Through hull appears to be leaking

[TrentePieds]

I agree with others here that your seacock seems to have been cobbled together from common shoreside plumbing parts. I take it it was as shown in the photo when you bought the boat ;-)? Had I been your surveyor, I would have noted this as a "deficiency to be rectified at the earliest opportunity"

Shoreside plumbing fittings won't do because they are made from the WRONG METAL. They are made from brass, a copper alloy with a high ZINC content. That is fine ashore when dealing with fresh water and where electrolysis in never an issue. Marine fittings are made from BRONZE, a copper alloy different from brass in that the zinc content has been replaced with tin.

In marine applications, brass will "dezincify" (the zinc leaches out) and turn porous, brittle and weak. Bronze does not do that.

In one of the posts above, someone showed a Groco brand seacock. Have a look at that. That's what a proper seacock looks like. The five hundred dollar cost of a proper fitting to replace the one you have is well worth it, IMO. You can easily fit it yourself next time you haul out. You can read up on how to do that, or you can ask us :-).

One of the problems with your present installation is that the fitting is TOO SMALL (in diameter) and too tall. It would be easy to exert enuff leverage on it to break a dezincified fitting right a the hull!. You need 1) a wide base; 2) a "barb" that is the right diameter for the hose it has to accommodate.

I hope that helps a little to get you thinking along the "right lines" about this problem of yours. Provided you don't mess with the present set-up too much, it is (probably) going to hold together till your next haul-out. But if I were in your shoes, I would make the replacement of this seacock an absolute requirement at your next haul-out.

All the best

TrentePieds

[boatpoker]

I'd also suspect mismatched threads with this cobbled together installation, i.e. NPT threaded to NPS

[mvweebles]

I looked more closely. First, I too do not see a leak but could be the still photo.

A few comments.

1. Thru hull is smaller than the hose. Above the valve is a nipple, then a pipe adapter that increases size (tough to say from a Pic, but perhaps 1" thru hull to 1-1/4" hose). Personally, I'd prefer to see a 1" barbed nipple out of the valve, then a length of 1"hose that is reduced with a 1" x 1-1/4" hose adapter right below the drain, above water line if possible.

2. Another comment noted concern about compatible pipe thread. I agree. These inline valves are typically NPT which is tapered whereas the mushroom fittings are NPS (Straight). Frankly, my experience is really dated so would make sure these are compatible - perhaps others on this thread will respond with a more knowledgeable answer. Personally, until I were sure that the valve is screwed onto the mushroom fitting more than a couple threads, I wouldn't put wrenches on it (for me, I'd go to a good chandlery and see how things fit together and see if an inline valve will adequately screw down onto a mushroom fitting)

3. The nipple connecting the reducing connector might be brass. It should be either removed ( 1 above) or if retained, as short as possible. The bronze nipples I recall are short which is why I wonder if this is not bronze. But again, could be bronze is available in longer lengths than close nipples.

4. The barbed nipple connecting the hose is not visible. Make sure this is a suitable material such as marelon or bronze.

Bottom line - I see some oil jugs and such so assume this is a bilge section subject to having stuff jostling around - a thru hull should be as sturdy as possible - yours could be better . I'd install the correct sized seacock with backing plate at next possible time. In the meantime, I'd make sure the valve threads onto mushroom stem adequately. If it does, I'd remove the nipple, adapter, and barbed nipple and replace with a barbed nipple of the same size as valve. I'd then install the barbed-barbed hose adapter as high as possible

[Breaking Waves]

Many good comments about the overall assembly . . . but to directly answer the OP's question:

Originally Posted by felizcortez

Is pipe dope the right stuff to use?

There are 3 basic options: Teflon tape, pipe dope, and Anaerobic Thread Sealant.

For metal to metal threads, I would usually prefer the Anaerobic Thread Sealant.

When plastic threads are involved 'it depends' on the specifics (plastics and threads) but generally, a non-hardening thread sealant is preferred ( like just as an example Permatex® Thread Sealant with PTFE). I believe forespar says to use Teflon tape on Marlon threads.

[GILow]

Not sure if it has been mentioned already... I looked but couldn’t see... those hose clamps are the wrong sort too. You need to find the sort without the perforations in the strap. The sort in the picture do fail easily and suddenly.

[capn_billl]

For OP what is this thru hull for? Can you keep the seacock closed until next haulout?

[Tillsbury]

I agree with other posters that say this is not a case of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. This is something that is going to break, and likely sink the boat, at any time. If you had a survey on this boat they would tell you to replace all this immediately before the vessel could be considered seaworthy, and certainly before trying to insure it.

You can’t bet on the valve working at all. Personally, I would buy the correctly sized Marelon valve and have it and a wooden bung ready. Unscrew the lot including the yellow handled valve, and immediately push the wooden bung into the hole that water is now coming out of. Clean the threads and wrap thread tape around them, and then quickly remove the bung and screw on the Marelon valve. You are now at a safe place and can reconnect or replace pipe work with double-clamped good quality stuff. Mop up the pint or so of water that came in.

I’d do it this morning, before any other boat jobs.

At the next haulout I’d remove it and see whether there was the slightest suspicion of the thru-hull fitting and consider replacing those as well.

[TrentePieds]

Feliz:

Boy - did you ever get jumped on :-)! Take that to mean two things: 1) People care; 2) that seacock really, really needs attention.

Here is a link to illustrative material for a seminar on marine plumbing given at last year's Vancouver International Boatshow. It's succinct and very germane to your problem. I thot you might like to see it. I have no connection with Nanaimo Yacht Services. I refer you to this material only because I thot NYS did a fine job providing this seminar.

https://www.nanaimoboatyard.ca/wp-co...right-2018.pdf

TP

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

Many good comments about the overall assembly . . . but to directly answer the OP's question:



There are 3 basic options: Teflon tape, pipe dope, and Anaerobic Thread Sealant.

For metal to metal threads, I would usually prefer the Anaerobic Thread Sealant.

When plastic threads are involved 'it depends' on the specifics (plastics and threads) but generally, a non-hardening thread sealant is preferred ( like just as an example Permatex[emoji2400] Thread Sealant with PTFE). I believe forespar says to use Teflon tape on Marlon threads.

OP had several questions, not just recommendation on thread sealant. He/she also asked about disassembling. BTW - have heard of using a plunger on outside of boat to seal and remove a valve. Haven't done it myself but seems like it should work.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

BTW - have heard of using a plunger on outside of boat to seal and remove a valve. Haven't done it myself but seems like it should work.

Yes, it should work, but I’d only try it if I REALLY had no other choice.

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

OP... He/she also asked about disassembling.

yes. I personally think he could do as he suggested - close the valve and carefully wrench the bits apart.

Sometimes the ball in those sorts of valves have corroded and they will not seal, so I would have a plan for that case (pipe cap perhaps), and I would have a wooden cone close by in case of something really catastrophic.

But I guess the probability is high the value would seal and he would be just fine.

I do agree with all the comments about that not being a good construction.

I also think it worthwhile to also answer the OP's question. Sometimes people are in a situation where they would rather just fix the immediate problem than rebuild their boat.

[tkeithlu]

"If it's not broke, don't fix it."

Perhaps that does not apply here. It's residential PVC and it looks like a residential brass ball valve, not a bronze seacock. No way will the assembly meet the 50 pounds on the side structural ABYC standard. The central problem is that while it is not broken, when it breaks it will sink the boat at the dock. Rebuild, or if you are prepared for modifications, run all your gray water to an above waterline discharge. Not as pretty, indeed, but safer.

[felizcortez]

Lots of replies. Thank you everyone for the responses. I wasn't getting thread updates for some reason so didn't see all the responses.

A few answers.
The valve is from Apollo and it is bronze along with the reducer pipe above it.

I have been keeping the valve closed when not in use.

The threads on the valve appear to be 1.25 NPT and then there is the converter which increases the pipe size to 1.5inch NPT plus 1.5 inch hose barb.

I compared this installation with a few other Tartans and they are pretty much the same and use the same type of ball valves.

I have had 2 surveys on the boat. One when purchased a few years ago and one right before leaving for Mexico for insurance purposes. Both checked all the through hulls and did not mention an issue here.

I believe I can remove the reducer by using the following hose barb from Groco (Groco Ff-1250) It has a 1.25 NPT male fitting and and a 1.5 inch hose barb. It is not possible to get parts where I am right now so this has to wait. If I do replace any of this in the water, I'm going to wait until I am at a place that has a haul out lift available in case something happens.


Our next haul out is scheduled for September in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. I'm planning to replace the through hulls at that point when we are out of the water.

A few other questions.
Is Sanitation hose ok for this installation or should it be the black exhaust hose style?

There is a 90 degree elbow that is also PVC I'm assuming I should replace that with bronze as well?

[felizcortez]

I replaced the leaking pvc hose barb with a bronze one in the last few days. I'm not comfortable removing the reducer while in the water and am not in a place to haul out. I don't want to apply a bunch of force on the fitting to try to get the reducer off.

Ball valve works fine and I was able to unscrew the old PVC fitting by hand. I'm assuming that's why it was leaking (a bit disconcerting). While removing the hose from the barb I put a hole in it so I replaced the hose as well.

Things are buttoned up for now and the leak is stopped. I wanted to fix the immediate leak and then I will replace the whole through hull assembly during my next haul out.

[Larry Florida]

Originally Posted by felizcortez

I have a through hull for the galley sink that appears to be leaking at the threads a bit. see attached pic.

Do I just close the through hull put a pipe wrench on it separate the pipes and clean them, put new pipe dope on it then reassemble? Is pipe dope the right stuff to use?

I don't see any leak. Seen more water in photos from the Mars rover.