastic and someone better be thinking about 'em ... frequently. :?

 

[CJBROWN]

I thought current production was chrome over bronze, but their specs say stainless. Either is better than plastic.

3M 5200 is the sealant for them. Consider replaicing the hoses and clamps as well, at least for the ones that are underwater.

Once you get the nut off you should be able to tap them out. The ones for the fish boxes are kinda hard to get to aren't they?

 

[Grog]

Getting out the plastic ones is easy. If the nut doesn't want to come out, snap it off. SS or bronze is the way to go.

 

[gradyfish22]

Most new boats manufacturers do not use plastic anymore since they rot from UV rays and the elements. If I were to go through that much work replacing them once, replace them with thru-hulls that will not need replacement again. SS or Bronze are the way to go, plus they make the boat look way better.

 

[smontgomery]

Stainless it is.

I hear they will eventually bleed some particular color on the hull. Beats a sinking boat I suppose.

Thanks for talking me out of plastic. It was the folks at the factory who talked me into it.

Steve

 

[gw204]

If you keep a close eye on them, there's nothing wrong with plastic above the waterline. IMHO, the plain white ones definitely look better than stainless. Grady puts so many holes in the sides of these boats that when you go stainless it looks like they were used for target practice...

 

[BobP]

The plastic ones are OK for above the water line, and I mean above it, not by two inches. The ones half way up the hull are fine for plastic.

Don't care for the stainless ones due to too obvious factory plan for locating: by dart throw.

Down near the water line use metal and valves, especially valves if you can't access the entire hose run and terminal for inspection/replacement.

If you grab the plastic one from behind by hand and can't break it off, there is nothing wrong with it.

Don't overtighten the metal or plastic ones, just snug them up. Use a little caulk on thread, to keep nut secure.

 

[jehines3]

Bronze below the water line, SS above the water line is the standard I have always heard. Mixing SS and aluminum below the waterline has been know to cause problems in rare cases. Of course I have big SS trim tab planes so I'm not sure how that plays in.

If it were me, I'd go titanium below and plastic above. I think my boat would look aweful with all that jewelry down the side. jh