Things to Change While Boat Is Hauled Out?

[b-rad]

I am going to have the boat hauled to reseal my leaking propstrut, and replace my stuffing box and since its out get some fresh paint. What else should I be considering while its out. Seacocks? rudder maitnance?

[Solitude]

What is wrong with it? Start there.
zincs?
blisters
rusty keel
prop
cutlus

[delmarrey]

Boy! You just opened a can-O-worms.

Yes:
thruhulls, rudder play and check for cracks in the rudder!

keel joint to hull
a little tapping with a small hammer (de-lamination/blisters)

[osirissail]

After the things that caused the haulout - the priority list for potential serious problems starts with "Through-hull seacocks", Rudder, zincs, then cleaning grounding plates,
To retouch the anti-foulant remember that ablative can go on top of hard paint but not the other way around. And lightly sand with 80 grit paper the old paint to remove "dead" epoxy matrix and provide some "tooth" for the touch up coating you will be putting on.

[MarkJ]

Check your leading edges and see if you can remember each bump, ding and scratch since last haul out!

[b-rad]

I just bought the boat so its my first haul out. The hose for the packing box might be original it flexs to much for my comfort. But the deciding factor is that the prop shaft strut is loose from the hull, I was going to try some sealent on the bolts and move on with life but Iwould rather just get it done and not worry about anything down there for a year or two. I will be paying a yard for the paint work, im not much of an artist. So seacocks, what do I need to buy, mine are plastic and look old.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by b-rad

The hose for the packing box might be original it flexs to much for my comfort. . .
. . . I will be paying a yard for the paint work, im not much of an artist. . .
So seacocks, what do I need to buy, mine are plastic and look old.

- - Compare the flex of the Stuffing box hose to that of the same size "wet exhaust hose without wire". If they match then no problem. If yours is more flexible, then simply replace it with a same length piece of "wet exhaust hose without wire."
- - Even if you have the yard do the painting, hang around while they are doing it and look skeptical and shake your head every now and then. That will hopefully keep them honest. And you will either learn how it is done or how it should not be done.
- - If your thru-hull seacocks are "black plastic" they are probably Marelon. Go to a marine supply store and examine them. The are ball valves normally in two pieces. The two pieces are screwed together to apply pressure on the ball valve inside. If they are over-tight the ball valve will not be able to rotate. If they are too loose water will leak around the ball. You can play with the ones in the boat supply store to see how they work. it will sometimes take a lot of energy to initially loosen the two parts. Which is why you play with them in the store first.
- - Back on you boat try turning the shut-off/on handle - but be careful, if they have not been "exercised" in many years the handle will be too difficult to move. Which is why it is important to do it while out of the water. The handle will start to bend if the ball valve is "stuck." Don't break off the handle. If the ball valve will not rotate, then using the knowledge obtained in the boat supply store, loosen the two parts a little until you can rotate the handle easily. You can get some waterproof grease and with the ball valve shut off and a long brush paint some of the grease on the "ball" from outside looking up into the thru-hull. If that is not possible then remove the hose and unscrew the whole seacock from the thru-hull fitting and take it apart and apply new grease to the ball.
- - If the seacocks are white plastic try to identify exactly what brand they are. PVC or withe vinyl seacocks should not be used below the waterline. Marelon is fiberglass in strong resin and are rated acceptable for use below the waterline. Usually they are always black. Replace any PVC or vinyl seacocks with Marelon.

[b-rad]

MIne are black what is the lfie span of marelon? Are there other parts of the sea cock that needs to be replaced peroidical?

[osirissail]

- - Marelon are lifetime units so long as your lubricate them occasionally. As with bronze, Marelon valves with stick if never greased. Marelon is a mixture of resin and glass fibers for strength, so operating them "dry" without grease will encourage those glass fibers to stick.
- - What I said about loosening the base and barrel of the Marelon seacock takes the pressure off the ball in the middle and will allow you to move the ball without breaking the handle off. In over ten years of having all Marelon Seacocks - I use the long handled artist brush during each regular haulout to "paint" new grease on the ball and then exercise the valve to spread it around. If when trying to shut off the seacock the handle/lever starts to severely twist or bend I use two very large wrenches to un-tighten the pressure on the ball then lubricate and readjust the ball tension with the wrenches.
- - Another trick that works well is to have a long rod with a 24" rod making "T" handle at one end and then a U-shaped piece of metal at the other end. The U-shaped piece fits over the valve handle right at the valve stem. The fiberglass long handle has a tendency to bend too much the further you apply force away from the center post of the valve. That is the nature of plastic (FRG) handles.

[Cheechako]

be sure to "work" (open and close) your Marelon seacocks while the boat is out, and do it early in the haulout. You might just find that the handles or ball stems break off and they are worthless. I see you have a US Yacht 30... those havent been built for a long time, so the Black seacocks you have may be Marelon or may be some other short lived experiment. Either way, if they are the old marelon's they are almost certainly worthless.... your stern tube hose is a special thick hose with no wire reinforcement. Buy the best clamps you can buy for this, dont reuse them and dont overtighten them... just good and snug. While you are at it, put a collar zinc on your prop shaft just forward of the packing gland. This will keep the shaft from coming out of the boat if it ever disconects from the engine. Do not use Nylok nuts on the engine coupling. You might consider that with the loose strut, it looked like your stern tube is more flexible than it really is... you shaft may have been wobbling around. Give your cutlass bearing a good look.... a loos strut may have wron that out...

[b-rad]

So far I have bought a new packing hose and packing box with clamps.
Also a new trans coupling and cutlass bearing. Im trying to find out the lenght of the prop shaft so I can get a replacment cut and fit to the coupling before the boat is sitting in a yard getting charged by the day. Im hoping to save the strut just have them reinstall/bed/glass in whatever they need to do.
Also getting cleaned and painted from the water line down and hopefully they dont fine any other problems.