Quote:
Originally Posted by Chat de Mer
Thanks for the reply Don C L. Not sure if this is a dumb question, but to cap and fill with silicone - which sounds like an excellent idea to slow down any leak - you had to have the boat out of the water, right? Our boat is a big catamaran, and very difficult to haul. Or can you cap a thru-hull while the boat is in the water?
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Well you could beach your cat at low tide and work fast!

But if you don't mind swimming a bit, you can either jam in a cone of very soft
wood from the outside, or they have these foam rubber cones too to jam in a hole in case of
emergency, that would work too. Then you can remove the hose and valve, clean it and dry it from inside and cap it off. Personally I would not leave the valve on it, though I'm sure you could. Then just go back out and pull the cork out. We had a boat many years back that disappeared on a very breezy day, a
Cal 24, same size as mine at the time. We were both out at the same time and though I did not know the folks personally it hit me hard to hear they were
lost. Some months later a
fishing boat snagged the boat with a net, it was recovered and they found a thru-hull had been broken off by something heavy falling on it, presumably a dive tank or unsecured
battery, and presumably the folks did not realize they were sinking till it was too late, there was no mayday call as I
recall. So since then, I see thru-hulls through different lenses. I think all thru-hulls should be easily accessible and easily visible, capped or not. As far as glassing, I have done that too. I think, if you are going to do it, it is important that the repair be as strong as the
hull itself if possible so that if that area is struck by something it would not break more easily than the hull. But most
repairs are not that strong, and
boats sail around for years with them.