Proper order for repairs.

[Chessie246G]

Going to be replacing all the thru hulls and scuppers, hoses, clamps, raw water pick up are getting moved. All of them on the outside of the boat will be off.. They are 30 years old and cracked. Also going to be 100% removing the ablative bottom paint and will be painting with Interlux VC performance Epoxy. Boat is going from wet slip to dry rack/trailered so I do not need the antifoul properties.... At most once or twice a year it will be wet slipped for a week at a time. Here is my question..... A few of the thru hull and scuppers are right on the water line and pickups are obviously below the water line. Do I paint with epoxy and then install the thru hulls or install the fittings against the gel coat and paint around them? I have not found the proper way.... or if it even matters. Opinions are welcome.

 

[DennisG01]

It won't matter as long as you allow the proper time for the paint to cure. I don't think I'd take the extra time to paint around, though. All thru-hull fittings are held in place, primarily, through mechanical needs. You're not "bonding" anything. You'll use a good quality sealant to prevent leakage, but it's not like you're glueing them in place.

 

[Chessie246G]

It won't matter as long as you allow the proper time for the paint to cure. I don't think I'd take the extra time to paint around, though. All thru-hull fittings are held in place, primarily, through mechanical needs. You're not "bonding" anything. You'll use a good quality sealant to prevent leakage, but it's not like you're glueing them in place.

Kind of what I was thinking. I don't plan on the thru hulls ever being removed while I own in. Changing all the plastics out for stainless and bronze. 3m 5200 on all of them. It def hurt the credit card with $1000 spent on fittings, clamps and hose. LOL!

 

[DennisG01]

Kind of what I was thinking. I don't plan on the thru hulls ever being removed while I own in. Changing all the plastics out for stainless and bronze. 3m 5200 on all of them. It def hurt the credit card with $1000 spent on fittings, clamps and hose. LOL!

Yeah, parts add up fast!

One thing I would suggest... 5200 is like super glue. It's absolutely not needed for this application and it DOES NOT seal any better than something like LifeCaulk or 3M4200. All it does is make it harder to remove in the future should there be a need (or by a future owner, as well). A simple example would be damage to a thru-hull where it needs to be replaced. 5200 gets SO over recommended that people often start to believe that it's this magic cure-all - I blame this on forums!

 

[Chessie246G]

Yeah, parts add up fast!

One thing I would suggest... 5200 is like super glue. It's absolutely not needed for this application and it DOES NOT seal any better than something like LifeCaulk or 3M4200. All it does is make it harder to remove in the future should there be a need (or by a future owner, as well). A simple example would be damage to a thru-hull where it needs to be replaced. 5200 gets SO over recommended that people often start to believe that it's this magic cure-all - I blame this on forums!

I have 5200 and 4200 on hand.

 

[seasick]

There are better sealants than 4200 but as Dennis said, don't use 5200. Take a look at Life Caulk and Total Boat products suitable for your application. In addition, through hulls that sit below the water line should not be stainless. They will rust. If you want the shinny look, get fittings that are bronze with chrome plating. When installing thru hulls, fight the urge to tighten the heck out of them when installing with a sealant or caulk. You want to just tighten to insure that the fitting is bedded well and then let it cure for a while (depends on the sealant used) but after it has at least set up, retighten tighter. If you tighten too soon after installation, you can squeeze out all the sealant since it is still very fluid.

When painting anti-fouling, avoid getting copper based paint on chrome or stainless fittings.

 

[Chessie246G]

There are better sealants than 4200 but as Dennis said, don't use 5200. Take a look at Life Caulk and Total Boat products suitable for your application. In addition, through hulls that sit below the water line should not be stainless. They will rust. If you want the shinny look, get fittings that are bronze with chrome plating. When installing thru hulls, fight the urge to tighten the heck out of them when installing with a sealant or caulk. You want to just tighten to insure that the fitting is bedded well and then let it cure for a while (depends on the sealant used) but after it has at least set up, retighten tighter. If you tighten too soon after installation, you can squeeze out all the sealant since it is still very fluid.

When painting anti-fouling, avoid getting copper based paint on chrome or stainless fittings.

There is only one at close to the water line. I have a full bronze for that one.
Ill be using straight epoxy paint, no antifoul at all. it will be stored high and dry.... in/out service.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I'll be a contrarian here. I did my 265 Express. For the thru hulls I used 5200 Fast Cure because-

The inside of the hull is rough and uneven so tightening the big nut does not necessarily make a good mechanical connection. This was absolutely the case for the scuppers on my 265. And reaching those nuts and getting a wrench on them and tightening was also a feat.
So the 5200 "glues" the fitting in place on the flange surface and in the gaps of the hole and where is squishes onto the nut on the inside. PERMANENT.

Hopefully, I will never remove them again. If I do its because they are bad. So who cares if I trash them? I'll cut the flanges off the fittings and hammer them thru.

 

[seasick]

You may want to also apply sealant on the inside surface of the hull or to the thru hull washer. That also makes for a well fitted 'gasket' of sealant and a watertight fitting. If not sealed on the inside as well as the outside surfaces, moisture or water in the bilge could migrate into the hull coring. The mounting nuts should be snugly tightened but don't need to be torqued to death
As mentioned earlier, lightly tighten the fittin untill the sealant starts to squeeze out and then let it cure for a while before the final tightening.

 

[DennisG01]

I'll be a contrarian here.

I'll cut the flanges off the fittings and hammer them thru.

Absolutely nothing wrong with doing it the way you choose. I think that as long as someone knows all the facts then they can make the choice that works best for them. With that in mind, just be aware that 5200 sticks stronger to the gel than the gel does to glass. This means that hammering them out can very likely lead to ripping the gel off the bottom of the boat and even taking some of the glass with. Of course, it's all fixable - but it can create a lot more time and headache that could have been prevented. BUT, again, different choices for different people - all good!